Return to Elmo’s World with an all new two-hour DVD full of your favourite character hitting stores on October 2nd, 2018.
About Sesame Street Elmo’s World: Elmo Explores!
Explore the everyday world with everybody’s favorite furry red monster, Elmo, in the new DVD release of Sesame Street – Elmo’s World: Elmo Explores!, on October 2, 2018 from Shout! Factory and Sesame Workshop.
Elmo Explores! is a two hour collection of Elmo’s World episodes, appearing for the first time on DVD. Using the power of his imagination, Sesame Street’s little red monster explores kid-friendly topics such as painting, cooking, and habitats from a child’s point of view. Joined by the hilarious Mr. Noodle, Smartie the Smartphone, and his pet goldfish Dorothy, Elmo asks questions that lead to fun discoveries. An age-appropriate launch pad for imagination and learning, Elmo’s World: Elmo Explores! indulges children’s natural sense of curiosity about the world around them.
Each engaging installment of this newly reimagined Sesame Street segment presents young viewers with lessons to help them grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Bonus features include two episodes of the uproariously silly Sesame Street spin-off The Furchester Hotel and three classic segments of the original Elmo’s World.
About the Bonus Episodes: The Furchester Hotel
The Furchester Hotel episodes The Count’s Vacation and Space Alien Party are presented here on DVD for the first time in North America as bonus features. The Furchester Hotel is an “almost” world-class establishment run by a tight-knit family of cheerfully incompetent monsters. The proprietors are welcoming owner Funella Furchester, her dear and beleaguered husband Furgus Fuzz, their daughter, the unflappable Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz, and Isabel, the furriest front desk bell in the business. Cousin Elmo is on an extended visit and fascinated by all the hotel has to offer. Cookie Monster has landed his dream job as a room service and dining room waiter. The family bends over backwards, forwards, and sideways (occasionally tipping over) to be sure the needs of every guest are met because a Furchester never gives up! Animal, vegetable, and mineral alike flock to this hub of hospitality, where problem solving is part of the service.
DVD Trailer
Our Thoughts
How can you not love Elmo and his crew? These shows are in its forty eight season and that shows just how much generations of children and adults love the sense of adventure, humour and curiosity presented in the shows. There is something for all age groups – I couldn’t stop watching them and I love that I can share this part of my own childhood with my own kids.
Get into the Sesame Street fun with this printable colouring page and bookmark brought to you from Shout Factory.
You can purchase a copy of this amazing, fun-filled DVD on Amazon.
The Giveaway
Want to win your DVD? Enter to win one of two DVD copies now via the Rafflecopter form below – GOOD LUCK!
I fell in love with the series years ago, I loved that the characters were young, brave and all of the magic. I wanted to be able to wave a wand and command spells long before this series came to light as a young child (I don’t think I am alone in this?). Even though the series started before my children were born, they also love the books and movies. This shows the power of Harry Potter – the story and characters can reach out to and relate to all age groups and genders.
Goliath Games has released two Harry Potter games that will add plenty of magic to your game night or to the every day.
If you are ready to cast spells, win the Tri-Wizard cup, explore Hogwarts and capture fantastic beasts – these games are for you!
Harry Potter Tri-Wizard Maze will have you muggles and wizards race around the board in order to capture the Tri-Wizard cup! Be careful as you head around the maze as there are traps that could help or hurt you.
This game is designed for two to four players and can be played by anyone five years of age and up. It is similar to Trouble, where you “pop” the center and dice will roll indicating how many spaces you can take. Depending on where you land, you may have to pick up a card which will hold either something that can help you win or put you back a couple of spaces. We LOVED this game – my youngest actually ripped the package open trying to get this one out. It was challenging but not overwhelming so that young kids couldn’t play. We played a few times without drawing the cards and it was still a lot of fun but the cards do at that extra bit of magic. My kids were quite clever with this game, I think they figured out how to ‘pop’ the dice to get the best rolls, I lost every round to them (my pieces were the red ones above!).
Magical beasts are running loose at Hogwarts and it is up to you and your friends to save the day. You can choose to be one of the main characters (we had a small argument over who will be Harry but I was able to be Hermione so I was happy!). You must work through the clues and Hogwarts building and grounds in order to recapture the beasts before it is too late. This interactive board game has a swinging playing board, both sides of the board can be used which took me a bit to wrap my head around but once you get it, I couldn’t believe how clever it was. This game is definitely a bit more complicated and geared towards older children and adults, I would suggest eight to ten years of age or older.
These games added an element of magic, mystery and fun to our nights and with this cold weather settling in, we will definitely be looking at having more family game nights. We loved that each time you played the games, it was different – you never really knew what to expect and you could add your own elements of magic into the games to make them your own.
Make sure you connect with Goliath Games on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with the newest toys, games and more!
Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
What is the worst feeling in the morning as you are trying to get out the door?
For myself, it is that moment when I am digging in my purse and I can not find my keys. I can feel my blood pressure rising, my face becoming flush and my patience dwindling. I know deep down inside my keys are in the house but my body reacts with panic and anxiety regardless. Until I find my keys, I am in panic mode and this flustered feeling tends to last the whole day no matter what. I am completely thrown off my routine and can never quite seem to make it back.
What if you could simply attach a receiver to your keys (or any item that you consistently misplace and causes you anxiety) and when you do misplace them, you simply press a button and voila – follow the beep to your item.
The Mint H from MYNT comes with a sleek base and six receivers that attach to an item. The remote and base are sleek and can fit in to your home decor. They are lightweight and small in size – the remote is similar to a smaller cellphone size wise but much lighter. The six receivers are colour coded to match the remote and are similar to a fob both in size and weight. Once attached to your item, they do not add extra weight to them – especially if you are concerned about the weight being added to your keys. They are very light and you will not notice the difference at all.
Setting up the wireless tracker is easy and quick, it is literally put the batteries in the remote and receivers and attach the receivers and you are ready to go. Almost hard to believe right? But that is it – no need to set up an app or anything else. Once the wireless tracker arrives in the mail, you can have the batteries in and ready to track in under five minutes.
Key features:
clear alarm sound that can be heard up to thirty feet away and up to 90 db
cost-effective – you receive six receivers for the price of one
simple to use for all age groups
easy maintenance – only replace the batteries every couple of months
I loved the ease and simplicity of the set up and even more so the sense of security I received knowing that even if I can’t find my keys in the morning because I didn’t put them in the right place, with the touch of a button I will hear them (and you will hear it!).
In The Hidden Village, whom can you trust? All it takes is one small fatal slip to change the course of all their lives forever.
About The Hidden Village
Deep in the Veluwe woods lies Berkenhout, a purpose-built village of huts sheltering dozens of persecuted people. But the Germans can find no proof of its existence. The whole community pulls together to help the Berkenhout inhabitants adjust to a difficult new life and, above all, stay safe.
Sofie, a Jewish Dutch girl, struggles to adapt to living in Berkenhout, away from her family and friends. As weeks turn to months, she’s worried they’ll abandon her altogether. Young tear away Jan likes to help, but he also enjoys roaming the woods looking for adventure and fallen pilots. His dream comes true, until he is found out. Henk is in charge of building the underground huts and organizing provisions to Berkenhout, but his contact with the Germans arouses suspicions.
Whom can you trust? All it takes is one small fatal slip to change the course of all their lives forever.
My Thoughts
This is a powerful, inspiring, heart breaking audiobook that you can’t stop listening to. It is fiction but is loosely based on the hidden villages in Holland during the war – it was something that I had never learned about and encouraged me to learn more.
Based in WWII, it follows the kindness and bravery of a group of people determine to protect those persecuted from the Germans. They create their own little hidden Village deep in the woods, far from the German’s eyes but not so far that they can live like a normal village. The people take great risks to not only get the individuals to the Village but to get them supplies, food and ensuring that no one else finds out about the group. It is an inspiring story about the bravery and kindness of ordinary people who did everything they could during the war. It had me in tears at times at the unfairness and other times smiling at the ability of the children to still find the good points in their lives. The children take on such a key role during this time both protecting the people and communicating messages, this can also be a downfall due to their innocence and excitement.
The narration in this story is excellent. He manages to somehow capture the innocence and trust of a child – he captures their inability to grasp the complete nature of the seriousness of their situation and how they sometimes only see the unfairness (like when Sofie was mad at her friend for being able to move freely while she was stuck in hiding – she knew it was important to be in hiding but she still felt it was unfair and not right). You felt the urgency in his tone and in the situation when the Germans would come to the homes and it kept you on your seats. He kept the story engaged with his tone and I loved listening to him telling the story.
This was a powerful audiobook – you were constantly on the edge of your seat as the village grows and the uncertainty of their situation increases. You were in constant fear that they would be found and your stomach turns every time they come in contact with a soldier. This is a definite must listen to for both young adults and adults alike.
Imogen Matthews is English and lives in the beautiful University town of Oxford. Before she wrote The Hidden Village, she published two romantic fiction e-novels under her pen name, Alex Johnson. The Hidden Village is published by Amsterdam Publishers, based in the Netherlands.
Imogen has strong connections with the Netherlands. Born in Rijswijk to a Dutch mother and English father, the family moved to England when Imogen was very young.
Every year since 1990, Imogen has been on family holidays to Nunspeet on the edge of the Veluwe woods.
It was here that she discovered the story of the hidden village, and together with her mother’s vivid stories of life in WW2 Holland, she was inspired to write her next novel.
To learn more about the author, please visit her website.
About the Narrator
Liam is an Irish-born voice-artist with over 10 years experience working in every field of the voice industry. His recent varied audiobook work includes the ‘Deception of a Highlander’ series of 3 books, Little Caesar for Audible, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest and Aviation Training. His regular corporate voice-clients include: Shell, BP, HMRC, HSBC, Hilton, Mondelez, Cadburys, Green & Blacks and many more. He has performed many radio-plays, narrations, animations and documentaries; from the Keith Moon biography to most Shakespeare radio-plays.
He is also an Associate Lecturer in Broadcast Voice and ‘Acting for Radio’ at Sheffield Hallam University.
He is a communication skills specialist and examiner for the Royal College of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons, Royal Scottish College of Surgery and as such is highly fluent in complicated medical reads with Latin pronunciations.
He is also a highly acclaimed stage and screen actor. He studied at Lancaster University and then as a classically trained actor at Mountview. He spent his formative years in the Middle-East which has given him an understanding of different accents and cultures and is able to perform many accents to a native standard; including most UK regions, most Irish regions, most of Europe, Australia and North America, (hillbilly, New York, mid-Atlantic, San Francisco, Chicago, etc.) and is also able to create wildly inventive characters. He has lent his voice to some of the zaniest cartoons and animations written, from grumpy old wizards, to heroes, to South-American monkeys and even a sea-horse with a Scottish accent!
He is currently the youngest actor to play the lead role of Prospero in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ in London’s West–End. His recent production of Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh won 4 prestigious Critic’s Choice Awards. He has worked for the most renowned theatre companies; from The Royal Exchange Theatre (2 Manchester theatre award nominations) to most regional theatres throughout the UK, including Alan Aykbourn’s SJT, New Vic, Oldham Coliseum, Donmar, Dukes, Nottingham Playhouse, Theatre by the Lake and many more. He also played Jerry in ‘Hollyoaks’ and appeared alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Hollywood feature film ‘Death Defying Acts’. His wide-ranging experience has also seen him perform Opera in ‘Rigoletto’.
In his spare time Liam is also a musician, playing violin, drums, piano and percussion, and spends time with Peg, his Springer Spaniel, out in the Peak District whenever he can get away from the studio!
Disclosure: I received an audiobook in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Spartan and friends travel to the Kingdom of Bhutan in Book 4 of Spartan and The Green Egg: The Poachers of Tiger Mountain.
About Spartan & The Green Egg: The Poachers of Tiger Mountain
Spartan and friends travel to the Kingdom of Bhutan in Book 4, The Poachers of Tiger Mountain. The travelers arrive at a village hosting a lively archery tournament as part of a Bhutanese festival. They make new friends who invite them to join the feast and watch the performance. Soon the group discovers that poachers have killed off many of the tigers that used to thrive in Bhutan, and now only 2 cubs remain. They face their most challenging mission yet: to save man-eating tigers from armed poachers amidst freezing weather conditions in the Himalayan Mountains! Using a few extraterrestrial tools and assistance from their new Bhutanese friends, the group embarks on a very dangerous mission. Will they arrive too late to save the tigers?
Our Thoughts
This children’s book follows the adventures of Spartan and his friends as they go on adventures and help the environment. This was my first time reading this series so I found it hard to understand a bit about the Green Egg so it would be a good idea to read the books in order. It wasn’t impossible because you quickly realize the Green Egg is similar to a time machine that takes them to the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Here the group of heroes meet a brand new culture, make friends and join in on their celebrations. They soon come to realize that the tigers in this region are quickly becoming extinct due to poachers! A scenario that many of us understand and which is a great teaching opportunity for us as parents with our children. They set out to rescue two tiger cubs and bring them back to a special tiger reserve where they will be safe from humans and cages. The only problem? Not only are there poachers, they have to make friends with the dangerous tiger cubs!
I was pleasantly surprised to see the book format was comic style. It helped to really draw you into the story and I know many kids like and appreciate the extra illustrations and fast pace of this style. I love how she touches on the topic that children can do anything and everything to help protect our animals and environment – while they may not be able to jump in a green egg – they are important members of our community and can make a huge impact. It is so important to empower youth to understand their potential and encourage them to be stewards of our home. We really enjoyed this book and the conversations it started at home.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon. Read more about the series on the Spartan and The Green Egg website.
Rating: 4/5
About the Author
Born in the Mediterranean and raised in Europe, Nabila Khasoggi is the founder of NABILA K, a lifestyle line of luxury skin care, home ambiance and personal products. When her eldest was a toddler, she entertained him with made up stories of a boy who traveled the world in a live green egg that happened to be an alien from another planet. She turned the tales into a children’s graphic novel series, Spartan and the Green Egg, with the intention of introducing children to environmental and cultural themes. Part of the proceeds from the sales goes to The Children for Peace ONLUS, which is based in Italy – this organization helps young people worldwide living in challenging circumstances obtain their essential needs such as food, medical help and education. Nabila currently lives in New York and has two sons.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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