wishbone review

article first published as dvd review: wishbone on blogcritics

the other day at the thrift store, i picked out a couple classic books for my daughter's reading pleasure. she was less than pleased with my choices, even though i assured her i had read them myself and thoroughly enjoyed them.

"i hate to say this, mom, but it's hard not to choose a book based on the cover, and these books don't look like they would be interesting."


this is why i appreciate the show, wishbone. if ever anyone could get my kids interested in books that are timeless classics without their "up-to-the-minute" illustrations, it is wishbone the dog.
in the series, wishbone, a spunky jack russell terrier, imagines himself in the leading role of various classic tales. each of his escapades mirrors his experience in "real-life" with his owner, joe, and teaches valuable lessons about relating well to others.

in this dvd, wishbone imagines himself as robin hood as he and his merry men take from the rich to give to the poor in "paw prints of thieves." wishbone, as jules verne's professor liedenbrock, battles scary sea monsters in "hot diggety dawg." he tries to live "the impawssible dream" as don quixote and rescues a fair maiden as the "hunchdog of notre dame."

anything i can use to expose my kids to great literature is valuable to me.  the fact that these shows make the books seem attractive and interesting is a big plus to me. i also appreciate that they are filmed with real people (and a dog) instead of as a cartoon.  i get tired of the "same old, same old" all the time; wishbone offers my kids something completely different than what they usually watch.

the age target for this show is two to five, but i think i would set it even higher. my eight-year-old loves to watch this show, while my three-year-old can't really follow the plotline as well.
overall, i think this provides viewing pleasure for the whole family, kids and (nostalgic) adults alike.