Dr. Donna's Review

“Postman Pat: Ice Capades” and “Super Why: Attack of the Eraser and The Big Game”
Themes and Other Things

Stories from two popular characters make up this month’s Kidtoon feature.  The first is a story about Postman Pat and his friends in the community of Greendale.  Next, are two stories about dventures of the Super Why Super eaders in StorybookVillage.  Both will appeal to both boys and girls in the three to six year age group and to many of their older siblings. The storylines are simple enough for young children to follow but rich enough to engage the older age groups. 

In “Ice Capades,” Postman Pat and his friends deal with two themes that have relevance to young children. 

The first is about offering help to a neighbor.  A big storm hits Greendale causing everything to freeze up and schools to be closed.  RJ can’t get the Greendale Rocket to move because the pipes are frozen.  Postman Pat offers to help as soon as he finishes a few deliveries.  When Pat discovers that Ted Glen, the local handyman, has invented an automatic de-icing machine, he brings Ted and the machine to the station and they help RJ unfreeze the pipes and get the Rocket moving again. 

The second is about trying something new.  The car park is frozen over creating a skating rink for the children.  Meera discovers that she is a very good skater and she wants to find a partner so she can put on an Ice Capades show.  After asking everyone, she turns to Postman Pat.  He has never done anything like this before.  At first he is reluctant to be Meera’s skating partner but finally he agrees.  Meera and Pat delight everyone as they skate round the car park in a beautiful ice dance.

In the two stories from “Super Why,” children are given many opportunities to explore the critical skills that contribute to growing literacy and to deal with some of the basic social skills that are required by their age group.  Watching “Super Why” with children gives parents the opportunity to play word games with children and show them that reading can be both fun and useful.

Talking points

• Story recall:  Help children recall the basic plot line and main points of the story:  Helping children with story recall is an important aspect of developing their reading comprehension.  Simply offer a few leading questions such as “What did Postman Pat see when he set off on his usual mail delivery route in this story?” Then help children proceed through the storyline by asking “And then what happened?  What happened next?”  Follow a similar procedure for the stories from “Super Why.”
• Participate in opportunities for interactivity:  There are many opportunities for interactivity between the characters and the audience in “Super Why.”  Engage in these opportunities along with the children.  When they see and hear you shouting out the answers and filling in the missing letters, they learn that learning can be fun and can be shared.
• Cultural diversity:  Both “Postman Pat” and “Super Why” present examples of cultural diversity.  You might want to point this out and talk with children about all the different people who make up communities.
• Thinking about time and place:  “Postman Pat” and the “Super Why” stories take place in very different setting and in very different time periods.  Bring this to the child’s attention. Talk about how these differences can be recognized.  For example, the accents and the clothing in “Postman Pat” are quite different from those in “Super Why.”  This conversation could lead you to a globe to point out where England is located compared to the United States. Additionally, note that the children in “Super Why” use a wide variety of electronic devices such as hand-held and desk-top computers.  There are no such devices in “Postman Pat.” Have children speculate on why this is true.  Imagine what it would be like to live in the village of Greendale compared to Storybook Village.

Activity ideas

Have children draw pictures of their favorite character from any one of the stories. Write the name of the character on the picture. Post it for everyone to see.

Help children make up a story in which they meet Postman Pat.  Help them decide what would happen in their story.  What other characters would be in the story?  Write out the story in booklet form so the child can illustrate it.

To help children develop their literacy skills, check out the many activity suggestions on the Super Why website.  You’ll find it by going to www.pbskids.org and going to the “Super Why” page.

Book suggestions: These books are recommended to encourage you to read to and with children about the themes from the movie.

Rhyming and word play:
“The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat” by Nurit Karlin
“A House is a House for Me” by Mary Ann Hoberman

Communities and Jobs:
“Busy, Busy Town”
           and
“What do People Do All Day” by Richard Scarry

Friends:
“George & Martha” by James Marshall

“My Friend Rabble” by Eric Rohmann

Wordless books (make up your own story)
“The Snowman” by Raymond Briggs