Glenn Perrett

DVDs!

Out of Africa (E1 Entertainment, rated PG)

Fans of Coronation Street will be interested in the movie Out of Africa which sees the Battersbys in Africa trying to win a contest, and collect the $500,000 prize. Selfish Cilla Battersby (Wendi Peters) convinces her children Chesney (Sam Aston) and Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) to join her and her new boyfriend who is posing as her husband "Les" (Momelezi V. Ntshiba) in Africa where they unknowingly, at least in the beginning, become part of her scam to win a competition. Joining Chesney and Fiz, and acting as one of Cilla's children, is Kirk (Andrew Whyment).

Will things finally end up on a positive note or will there be catastrophic consequences as a result of Cilla's latest scam?

Travel with the Battersbys from Coronation Street to Sun City, Africa for this fun movie Corrie fans will enjoy.

Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em Hockey 21 (Warner Home Video, rated PG)

For 21 years Don Cherry has been putting together huge hits, great goals, superlative saves along with some lighter moments and some fights from the most recent season of the NHL. If you like a good hockey highlight reel then you'll enjoy Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em 21. Also featured on the entertaining DVD are the Stanley Cup playoffs, Coach's Corner and, of course, Don Cherry's eye-catching, imaginative wardrobe!

Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em Hockey 21...it's a beauty!

The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated PG)

The Fugitive was an adventure series on ABC that was on television from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen starred as Dr. Richard Kimble, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. While being transported to prison, Kimble is able to escape. While on the loose Kimble tries his best to avoid authorities, most notably Lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) while trying to find the one-armed man whom he had seen running from his house the night that his wife was murdered.

The 4-disc set (almost 13 hours) contains the first 15 season three episodes. Guest stars in these episodes include:James Doohan, Marion Ross, Ed Asner, DeForest Kelley, Suzanne Pleshette, Clint Howard, William Shatner and Norman Fell.

Historical Atlas & Family Histories

Historical Atlas of Toronto
Derek Hayes
Douglas & McIntyre
2009, 192 pages
ISBN: 9781553654971

Residents of Toronto, those who have lived in this city and those interested in history are some who will enjoy perusing the more than 300 maps in the Historical Atlas of Toronto. The maps and informative text provide an entertaining look at Toronto's "evolution from a Native village to a French trading fort to York, the capital of Upper Canada, and finally to Toronto, Canada's largest and most diverse metropolis." And the illustrations and photographs are good too! Some of the topics covered include: the Canadian National Exhibition, airports, suburbia, Canada's first subway, expressways, Toronto's changing harbour and the reclamation of Ashbridge's Bay.

The Historical Atlas of Toronto is a nice visual history of Toronto which would make a nice gift for Toronto fans.

Tracing Your Scottish Family History
Anthony Adolph
Firefly Books Ltd.
2009, 224 pages
ISBN: 9781554074570

Tracing Your Irish Family History
Anthony Adolph
Firefly Books Ltd.
2009, 224 pages
ISBN: 9781554074587

Learning about your family's past is important - and very popular. Filled with lots of interesting photographs and illustrations, Tracing Your Scottish Family History covers considerable areas to help you trace your Scottish roots including: starting your family tree; archives and organizations; general registration; censuses; church registers; testaments, deeds and other records; clans and tartans; emigration; genetic evidence and the origins of Scotland's people.

Tracing Your Scottish Family History is a good guide and research tool for tracing your Scottish family tree.

If your background is Irish there is another good book - Tracing Your Irish Family History. This book is filled with lots of good information on learning about your Irish ancestry.

The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region
Wayne Grady
GreyStone Books
2007, 351 pages
ISBN: 9781553651970

I grew up in Sarnia, Ontario near Lake Huron. I've been going to my parents' cottage on Georgian Bay for the last four decades. The Great Lakes are incredibly beautiful and Wayne Grady's book The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region takes an informative look at the Great Lakes watershed including its forests and the species that live here. Grady's interesting look at these phenomenal lakes that provide much of the planet's freshwater is complemented by maps, illustrations and colour photographs.

Christmas On Blu-ray!

Recently I watched two Christmas classics on Blu-ray Disc - A Charlie Brown Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street. For those of you with a Blu-ray player, here's to a Blu Christmas!

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Warner Home Video, rated G, 2 discs)

A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favourite holiday shows to watch each year and it was nice to watch on Blu-ray Disc. Released in 1965 and featuring Charles M. Schulz's wonderful Peanuts characters, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a funny, heartwarming look at how Christmas has become commercial,  how the commercialism affects Charlie Brown and how his friends cheer him up. Linus' touching speech about the true meaning of Christmas is a highlight in this entertaining Christmas special as is the music of Vince Guaraldi.

Also featured is the special It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown which was originally released in 1992. Holiday preparations include the Peanuts gang appearing in a Christmas Pageant and Charlie Brown selling wreaths to earn some money.

Two Peanuts Christmas specials and the featurette "A Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas" in this collection! And, if you don't have a Blu-ray player yet, but plan to get one, this 2-disc set includes a DVD version too! "Christmastime is here. Happiness and cheer...."

Miracle On 34th Street (Fox Home Entertainment, rated G)

Another movie our family watches every year is Miracle On 34th Street - the original movie released in 1947, not the remake done in 1994. Winner of three Oscars, this timeless classic features a kind, old man who works as a Santa Claus at Macy's department store. The man professes to be Kris Kringle and he does bring joy and Christmas spirit to those he meets including a woman and her daughter who don't believe in Christmas much let alone Santa Claus. When Mr. Kringle is declared insane and put on trial, he relies on his roommate, a lawyer, to prove to the world that he is indeed Santa Claus.

Besides a great plot, this film features a phenomenal cast which includes: Maureen O'Hara (Doris Walker), John Payne (Fred Gailey), Edmund Gwenn (Kris Kringle), Gene Lockhart (Judge Henry X. Harper), Natalie Wood (Susan Walker), Jerome Cowan (District Attorney Thomas Mara), William Frawley (Charlie Halloran), Porter Hall (Granville Sawyer) and Philip Tonge (Julian Shellhammer).

Special features include audio commentary by Maureen O'Hara and a featurette - "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Floating in History."

Miracle On 34th Street (Fox Home Entertainment, rated G)

For those who prefer the 1994 "modern update" of the original movie (and, how could you?!), the Miracle on 34th Street version with Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott and Mara Wilson is also available on Blu-ray Disc. This remake is nice, but you can't improve on a classic. However, for those who enjoy holiday movies, this version makes a decent addition to a Christmas collection.

Christmas Books for All Ages

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas
Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills, illustrated by Wilson Swain
Chronicle Books
2009, 40 pages
ISBN: 9780811861113
ages 6+

After breaking his sister's nutcracker on Christmas Eve, Fritz has his video game taken away. It's beginning to look like Fritz is in for an uneventful Christmas Eve. But strange things happen making this Christmas Eve one incredible adventure for Fritz. Based on the hit musical A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas, this entertaining book includes a CD of songs from the musical.

A Christmas to Remember: Tales of Comfort and Joy
Scholastic Canada Ltd.
2009, 241 pages
ISBN: 9780545990035
ages 9+

Written as diaries, A Christmas to Remember: Tales of Comfort and Joy features eleven Christmas stories from the "Dear Canada" series. In "Untangling Christmas" a young girl in Toronto is asked to keep a record of her baby brother's first Christmas in 1920. Other festive stories occur across Canada providing the reader with not only holiday entertainment, but a glimpse into our history as well.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, illustrated by Liz Murphy
Blue Apple Books
2009, 31 pages
ISBN: 9781934706855
all ages

A little holiday book that would make a nice gift (it even has a "To" and "From" page at the beginning) is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The book contains the lyrics to the popular song with illustrations of a dog celebrating the holidays. Also included is a CD of Bernadette Peters singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the book supports the "Broadway Barks" program which promotes the adoption of animals from shelters.

Christmas Remembered
Tomie dePaola
Puffin Books
2006, 88 pages
ISBN: 9780142414811

Artist and author Tomie dePaola describes many of his Christmases living in Connecticut, New York, Vermont, California and New Hampshire. Beginning with a 1937 Christmas and remembering this special time of year over six decades, dePaola shares his wonderful memories in this entertaining holiday memoir.

Christmas Books

On This Special Night
Claire Freedman and Simon Mendez
Scholastic Press
2009, 26 pages
ISBN: 9780545104869
ages 4+

Mother Cat and her Little Kitten are visited in their barn by several animals. Donkey asks for some water. Lamb needs some rest. Three mice need warmth as their paws are frozen. Calf needs some food and eats some fresh hay. All the animals are passing through on their way to see something that is going to happen on this special night. Mother Cat and Little Kitten follow their new friends to a stable where they see a baby.

On This Special Night is a charming book with beautiful illustrations.

Merry Christmas: A Canadian Keepsake Collection
Scholastic Canada Ltd.
2009, 172 pages
ISBN: 9780545986670
ages 6+

Merry Christmas: A Canadian Keepsake Collection contains five nice Christmas stories for children: The Little Crooked Christmas Tree, Sadie the Ballerina, Moon and Star, One Special Tree and Woodland Christmas: Twelve Days of Christmas in the North Woods.

The festive stories include a Christmas tree who saves a family of doves, a little girl who wants to be a ballerina, a dog's love for a porcelain cat, a family chooses the least attractive tree for their Christmas tree and the twelve days of Christmas featuring wild animals.

This is a nice collection of Christmas stories that children of all ages will enjoy for years to come.

Christmas Love: A True Story of a Holiday Miracle
Candy Chand, illustrations by Julie Olson
Gibbs Smith
2008, 32 pages
ISBN: 9781423602767
ages 8+

Christmas Love: A True Story of a Holiday Miracle is an inspirational story about the true meaning of Christmas. A young girl in a school "Winter Pageant" creates a stir when she accidentally moves out of place and holds the letter "M" in "Christmas Love" upside down. As children laughed at the little girl's mistake, the real reason why Christmas is celebrated was evident.

Christmas Love is a nice story with an important message.

Here's To A Green Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, it is also an incredibly polluting time where pollution increases significantly. Learning about the problem and taking action to reduce our festive footprints is vital.

Santa Claus is Green! How to Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas
Alison Inches, illustrated by Wednesday Kirwan
Little Simon
2009, 24 pages
ISBN: 9781416972235
ages 4+

Santa Claus is Green! How to Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas sees a boy, Billy, write Santa Claus the day after Christmas informing him of how Christmas is creating considerable trash. Santa springs into action and thinks about how he can green up Christmas with gifts, decorations and saving energy. Santa even informs children how they can have a green Christmas and an eco-friendly new year. The book comes with more than "20 recycled stickers!" The book itself is made from 100% postconsumer waste recycled paper.

A Greener Christmas
Sheherazade Goldsmith (editor-in-chief)
Dorling Kindersley
2008, 352 pages
ISBN: 9780756636937

Christmas celebrations create a phenomenal amount of trash. According to Sheherazade Goldsmith in A Greener Christmas, "Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are now widely recognized as the two most polluting days of the year: the equivalent of three weeks of carbon dioxide emissions and three billion tons of extra garbage are generated worldwide over this short period."

A Greener Christmas contains lots of ways of how we can minimize our festive footprint by choosing, whenever possible, products that are organic, locally produced, biodegradable and fairly traded. Recycling items is also important. Divided into sections on such things as the "Christmas Tree", "Giving" and "Food" lots of ways to achieve a greener Christmas are discussed.

Two Kids' Christmas Books

Reading Christmas books with your children is a lot of fun. Here are two holiday books for young children.

Stick Man
Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Arthur A. Levine Books
2008 (first American edition 2009)
ISBN: 9780545157612
ages 3+

Stick Man is an entertaining Christmas story for young children which sees Stick Man, who lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their three stick children, become separated from his family while out for a jog. First he is grabbed by a dog who wants to play fetch. Next, he is dropped into a river by a girl. A swan uses Stick Man for her nest. Stick Man also sees duty as the mast for a flag on a sand castle, a sword for a knight, as a pen, bow, bat and boomerang. Even an arm for a snowman. Finally he is put in a grate for a future fire. Fortunately, he is rescued when Santa falls down the chimney. Stick Man helps Santa deliver gifts before Santa returns him home to his family.

When I read this entertaining story I didn't know it was a Christmas book and was surprised when Santa landed on Stick Man and then returned him to his family. A nice story with a surprise ending.

Christmas is...
Illustrated by Karen Sapp
HarperCollins Children's Books
2009, 24 pages
ISBN: 9780007303755
ages 0+

Christmas is... is a simple, fun book for young children that looks at some things that are part of Christmas including bringing joy to others, visiting friends and relatives, singing, relaxing, partying and decorating. Young children will enjoy the colourful illustrations.

Festive Family Flicks!

Watching holiday movies that the whole family can watch and enjoy is a great way to spend an evening as Christmas approaches. These entertaining films from Gaiam are all rated G.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is a heartwarming film about a single mom, Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) and her son Brian (Connor Christopher Levins) who could use some help at Christmas. Jennifer is dating someone who is shallow and she doesn't particularly like Christmas. Her son isn't sure if he believes in Santa Claus any more.

Fortunately, Jennifer's Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) is coming for a visit and he brings with him Morgan Derby (Warren Christie), a man he meets at the airport who is on the same flight. With his connecting flight cancelled due to the weather, Morgan is invited by Ralph to spend a day or two at his niece's.

This chance meeting and friendship that develops results in a variety of good things happening making this Christmas a special one.

The Christmas Choir

Peter Andrews (Jason Gedrick) is a workaholic accountant who has put several things on hold including his friends, fiance and Christmas. His life takes a turn for the better when he has a chance encounter with Bob (Tyrone Benskin), a homeless man. As a result of the meeting, Peter, with the help of Sister Agatha (Rhea Perlman), starts a choir at a homeless shelter which brings about many good things.

The Christmas Choir is a film of hope with an important message - and it's based on a true story.

Moonlight & Mistletoe

Tom Arnold stars as Nick, the owner of Santaville - a year-round Christmas theme park. Unfortunately, Santaville has fallen on hard times and Nick may lose his cherished theme park. Fortunately, Holly (Candace Cameron Bure), his estranged daughter, has returned home and is prepared to help her father fight for Santaville - and Christmas! Good family viewing.

A Blog a Day?

With Christmas not far off I thought I'd attempt to write a blog a day to let you know some of the latest books, DVDs and CDs that are available. Reading a good Christmas book with your children is a great way to spend time during that exciting time in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas. There are lots of good holiday kids' books and I'll feature many here.

Having a family movie night is another fun way to spend the holiday season and will generate cherished memories. Whether you're watching the classics such as It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street or some of the newer ones such as Fred Claus or The Polar Express these too will be on this blog. Several older movies are now available on Blu-ray.

Of course you can't forget the wonderful animated Christmas specials such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas - and there are some new ones out this year too!

I always try to read a Christmas novel or two and there are some very good, just published, holiday books to check out.

And what would the holidays be without festive tunes? Some classic CDs from the likes of Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald have been reissued along with some new releases - including some music for children.

The latest books, music, movies and TV shows will also be covered. While these items aren't cheap, they aren't as expensive as many products commonly purchased as gifts. With the economy still not overly healthy, giving someone a nice book, CD, movie or a season of their favourite television show can make an excellent Christmas present.

Because a healthy environment is vital, I'll also include some green products - some of which will be good to give as gifts. This is when a "Green Christmas" can be a good thing.

So check back often, I'm attempting a blog a day until Christmas!

To get you started I've included a few items in this blog. Thanks for reading and enjoy the season!

Diary 2010: Photographs by Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Frances Lincoln Limited
2009
ISBN: 9780711221987

People who keep a diary will like Diary 2010: Photography by Linda McCartney. The diary features beautiful photographs of such things as horses grazing in Scotland, landscapes in places such as Sussex, East Hampton and Arizona along with various animals. The calendar also contains lots of room to make daily notes and observations along with an introduction by Paul McCartney.

Diary 2010: Photographs by Linda McCartney is a practical diary that would make a nice gift.

Mommy & Daddy Hugs & Kisses
Anne Gutman & Georg Hallensleben
Chronicle Books
2009, 4 books
ISBN: 9780811870559
ages 0 to 4

This collection contains four books: Mommy Hugs, Daddy Kisses, Mommy Loves and Daddy Cuddles. The books show how mommy and daddy animals look after, and love, their children. There is even a place on the front and the back of the box that holds the books where photographs can be placed.

A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel
Charles Dickens
Classical Comics Ltd.
2008, 159 pages
ISBN: 9781906332174
ages 9+

Children enjoy Dickens' A Christmas Carol and they like comics so they will like A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel which combines the two. The graphics in the book are very good so even children who don't like to read will have fun reading Dickens' classic Christmas story.

At the end of the book there is information on Charles Dickens as well as the Victorian era and a Victorian Christmas.

Ally McBeal: The Complete First Season

I enjoyed watching Ally McBeal which was on for five years from 1997 to 2002. This series featured Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal a somewhat eccentric 28-year-old lawyer working for a Boston law firm. The first season is finally available and contains all 23 season one episodes. Besides Calista Flockhart, others in the cast include: Courtney Thorne-Smith (Georgia Thomas), Greg Germann (Richard Fish), Gil Bellows (Billy Thomas), Peter MacNicol (John Cage), Jane Krakowski (Elaine Vassal), Lisa Nicole Carson (Renee Raddick) and Vonda Shepard. Guest appearances and recurring roles include Brenda Vaccaro, Dyan Cannon, Tracey Ullman and Eric Cohen and Steve Cohen as the Dancing Twins. Phil Leeds is very good as Judge Dennis "Happy" Boyle.

Season one introduces you to all of the zany characters in the show - and most of them are. From the bizarre Ally to the various weird things her boss John Cage does to the money hungry Richard Fish, the dancing baby hallucinated by Ally, the Dancing Twins and Judge Boyle who asks to see lawyers' teeth as he believes mouth hygiene is very important. Even the special effects are weird - and very funny.

Besides getting to know the characters of the show and seeing some interesting cases, there is the ongoing relationship between Ally and Billy Thomas (Gil Bellows) who is a former boyfriend who now works with Ally. Making matters more complicated is that Billy's wife (Courtney Thorne-Smith) has come to work for the Cage & Fish law firm.

Join the wacky lawyers on Ally McBeal for some laughs (and good music with Vonda Shepherd) as all 23 season one episodes are now available in 6 discs in Ally McBeal: The Complete First Season. I'm certainly enjoying the entertaining and creative episodes.

Important Books - Lest We Forget

Dieppe:Canada's Darkest Day of World War II
Hugh Brewster
Scholastic Canada Ltd.
2009, 48 pages
ISBN: 9780545994200
ages 9+

Learning about, and remembering, Canada's history in times of war, and peace, is important. So many Canadians have given so much to ensure that the world is a better place. This needs to be taught, remembered and reflected upon.

A very good book that provides a glimpse into the horrific battle at Dieppe in World War II and the roles that brave Canadians played is Dieppe: Canada's Darkest Day of World War II by Hugh Brewster. Brewster, who also wrote On Juno Beach and At Vimy Ridge, is a historian whose informative books educate readers about Canadian soldiers and their important roles and contributions.

Lots of photographs with informative captions complement the text. Brewster's description of the almost 1,000 Canadians who were killed at Dieppe along with his accounts of how the close to 2,000 more held as prisoners lived in captivity is an important read for all Canadians.

Truce
Jim Murphy
Scholastic Press
2009, 116 pages
ISBN: 9780545130493
ages 12+

Truce is the interesting, heartwarming and, at times, sad account of the First World War and a miraculous Christmas truce that saw Germans, French, English and Belgian soldiers put aside their fighting and celebrate Christmas with their "enemies."

During the war, rising casualty rates and a closeness to the enemy resulted in opposing soldiers building trenches in close proximity to one another as the soldiers lived in the "narrow, zigzagging dirt enclosures four feet wide and six or seven feet deep."

"Here two parallel trenches - one held by the Germans, the other by the French, English, and Belgians - from fifty to one thousand yards apart stretched from the North Sea coast all the way to the Swiss border, a total of over 475 miles. In between was a ravaged wasteland crisscrossed by tangles of razor-sharp barbed wire and appropriately nicknamed No Man's Land."

Besides the enemy, illness and disease killed many soldiers as conditions in the trenches were brutal and unsanitary. Jim Murphy states that between 1914 and 1918 "over 6,200,000 men would die in the trenches on the Western Front alone. More than half of them - 3,528,000 - died from one disease or another."

As the Christmas of 1914 approached, opposing soldiers who weren't far apart began sharing comments and even songs. On Christmas Eve soldiers on both sides sang carols. In some places of No Man's Land soldiers from both sides met and exchanged items such as food and talked to one another. Christmas day saw similar friendly meetings between soldiers on both sides. A truce had occurred along the Western Front where gifts and souvenirs were exchanged after the dead were buried. A miraculous Christmas truce where opposing soldiers got to know their opponents a little occurred replacing the brutalities of war - at least for a while.

Truce is an exceptional read complemented by excellent photographs (many from the author's collection) and illustrations.