Scholatic has released a delightful new DVD, Stellaluna
Stellaluna is a fruit bat who gets separated from her mother when an owl attacks them one night in mid-flight. A kind mother bird adopts her – as long as she will act like a bird and not a bat – and she tries to fit in, but she wants to fly at night when the mother bird and her three baby birds, Pip, Flitter, and Flap, are ready to go to sleep.
Stellaluna doesn’t like to eat bugs like the birds do, much to the relief of a jumping spider that she meets one evening. She soon learns that is always best to be yourself in this charming film adaptation of the book. And maybe it isn’t so bad that Stellaluna had an opportunity to “be” a bird for a while – she ends up with some new, unexpected friends.
There are two songs, "Upside Down," sung by Stellaluna about how she is not very good at being a bird, and "Make It Over," sung by a parrot and toucan she meets one night when she gets lost in the forest. The movie is 41 minutes long, on one disc. Extras include an on-screen read-along and sing-along features, and scene selection. The DVD also includes an activity booklet that includes a word find, maze, and coloring pages.
Kids and parents will both enjoy the gentle lessons about individuality embedded into the sweet story and colorful animations. They will also be happy to see the little fruit bat get reunited with her mother – and introduce her new bird siblings. Stellaluna is a nice little movie that children will want to view again and again.
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