Showing results by author "Carl Sommer" in All Categories

While grownups understand the magnitude of guarding sheep, children may lack an ability to see the bigger picture. Nicholas finds tending his family's sheep to be mind-numbingly boring, which is why he ultimately makes the impulsive decision to cry "Wolf!" To his delight, his alert prompts the townspeople to drop everything and rush to his aid, but when the people discover they have been duped they are livid.

Everyone enjoys a spirited competition, but when the challenger is a big-headed braggart, it's easy to cheer for the underdog - or in this case - the under-tortoise. The colorful characters in this retelling of Aesop's beloved fable will tickle the fancy of any child. The forest animals are beyond tired of Harry Hare's boasting. So what if he is the fastest animal in the forest?

Speckles the spider and Crumbs the cricket think Katy the caterpillar is much too ugly to be their friend. But Annie the ant doesn't agree, and she and Katy become best friends. As Katy the caterpillar begins her strange transformation into a beautiful butterfly, her friend Annie is shocked and amazed. Speckles and Crumbs finally learn the true meaning of beauty and friendship - and caterpillars.

Missing his city cousin, Country Mouse invites him for a visit. However, from the moment he arrives, the flamboyant and arrogant City Mouse shows contempt for his less-privileged cousin by incessantly bragging about his home and good fortune. In fact, he won't even consider spending the night and convinces Country Mouse to return with him for a visit in the city. His cousin cheerfully accepts, but what follows illustrates the significance of a simpler, safer life.

Excessive fondness for elaborate and expensive clothing allows a pair of dodgy tailors to hoodwink the emperor. Weaving a grandiose tale instead of actual clothing, the tailors tell the emperor that their exquisite garments, woven with the finest of materials, are invisible to less worthy individuals. Reluctant to admit possible imperfections, no one in the town is willing to be honest, with the exception of one small boy.

Trapped high on a mountain by deep snow, hungry townspeople wait desperately for one of the three big trains to bring them food, but they all refuse to go up the mountain. Seeing the desperate situation, The Little Red Train and a family of brave helpers decide to go up the mountain in spite of the ridicule from the big trains. The Little Red Train and it helpers overcome severe obstacles and save the people from starvation.

Sometimes there is danger in being too friendly; as is the case with kind-hearted Little Red Riding Hood in this loveable rendition of a Brothers Grimm classic. Distracted by the Big Bad Wolf with a bouquet of lovely flowers, the kind-hearted little girl forgets her mother's instructions and strays from the path on the way to Grandmother's house. Little does she know, the crafty wolf has devised a wicked plan to arrive at her house first. Will Grandmother meet an unfortunate end?

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" When a storm separates a young eagle from his family, he takes up residence with a group of chickens. Poking fun at his crooked beak, the way he flaps his wings, and his white feathered head, the eagle is ashamed and embarrassed. Soon, he discovers even more differences. Unlike the frightened chickens, he does not fear the sly fox. While the chickens are happy to live on the ground, he yearns to fly.

About to be devoured by the fearsome King of the Forest, Bitsy the Mouse manages to convince Leo the Lion to let her go in exchange for future assistance. While Leo cannot conceive of any way that a tiny mouse could help him, he does admire Bitsy's pluck and releases her. What he later discovers is that big help can indeed come in small packages. Through Bitsy, Leo also realizes the importance of keeping your word.

In a village full of selfish inhabitants, the idea that making stone soup would bring them all together might be hard to swallow...literally! With a few stones as the initial ingredients, three famished soldiers cleverly convince the villagers to contribute all of the items needed for a delicious pot of soup. In this spirited adaptation of the beloved folktale, preparing a simple pot of soup teaches the villagers that sharing brings happiness and celebration.

While a little fun is essential for a happy life, wise individuals know that prosperity begins with hard work. Gary and the other grasshoppers want to play all day, and they cannot understand why the ants work so hard and miss all the fun. Alex and the ants know they must work during the spring to have food for the winter. Sure enough, when winter arrives early, the lazy grasshoppers have nothing to eat. Passage of a new law that requires the ants to share their food with the grasshoppers transforms the whole community into a fun-loving crowd.

Witnessing the deterioration of her inner-city neighborhood, Stephanie decides to "light her candle" to help clean up the trash and stop the violence. After convincing her two friends to do as much good as they can for one week, Stephanie and her friends, with the help of parents, end up transforming their inner-city school and the whole city from a place of violence and deterioration to a model of order and cleanliness.

Los tres cerditos fueron advertidos por sus padres para que construyan casas fuertes. Hardy construyó una casa fuerte, pero Dozey y Pokey construyeron casas destartaladas. Después de escaparse por poco del lobo, Dozey y Pokey tienen un dramático cambio de opinión.

Believing in a foolish superstition, Chicken Little is convinced that the sky is falling. In her distress, she convinces a number of other animal friends that this is indeed the case. One after another, the animals join Chicken Little, soon forming a frantic pack. Fortunately, Chippy Chipmunk steps in with wise intervention. What follows confirms the importance of critical thinking and the possible dangers of gullibility.

Missy the mouse has a very big problem - she's dissatisfied with who she is and what she looks like. Even worse, Horace the cat is constantly chasing her, and she can't do anything about it! One day, while being chased by Horace, Missy wishes herself into becoming a big cat. Her wish comes true, and she chases Horace. Missy is delighted that she is now the biggest and most beautiful cat in the whole world. But she quickly discovers that cats have serious problems with dogs.

Christopher has great dreams of becoming an inventor, but he dislikes anything requiring work. When he discovers that his neighbor Dr. Finkle has invented a time remote, Christopher uses it to avoid schoolwork, wholesome food, and jobs he doesn't like. The time remote sends him quickly through a life of avoiding problems, right into old age. Christopher finally realizes the misery of an easy life. Discovering a hidden button on his discarded remote, he fortunately gets a chance to start his life over.

Tombo the tadpole thinks he is the king of the pond. He brags that he is the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest tadpole and teases and chases all the other tadpoles. However, while Tombo is showing off doing a triple flip, a boy catches him. The boy puts him into a fish tank and gives him fish flakes to eat, a food Tombo despises. When Tombo turns into a frog, the boy releases him back into his pond. Then Tombo discovers that he is no longer the biggest and fastest, but he does learn the value of friendship.

Randy was a poor young boy. Everything he had was old. His rich neighbor Mike had a new bike and new toys, and he constantly teased Randy. Randy wished he was rich so he could buy everything new. He was warned by those around him that riches alone don't bring happiness, but Randy never listened. To Randy's great delight, his wish came true! Everything he touched turned into gold - even his beloved dog. As he held his lifeless gold dog, he realized he was now the most miserable kid in the whole world. Remembering he had one more wish, he used it to have things return as before.

While Little Red Hen works to grow her wheat, the dog, the cat, and the duck are full of excuses not to help. With each step, Little Red Hen offers to share the wheat in exchange for assistance, but the fair-weather friends always have more pleasant things to do. Will this affect their chances for a delicious slice of bread?

As a wee bear, Teddy was a very smiley fellow, but now that he is older, his smile is nowhere to be found. Frustrated and bewildered, Teddy tries to find joy through new toys and fun activities. However, for toys and activities to be fun, one needs to be happy, and Teddy is anything but. In fact, the more he tries to make himself happy, the grumpier Teddy gets.