Editorial Product Review: :There are two types of Schoolhouse Rock fans. Type A: those who--inspired in the '70s and '80s by 'Conjunction Junction' and 'Interjections!'--went on to become grammar gurus, copyeditors, and computational linguists. And type B: those who--less inspired by grammar than by catchy refrains--can still sing lines that today sound less than P.C.: Though Geraldine played hard to get (uh huh), Geraldo knew he'd woo her yet. He showed his affection, Despite her objection, And Geraldine hollered some interjections! (Geraldo, ...
Editorial Product Review: :From 1973 to 1985, a generation of kids watching Saturday morning television learned the function of conjunctions and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution with the help of an animated series called Schoolhouse Rock! The brainchild of executives at McCaffrey and McCall Advertising, the three-minute segments combined whimsical cartoons with catchy music (rock was only one of the styles) to help kids learn seemingly dry topics as easily as they could learn popular songs. Multiplication Rock tackles the multiplication ...
Editorial Product Review: :Once upon a time kids learned many of their school lessons in the three-minute episodes of Schoolhouse Rock. These educational cartoons came on during the commercial breaks of the less-than-edifying Saturday morning fare in the 1970s, and despite their healthy content, kids stayed glued to the screen to sing along to the somewhat psychedelic cartoons. Countless children hummed their way through social studies. The Preamble to the Constitution is much easier to remember when it's set to music. And ...
Editorial Product Review: :Science is an important but complex subject that often seems overwhelming to kids. Science Rock takes a nontraditional approach to this subject, entertaining kids with upbeat music that features lyrics absolutely packed with information. Simple, accurate descriptions of the human body's digestive, circulatory, central nervous, and skeletal systems, along with explanations of energy sources, the solar system, and gravity provide the thematic material for eight rock- and blues-inspired songs that kids find immediately appealing. Especially effective are the description ...
Editorial Product Review: :Admit it: if it weren't for Schoolhouse Rock, you probably couldn't recite the preamble to the Constitution, and you might be fuzzy on the function of conjunctions, too. All the more reason to cue up the 30th-anniversary video, which culls 25 fan-selected favorites ('I'm Just a Bill,' 'My Hero Zero') plus a new, informative and wacky Electoral College number. The countdown, kind of like Casey Kasem's of the same era, reaches out to old-school Schoolhouse Rockers with instant recognizability ...
Editorial Product Review: :The world of finance bewilders many adults, so it's not surprising that kids often find it incomprehensible. Money Rock tackles subjects like budgeting, taxes, interest, and the stock market with simple definitions, fun animation, and lots of catchy music. The country-inspired 'Dollars and Sense' explores the concept of interest with respect to saving and borrowing, '$7.50 Once a Week' teaches money management, and the bluesy 'Where the Money Goes' covers living expenses and how to control them. A vaudeville ...
Editorial Product Review: :From 1973 to 1985, a generation of kids watching Saturday morning television learned the function of conjunctions and the preamble to the U.S. Constitution with the help of an animated series called Schoolhouse Rock! The brainchild of executives at McCaffrey and McCall Advertising, the three-minute segments combined whimsical cartoons with catchy music (rock was only one of the styles) to help kids learn seemingly dry topics as easily as they could learn popular songs. Multiplication Rock tackles the multiplication ...
Editorial Product Review: :There are two types of Schoolhouse Rock fans. Type A: those who--inspired in the '70s and '80s by 'Conjunction Junction' and 'Interjections!'--went on to become grammar gurus, copyeditors, and computational linguists. And type B: those who--less inspired by grammar than by catchy refrains--can still sing lines that today sound less than P.C.: Though Geraldine played hard to get (uh huh), Geraldo knew he'd woo her yet. He showed his affection, Despite her objection, And Geraldine hollered some interjections! (Geraldo, ...
Editorial Product Review: :Once upon a time kids learned many of their school lessons in the three-minute episodes of Schoolhouse Rock. These educational cartoons came on during the commercial breaks of the less-than-edifying Saturday morning fare in the 1970s, and despite their healthy content, kids stayed glued to the screen to sing along to the somewhat psychedelic cartoons. Countless children hummed their way through social studies. The Preamble to the Constitution is much easier to remember when it's set to music. And ...
Editorial Product Review: :Science is an important but complex subject that often seems overwhelming to kids. Science Rock takes a nontraditional approach to this subject, entertaining kids with upbeat music that features lyrics absolutely packed with information. Simple, accurate descriptions of the human body's digestive, circulatory, central nervous, and skeletal systems, along with explanations of energy sources, the solar system, and gravity provide the thematic material for eight rock- and blues-inspired songs that kids find immediately appealing. Especially effective are the description ...
Small and light enough for a shirt pocket, Samsung's Helix YX-M1 is a one-stop audio entertainment center with an XM radio, a digital music player, and room for 50 hours of tunes, but it comes up short on battery life.