When I was a child, I loved "Snowy Day," the picture book about Peter, who brings a snowball inside in his coat pocket, and every other Ezra Jack Keats book my parents read to me. Other than "Pet Show" (1992), these were all produced soon after each book was written (1960's -- early '70's) and, I feel, were done very faithfully.
These pieces represent an era when producers didn't have a lot of effects to work with -- just the picture in the book, a narrator (and these narrators are all great), and music -- and couldn't count on licensed character synergies to carry a child's interest. My first video editing assignment ever was to shoot, cut, record, select music for, and edit a children's book. It's not as simple as it might seem. (I set "Where the Wild Things Are" to REM's "Perfect Circle" for the quiet bits of sailing over the sea and such, and something from Hüsker Dü's "Land Speed Record" for the wild rumpus.)
The overall mood of these pieces is very quiet, gentle, thoughtful. "Peter's Chair" would be good for discussing any new siblings that might be arriving in your house.
I believe Loretta Long, the narrator whose voice sparkles in several of these short films, went on to become Susan on Sesame Street.
I am consistently turned off by almost all children's programming. Buy this DVD.
