All Rise...

Judge David Johnson came home one day to find his apartment cleaned out and his car vandalized. Only a mysterious blue paw-print was left at the scene of the crime.

The Charge

Four alphabet-powered play dates.

The Case

Blue, the fun little dog who broke out from Blue's Clues (and the world of two-dimensional animation) to front her own puppet-laden show, is here to escort your small children through the mind-blowing world of the alphabet. This disc contains four alphabet/writing-centric episodes of Blue's Room and Blue's Clues:

• "The Power of the Alphabet"
The only full-length Blue's Room episode in the bath, this show focuses solely on the 26 letters of the alphabet, characterized here as sentient beings with eyes. When the letters stop over to kick it with Blue, the learning detonates.

Puzzles and games and songs flow out, aimed at familiarizing the kids with letters and introductory spelling. It's a cool little program, attractively produced and sporting some clever games to foster learning.

Learning Skills (according to the disc case): Literacy skills, letter recognition ands sounds, and spelling.

• "The Alphabet Train"
In this Blue's Clues episode, Joe (Donovan Patton) and Blue rock with the "Alphabet Train." For each letter of the alphabet (represented by individual train cars), Joe and company must find something starting with the letter to put inside. For "Z," Blue's clues will have the answer.

Here's a solid companion to "The Power of the Alphabet," presented in that enjoyable, infectious Blue's Clues way.

Learning Skills: Letters, Emerging Literacy, Phonemic Awareness.

• "Let's Write"
One of the two bonus episodes, here Joe takes us through some rudimentary writing exercises by labeling everything in the house. Emphasizes writing skills.

• "Magenta's Messages"
Charged with house-sitting for Magenta (a red dog), Joe and Blue read the different notes Magenta has left behind, leading up to the final message that Blue has left clues for. Emphasizes reading skills.

There it is—four entertaining, easily accessible episodes well-chosen to focus on the themes of letter recognition and writing. Plus, the disc contains some extras to further supplement the orgy of learning sure to take place: the "Doodle, Doodle…Spell Game," where kids can complete words that have been drawn on the screen, and two Blue's Room shorts. Good stuff.

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