All Rise...

Judge David Johnson says good night to the moon every night. The moon routinely gives him the finger in return.

The Charge

Introduce your child to sign language.

The Case

Hey, this is pretty cool. Scholastic packages three of its go-to stories onto one DVD, but adds a nifty twist: the segments feature sign language narrators. As the stories unfold, you get three ways to soak them up: the audio narration, a read-along option and the signing. That will give your kiddo a trifecta of learning he or she can indulge in.

The stories:

"Goodnight Moon"
By Margaret Wise Brown
The classic bedtime story featuring a young bunny flirting with obsessive compulsive disorder as he wishes good night to every single little thing within eyeshot.

"A Creature Was Stirring"
By Carter Goodrich
This is an adaptation of the "Night Before Christmas" poem, which expands into a bit of speculative fan fiction.

"Gladys Goes Out to Lunch"
By Derek Anderson
Gladys the Gorilla leaves the zoo looking for food and miraculously manages not to get shot with a high-powered rifle.

Each story is entertaining in its own right, but the signing adds a nice new dimension. The live-action sign narrators are cleverly integrated into the story with some nimble computer graphics engineering. Will your offspring pick this new form of communication up immediately? I don't know. Maybe if he or she's a genius. According to a little box on the back of the disc case, studies have linked early sign language learning to improved fin motor skills, increased vocabulary and higher IQ scores. So your kid will have that going for him. Which is nice.

Full frame, 2.0 stereo and comprehension quizzes, alphabet finger-spelling and sign language vocabulary for extras.

The Verdict

Not Guilty.

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