Noisy Nora (2007)

One of my favorite children's TV shows when my oldest sons were tykes was Reading Rainbow. Like many of Scholastic's mildly animated storybook titles, Noisy Nora (...and More Stories About Mischief) comes close to the look and feel of that show with capable narrators (sometimes the authors themselves) and slow-motion animation of portions of the illustrated page. Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells (6 min, narrated by Mary Beth Hurt, 4 stars) is the charming lead story of this collection; very much in the vein of Wells' Ruby and Max series, Nora is the middle child who has to make a clatter to get any attention in her family -- cute! T Is For Terrible by Peter McCarty (6 min, narrated by David de Vries, 4.5 stars) is the tale of a T-rex who "can't help it" that he's so big and terrifying -- excellent! Cannonball is a live-action movie (28 min, based on the book Cannonball Simp by John Burningham, 3 stars) about a circus clown who's to be fired until a stray dog joins his act -- family friendly! Goggles! by Ezra Jack Keats (3.5 stars) deals with two inner-city young boys who need to find safe passage around the projects -- interesting! And last but not least, the bonus story Munro by Jules Feiffer (9 min, narrated by Howard Morris, 5 stars) is a marvelous military satire (and Academy Award winner in 1961) about a 4-year-old boy who gets drafted into the army -- classic! Overall 4 stars.