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The Old Schoolhouse® Product & Curriculum Reviews

With so many products available we often need a little help in making our curriculum choices. The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine family understands because we are in the same boat! Do you need more information on a product before you buy? With over 5,500 products listed in 52 easy-to-use categories, much of the information you need to know is only a click away! Let our reviewer-families help yours.
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Melissa and the Green Blanket Review by Jenny Thompson

By Julie S. Dobbins
CBD Music
PO Box 8075
Gadsden, AL 35902
http://www.craigdobbins.com/Melissa.html

Melissa and the Green Blanket is a delightful story about the security a little girl feels with her favorite blanket. Melissa's blanket has always been with her, comforting her and sometimes sheltering her from the world. Many children can relate to this story of owning something they treasure.

As a CD/CD-ROM, the product is in a unique format. Children can read the booklet, listen to the story as narrated by the author, and watch a QuickTime movie of the story. Both the audio version and movie version include instrumental music written and played by guitarist Craig Dobbins. Mr. Dobbins has graciously provided the individual tracks for both of the beautiful songs from the story. You can access the guitar tabs for those songs by opening their pdf files on the computer.

My 6-year-old daughter enjoyed watching the video of Melissa and the Green Blanket. She listened carefully to the music and noticed how it went along with the story. Julie Dobbins, the narrator, has a soft, gentle voice, making this a perfect bedtime CD. The illustrations by David Moon are simple yet adorable line drawings, with Melissa's green blanket providing the only color. This effect brings the blanket out as a strong focal point of the story. All of these attributes make Melissa and the Green Blanket a wonderful story for children ages 3-6. Older children or adults may enjoy learning the songs on the guitar, making this CD-ROM perfect for the whole family.

Allowing a child to follow along with a story that is read aloud is a great way to reinforce reading instruction. With the Melissa and the Green Blanket CD/CD-ROM, you get so much more than a good read-aloud. The music and other features make it a well-rounded product that will suit many different learning styles. This story is sure to charm its way into your child's heart, and maybe even yours.

Product review by Jenny Thompson, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February 2010

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