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Like many little boys and girls, my son loves dinosaurs. And frankly, he'll take them however he can get them. Even at the age of 6, he still loves Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don and the rest of the toothy characters inside the PBS show, Dinosaur Train. In fact, I think he's learned more from Dr. Scott the paleontologist than he has from me – at least when it comes to dinosaurs.
On Monday, February 18, 2013, the show will air a one-hour special titled, Dinosaur Train Submarine Adventure. On Tuesday, the same special will be available on DVD. It features four segments, which is like having two episodes on one disc. It's short, but it's also pretty inexpensive, with an MSRP $9.99 ($5.86 on Amazon!). It's also educational and a lot of fun to boot.
Instead of talking up the typical plant- and meat-eaters, these shorts have our characters going under water in search of sea creatures. Forget the logistics of having an underwater train or dinosaurs having access to a submarine. Kids will get the chance to meet "Otto Ophthalmosaurus," "Shoshana Shonisaurus," and "Maisie Mosasaurus," as well as encounter "A Sea Turtle Tale."
All four of the segments are pretty interesting, divulging a lot of info about the subject matter. However, it's never overwhelming and always really easy to understand. Even better, it's pretty cute, with incredibly colorful imagery. In case you didn't know, Dinosaur Train falls under The Jim Henson Company's umbrella, so that should give you an idea about the quality of the show.
My son was pretty glued, which wasn't much of a surprise. It was a Dinosaur Train mini marathon! I've even received a few requests for repeated viewings. That's fine with me. Even though I don't expect it from all of my children's programming, I do appreciate the educational aspect of this show. I think I've even learned a few things about some of these creatures as well. If you have a fan in the house, this is definitely one that should work its way into the rotation.
PBS provided me with a copy of this DVD for review purposes.
