Children's entertainment that isn't prechewed

One of the joys of traipsing in and out of Toronto's Pearson Airport over a weekend is being able to stock up on the Saturday editions of The Globe & Mail and National Post, and the Sunday edition of The New York Times. In the G&M book review, I found a brief mention of the new title, The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together by Ty Burr. The Christian Science Monitor's review calls it "an excellent guide for parents looking for entertainment that isn't prepackaged, pre-sold, and prechewed". Also according to the CSM, "The Boston Globe film critic has a reputation as "The Man Who Showed 'The Seven Samurai' to His Kids. And They Liked It." Which means that I'm pretty Mr. Burr and I -- the mother who showed her preschool children "The Magnificent Seven" and then bought them the soundtrack CD, and whose three kids dressed up as Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, and Harpo Marx last Halloween -- would get along just fine.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", the kids' choice (thanks, Grandpapa), before dinner. And more thanks for the 1959 Kenneth More version of "The 39 Steps", enjoyed by everyone last night.

Some of my favorite homeschooling with movies resources include, in no particular order:

Leonard Maltin's annual Movie & Video Guide; the link is for the 2004 edition, which is the most recent one I have.

Leslie Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion; the Amazon page suggests that this book has been "superseded" by Ephraim Katz's The Film Encyclopedia, which I just might try to find at the library, since my copy of Halliwell's is falling apart.

Rebecca Rupp's Complete Home Learning Sourcebook, which lists movies for the various subjects, including math and science.

Paula's Archives Movies for History list, a nifty list