Video Pick--Don't Be Silly, Mrs. Millie!
From SLJ February 2006
Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools -- School Library Journal, 1/30/2006
video or DVD. color. 8 min. with tchr's. guide. Nutmeg Media (nutmegmedia.com). 2005. ISBN 0-9761981-3-4. $49.95.
PreS-Gr 2–School is a barrel of laughs in Mrs. Millie's class, where the rhyming redhead evokes a menagerie of colorful critters throughout a typical day. In the morning, children "hang up their goats"; at lunch, they are reminded not to forget their "lunch bunny"; they are beckoned to "sit on the bug" at story time; and urged to put on their "bats and kittens" at the end of the day. Each silly statement invokes a chorus of corrections often followed by the refrain, "Don't be silly, Mrs. Millie!" from her tickled and surprised students. A slight delay in the children's response allows for viewers to make their own interpretations, and a final recoup of all of the "sillies" tops off this amusing iconographic production based on the book written by Judy Cox (Marshall Cavendish, 2005). Joe Mathieu's bright, humorous cartoons render the teacher's confused instructions truly hilarious, though they can't save some of the more strained expressions such as the "frog salute," "it's time to chameleon," or "ride home on the octopus." Still, youngsters will get a good giggle from the wordplay and enthusiastically join Mrs. Millie's students as they respond. Rhythmic background music provides a beat and tempo. After the film, children can write and illustrate their own silly sentences, experimenting with rhyme, syllables, and alliteration.
