Super Pets Helping People In Distress

**A Geek Daddy received the featured products free to review**

What if pets had the power to save the day for humans in distress?  That is the theme for a line of books by Capstone Publishing called the DC Super-Pets.  In these stories the pets of the heroes and villains from the DC comic book universe have their own super powers which are demonstrated through their embarking on various adventures and challenges.  My seven year old twins really enjoy the DC Super-Pets books and are just the right age for this series which is written for children six to nine years old who are in first through third grade; though I have to admit this 40 year old dad enjoys reading these stories just as much as his kids do.

DC Super-Pets stories are designed to help early readers transition to chapter books.  Each book is normally three chapters long and filled with large-sized text and colorful illustrations so they aren't overwhelming for young readers.  In fact the fun illustrations of the Super-Pets combined with goofy scenarios attract children towards wanting to read these books.

While DC Super-Pets are of course fictional creations there are animals in the real world that help make a positive difference in people's lives.  For example K-9 dogs are trained to help police search for illegal drugs or explosives and service dogs can provide assistance to people with disabilities.  Therapy dogs can also play an important role in helping improve lives by providing affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, schools, and disaster areas and to those with Alzheimer's Disease or Autism.  For example, therapy dogs were brought in to help the survivors of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Connecticut cope with the incident and are credited with providing peace of mind to the shocked and devastated children and adults these real life super pets interacted with.

Our local public library incorporates assisting with the training of a therapy dog into its children's summer reading program.  Reading to therapy dogs helps kids practice their literary skills over the summer while helping train the animals to be comfortable interacting with people.  It also gets children excited about reading over the summer which is a time when unfortunately books are often tossed aside for other activities.  My kids really look forward to these reading sessions and take a lot of pride in they are helping a dog so that it can help others.  They've been really excited to share their DC Super-Pets stories with a real life super pet who will one day be helping people in distress when reading during the therapy dog training at the public library.

My daughter has been reading DC Super-Pets BACKWARD BOWWOW during her therapy dog training sessions.  In this story, when Bizarro Krypto crash lands on Earth, he can't believe his eyes.  Humans own dogs as pets! On his Bizarro planet, everything is the exact opposite -- canines rule the world! Before returning home, he promises to make things right ... or maybe wrong.  Can Krypto the Super-Dog intervene and prevent Bizarro Krypto from making a huge mess?

 My son has been reading DC Super-Pets THE AMAZING MINI-MUTTS as he helps train the therapy dog.  In this book, Krypto, Ace, and other Super-Pet pooches visit the Bowwow Boot Camp to show a new breed of heroes a few tricks.  But the evil Brainicat wants to teach the canine cadets a lesson as well.  When he shrinks them all to microscopic size, the prep-school puppies must quickly learn to step up!

There are more than twenty DC Super-Pets adventure books by Capstone Publishing to choose from plus a super-sized Character Encyclopedia that provides interesting facts and descriptions of each animals unique powers in the profiles of more than 200 pets.  All of these DC Super-Pets books feature quirky artwork from Eisner Award winning artist Art Baltazar.  The Eisners are the comic book industry's equivalent to what the Oscars are for the movies so only the most talented and creative professionals are honored with this award.  Baltazar's artwork provides a zany vibe that makes reading each DC Super-Pets an amusing endeavor that kids are sure to enjoy.  As a parent, I appreciated that the illustration are numerable enough to capture children's attention and imagination but not so overpowering that they distract a child from immersing themselves into the text of the story.  Adorable characters and amusing plots will have children wanting to pick up a DC Super-Pets book to read.  For more information about this great early readers children's book series visit capstonepub.com/library/products/dc-super-pets

If you'd like to know more on how you can contribute to training therapy dogs or for a referral to obtain the services of one, please visit the Therapy Dog International website at tdi-dog.org.

Odd Squad DVD: Dance Like Nobody's Watching

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

My daughter's favorite television show is ODD SQUAD on PBS Kids and she wants to rush home from school everyday so she won't miss an episode.  Now I have to say that this is an applaudable selection not just because of ODD SQUAD'S educational focus but also because its episodes are so witty and well written that my wife and I will often find ourselves regularly joining our kids in watching the show because we also find it amusing and enjoyable to watch.  So our entire family was excited to receive the new ODD SQUAD dvd "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" which is now available to purchase on the Shop PBS online store and at various other retailers.

This dvd will let our kids watch some of their favorite ODD SQUAD episodes whenever they want.  "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" features 6 episodes from ODD SQUAD that all have a mathematical themed story and each feature musical numbers:

“Soundcheck”
Olive and Otto must figure out how and why things are disappearing around town when all Otto wants to do is listen to a song by his favorite band, Soundcheck.

“Soundcheck Part Deux”
When the members of Soundcheck go missing, Otto and Olive must bring them back together in time for their big concert. Otto uses his special superfan closet to help collect data to solve the case.

“A Case of the Sing-Alongs”
When Mayor Macklemore catches a case of the Sing-A-Longs, Olive and Otto must discover the cause before the Mayor sings his way out of his job!

“O is Not for Old”
The agents throw a surprise party for Ms. O and are having trouble making decisions about the details. They send O’Malley to delay Ms. O by various means while they try to figure them out.

“Mystic Egg Pizza”
With the help of Odd Squad, Delivery Debbie and Delivery Doug must figure out why their food is disappearing.

I have to warn you that my kids have memorized the songs from these episodes and you could find yourself humming these tunes, like "Take Away 4" in the car or at work.  My kids favorites are the ones sung by Soundcheck.  Hmm I wonder if it is ODD that my kids are such big fans of a fictional boy band when they really don't care for the real musical performances?  Anyway the musical numbers are actually pretty catchy, especially the big Sing-Alongs episode finale, and reinforce educational math concepts which is definitely a good thing.



Geared for children ages 5-8, ODD SQUAD follows two young agents, Olive and Otto, who are part of an agency led by Ms. O that seeks to save the day using math when odd things happen.



PBS has also created a free augmented reality app for iPads and iPhones to go with the DVD.  As they release additional ODD SQUAD dvds, you will be able to scan each individual package to unlock a unique gadget with its own special abilities. For this particular dvd, the musical changeinator is made available from the ODD SQUAD laboratory to play around with.

Open the app and scan the back side of the dvd package.

Ms. O's favorite thing in the whole wide world will appear - a juice box.

Shoot the juice box with the musical changeinator and it will start dancing to a soundtrack playing from your device and emitting special effects on the screen.

You can also move the juice box around utilizing the camera in your mobile device so that it can interact with your surroundings.

ODD SQUAD: DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval for not just being educational but also  also very entertaining.  It is a show which can bring the whole family together to enjoy and learn from it.  I'd recommend picking up a copy of this dvd to have handy for summer break, especially if you are looking to amuse some kids during a long car trip and have an in-vehicle or portable dvd player to take along for the ride.

For those of you interested in joining the ODD SQUAD here is a badge that can can personalized courtesy of PBS Kids: