Media Matters

This is a Japanese reality TV series in which young Japanese children are sent on their first errand by themselves, and camera crews follow to see how they do. It’s charming and eye opening to see their fledgling competency and delight in being helpful to their families. This is a show all ages could enjoy together.

 Book by Kenneth Oppel I listened to the full cast audiobook and thought it was great fun. It’s a rarity these days to find a book in the swashbuckling adventure genre, and as an added bonus is enjoyable (and appropriate) for all ages to listen to together on a long road-trip. This is the first in a series, but I liked that it succeeds as a standalone.  Note: younger listeners might be disturbed by a brief scene where a predatory animal eats a bad guy.