Caillou's Winter Wonders collects what looks like four episodes, "Caillou the Snowman,"Caillou's Christmas," "It's Cold Outside," and "Winter!" It's unusual in a DVD compilation for kids to get more than you expect, but in this case that's exactly what happened. Each named episode contains 3-4 small episodes with separate stories, so the compilation is really a collection of 14 mini-episodes. It's all still about an hour's worth of entertainment, but this is a great show to pop in when you want to keep your kid's television viewing down to small bites. It's not a spoiler to say that everything in this collection takes place during the winter, with Caillou enjoying himself in sports (tobogganing, sledding, mushing, and skating), playing outside in the snow with friends, and preparing for winter holidays. Nothing about this show is especially moralistic or preachy. It does convey to kids the value of caring about other people and treating them kindly, but Caillou never gets anywhere near a tight spot that would be the equivalent of other shows that purport to "teach kids right from wrong."
The focus here is entirely on fun, family, and friends. Caillou's Winter Wonders comes at a great time as kids almost everywhere (southern hemisphere excluded) are getting psyched up about snow, time off from school, and holidays. The special activities on the DVD are accessible only from a DVD-ROM drive on a Windows computer, where kids can access coloring pages and Caillou-themed games, or launch the Caillou Web site. Without a DVD-ROM drive, there are still some interactive features such as a video tour of the show's different characters and a segment for parents to learn about the edutainment value of Caillou. For kids in the 3-4 year range, Caillou's Winter Wonders will raise smiles on both the children's and parents' faces. It's a good, wholesome show that features a cute kid with solid values and a loving family getting to do lots of neat, imaginative stuff. What could be better than that?
