Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman

DVD Review for Parents

Choose Your Own Adventure DVDs allow kids to make plot choices at several points during the movie which affect the outcome of the story. In The Abominable Snowman, the North children must travel to the Himalayan Mountains in search of their adventurous Uncle Rudy, who has gone missing while searching for the Yeti. The DVD contains 11 possible stories, depending on the choices children make as they watch the story unfold. When each version of the story comes to an end, kids are given the option to go back to the decision-making points and see where different choices will take them.

As kids make choices throughout the viewing experience, they learn to analyze different situations and make a quick decision. Also, the DVD weaves cultural references and other educational material into the animated story, giving kids another opportunity to learn.

For those of us who read the Choose Your Own Adventure books as kids, we can remeber the excitement of getting to play a role in the story, affecting the outcome with our own decisions. The DVD series allows kids the same excitement, and in The Abominable Snowman DVD, they get to learn some fun things about Nepal and other related topics as well.

Choose Your Own Adventure DVDs are especially appreciated considering the lack of educational movies made for the age group. Parents of preschoolers have no trouble finding a wealth of high-quality, educational programming and DVDs for their kids, but the choices get slimmer as children get older.

The content and storyline of The Abominable Snowman DVD are age-appropriate. In a couple of scenes, the word "butt" is used, but only in the context of light comedy. Also, choices throughout the movie can put the characters in situations of peril, but the scenes are cut off before violence of any sort is shown. The creators of the DVD did a great job at making the stories exciting and appropriate for children.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• "In the Shadow of the Himalayas: How People Live in Nepal," a 28-minute Educational Documentary
• Music Video
• Collectible Travel Journal
• Widescreen Presentation Enhanced for 16:9 Televisions

• Encourage your child to write a story with several different endings. The exercise of thinking about different outcomes based on a pivotal point is beneficial on too many levels to list, and your child will love your reactions as you read the story and choose from the endings he or she has written.