Quiet Time Tales

by:  Rev. James G.W. Fisher - Product Evaluation Specialist

Product Evaluation Summary Date:  04/26/2010

Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales is a series of 12 one-hour DVDs for children ages 2–8. In each volume the character of Grandpa Read - played by actor Gary Sturm - reads five classic children's stories and fairy tales aloud while accompanied by original illustrations commissioned for the project. Each DVD also contains a new original song, with all 13 songs featured on a Quiet Time Tales music CD.

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   Evaluation Summary - Category Ratings

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	Trade Industry Sales Types Wholesale  Retail  Reseller  Online

	Safety / Quality Classifications

CE Marked	UL Approved	JPMA Certified
	(Not Applicable)	(Not Applicable)
ASTM Compliant	eco-Friendly	eco-Conscious
(Not Applicable)

BPASafe™ (Complies with CPSI EN71)	Soluble Heavy Metals (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106)	Mechanical/Physical (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106)
Flammability - Solids/Textiles (Complies with 16 CFR 1500.44/CFR 1610)	Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials (Complies with ASTM-4236/16 CFR 1500.14(b)(8) )	iWatchDog™ Approved (Complies with ICCS™ Certification Standards)
(Not Applicable)

* SUMMARY CODES: SN - Special Needs

At virtually any pre-school facility and in many homes, the words "Quiet Time" are a familiar term. Quiet time is exactly that, a period of quiet and calm where teachers or caregivers will read fairy tales, or initiate some other activity where the children will begin to calm down and often times take a nap. This is where Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales are a perfect fit.

A perfect analogy to illustrate this comes from the words of the folks who are the creators of the product in my interview with them in person. "Our intent is to follow a proven example such as 'Mister Rogers', a show with a character who was set apart from the fast-paced adventure cartoons and similar media on television." 

To be more specific in their analogy, they went on to bring a very important fact to light.  "Much like the daily show with 'Mister Rogers', the DVD's create a calming and soothing atmosphere for children in a classroom or home. This stirs the imaginations of children, inspiring a love of stories and story-telling while providing more time for parents and teachers.  They can more easily monitor the children, while now being enabled to enjoy the relaxing stories with them, attend to other tasks at hand, or both."

Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales is a series of 12 one-hour DVDs for children ages 2–8. (Although we have found many parents in our evaluation, were caught up in the stories just as the children, winding down for a while to relax and enjoy the stories.) In each volume the character of 'Grandpa Read', (played by actor Gary Sturm), reads five classic children's stories and fairy tales aloud while accompanied by original illustrations commissioned for the project. Each DVD also contains a new original song, with all 13 songs featured on a Quiet Time Tales music CD.

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Independent Evaluation of Quiet TimeTales

In this section we will cover "Quiet Time Tales" from a top level professional point of view. To accomplish that task we have called upon the assistance of two well known industry professionals who have the credentials to provide us with the highest level of independent evaluation we are looking for.

Our independent evaluators will form their own opinions and produce detailed, in-depth reports connected with their study and evaluation of the "Quiet Time Tales" DVD's. The information to follow is comprised of excerpts from these same reports from which certain portions have been selected and some portions paraphrased.  This done so that the information being conveyed by this industry professional is more easily read and simple to comprehend what they are stating. This approach provides a completely independent perspective in the evaluation of the "Quiet Time Tales".

"The Quiet Time DVD's were an enjoyable and stirring experience to evaluate.  This collection takes a fundamental approach to education and the forging of a young child's mind.  I speak of education due to the fact that while we as adults may already be familiar with many of the stories within the DVD collection, many children are not.   While each child is hearing a storyline, at the same time they are on a path of learning from each of the stories."                       

"These DVD's awaken the creative mind in a child and take them down on a journey, rather a new journey with each story where they can create a virtual image in their minds of the storyline. As each story unfolds, they are creating and exploring a new virtual world of their imagination." 

"By breaking away from the current forms of media today and returning to a simple and calming environment for introducing information to a child, this forms a pattern of learning which captivates the whole and complete attention of a child.  It opens their minds more readily to learning and begins embedding primary lessons from each story in their memory which they will use to parallel other experiences as they are continuing to evolve both mentally and physically. These DVD's stir inner passion and innocence in a child serving as a catalyst which causes them to be eager to learn more."

"The Quiet Time DVD's provided an engaging and unique unification of real-life characters and story-telling familiarity into a well structured format of media.  The DVD's have taken televised media programming with which children are familiar with and transitioned it into a DVD format which enables a wider range of application."

"The content on each DVD has extensive value which is often overlooked in today's society here in the states.  Story tales which have been around for generations hold a commonality which purveys a sense of comfort and safety when they are recited. As the stories continue in their plot, a superfluity of activity occurs as the information in the stories stimulates further critical skill development in a child. 

For a child, they will not define the content of the content of each of the DVD's with complex thought processes as an adult does to classify each form of media they are experiencing. For a child, they will simply interpret the content in the simplest form possible, audio and video input which without their own own conscious thought, stimulates a preferential learning process."

"An abstract thought to consider is what role use of these DVD's might play in therapeutic studies with SN children.  To be more specific, children with Autism.  Considering the manner in which these DVD's influence the skills and behavioral traits of the average child, there very well my be strong potential for use with SN children.  I would like to suggest you reference this with your readers and see what results might come from this idea."

"There is a high probability of children manifesting a significant improvement in their skill development on multiple levels and well beyond question.  Using a 'familiar' content structure approaches the children not just at a learning and skill development perspective, but doing so with productive and unmitigated psychological development being all inclusive as well.  The end result is of course a strong level of comprehension and solidified retention of what they have seen and heard in each session with the DVD's."

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Spontaneous and Appointment Consumer Hands-On Evaluation

Nothing is more powerful than hands-on experience by a consumer with a product when it is being evaluated. Based upon that fact we put every single product we evaluate at the mercy of consumers in a hands-on evaluation where anything goes. Shall we see how the "Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales" DVD's were seen with consumers?

Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales was part of several spontaneous and direct focused consumer hands-on evaluations performed in multiple states, including four-star hotels and some pre-schools, along with a generous number of other products from multiple categories. Having several products available for consumer evaluation all at once provides a more well-balanced and unbiased evaluation of each of the products. For the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's, they were well taken and drew plenty of praise. It was quite amazing how many of the children made a connection with Grandpa Read, his dog, many of the drawings, or even the fish! Here were children from each city and state with no variance...they all were enthralled as they saw the screen with Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's playing, telling his stories.

In the image above/left, you see the entire collection of the DVD's which were left with a family for direct focus consumer evaluation.  The family was able to have the collection of DVD's for several weeks, then they were taken to another family or spontaneous consumer hands-on evaluation event. 

The reason I chose to take this shot was that when I saw the DVD's lokking like that, it showed that the family had not just looked at one DVD, but rather several of them.  I noticed as well that the DVD's were not even in their original sequential order.  I inquired of the family why the DVD's were on the counter, not with the rest of their DVD's so neatly sitting in the entertainment center next to the counter.  Their reply as that the "other" DVD's are there because they are not viewed often.  According to their eldest daughter, "Mom preferred to have them readily available because of the toddlers constantly pestering her to hear another story...again."

There was no question about it, in every instance of Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's being provided for evaluation, they pulled plenty of attention.  It came to a point where we had to keep our eyes on the DVD's in fear of them.."growing some legs and walking away."  Despite our strongest efforts, one of the DVD's still managed to grow some legs and take a hike.

In reviewing the feedback forms which the participants filled out from all of the locations where we hosted spontaneous hands-on evaluation of products, it was amazing how many parents expressed how their children loved the DVD's. The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's passed this phase of our evaluation quite well, now eligible to be one of the limited few product that makes it to our final evaluation phase.

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A Sampling Of Category Ratings

A small sampling of the individual category titles & rating scores from the complete product review itself for this product are featured here. The categories which have been selected to be featured in this product evaluation summary for public view, specify some of the primary points of how and why that specific rating score was reached.

• If a product is inducted, a product evaluation summary of the complete review is published for public view.
• When a score has been assigned to a category rating, it has been through a thorough validation process to ensure accuracy and no inflection of bias.
• If a product makes it to the final phase of evaluation yet scores an overall category evaluation rating average of [2] (Stars) or lower from the complete review results, it fails the evaluation and is not inducted.
• Information for products which do not pass our evaluation is confidential and is shared only with the company submitting the product.
  

The Featured Category Ratings for this Product Evaluation Summary are listed below.

CONTENT QUALITY: Rating Level - [5]

The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's pull their weight in this category for CONTENT QUALITY. When you consider how they so effectively stimulated the attention children, they are clearly an excellent product. Just as the very best DVD products of the past which have made it into the ranks of products inducted here, Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's has a well balanced compilation of visual and audio content to stimulate not just a child's mind, but their emotions as well. Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's provide a substantial contribution to critical and cognitive skill development which will encourage repetitive use and essential learning and skill development.

The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's stimulates critical skill development in a child in a rather subtle approach as they are being stimulated on multiple fronts simultaneously. The more a child experiences the DVD's, there is a constant level of further advancement in many of the most important areas of a child's developmental skills. The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's pulls a perfect score of [5] in this category for CONTENT QUALITY.

CRITICAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT: Rating Level - [5]

The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's provides a substantial contribution to critical and cognitive skill development. With the children multi-tasking by watching the illustrations and video, the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's contributes so much to a child's developmental skills that the word "substantial" doesn't even do it justice. The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's comes flying through the gates with a perfects score of [5] in this category for CRITICAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Rating Level - [4]

The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's really made a strong impression in this category for EDUCATIONAL VALUE. In all consumer hands-on evaluation as well as in-house and independent evaluation, the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's was seen as a source of creative stimulation which envelopes a child's experience on multiple levels.

The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's establishes a clear-cut example of educational value with the "Quiet Time" idea combined with familiar characters such as a grandfather, dog, fish, and the drawings. After discussion with our independent evaluators and in-house evaluators it was determined that the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales easily fulfills the demands that people are looking for in a DVD collection such as this, well above average, yet just not enough to take it to the top for a perfect score.

There are multiple perspectives with which to look at what is the definition of this DVD's contribution to educational value. One of the primary features is how the DVD's are capable of being recognized as a hybrid-use product.  They can be adopted for use in multiple platforms both consumer and education.  After reviewing all evaluation results and independent evaluator reports, The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's pull a score of [4] in this category for EDUCATIONAL VALUE.

MARKETABILITY: Rating Level - [5]

The marketability with the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales presented a challenging task to establish a fair and accurate final score. In the video tapes and what we witnessed personally in the hands-on evaluation segment, the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's proved their worth to us. The popularity not just with consumers but with teachers as well really stood out.

In our final tally of scores in the category for MARKETABILITY, the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales comes in with a perfect score of [5] Stars in this evaluation category for MARKETABILITY.

RESPONSE LEVEL: Rating Level - [5]

The response level with for kids with the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's is pretty well what we all expected. There was no question in any manner that the Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's capture the full attention of the children as intended and create a clear and well defined response of the highest level. The response level in all hands-on evaluations by children and family members were well beyond the norm and constant at all times. Children were literally engrossed in the experience. Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales  DVD's pull a perfect score of [5] in this category for RESPONSE LEVEL.

VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level - [5]

The visual appeal for Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's is from lacking. The DVD packaging itself was above average and the content of the DVD's was such a perfect balance of labors and educational value. The colors, images, and characters draw the full attention of the target age group it is designed for while at the same time capturing the attention of the adults as well. The Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales DVD's passed this category for VISUAL APPEAL with a perfect score of [5].

EVALUATION RESULTS - From evaluation for induction into "The Toy Man® Product Guide"
Overall Rating:  5	Seal of Approval: Approved	eco-Recognition™ Seal: Not Eligible	Award of Excellence: Approved	eChoice™ Award: Selected

THE TOY MAN® SEAL OF APPROVAL "The first and original Seal of Approval... designed for product recognition and validation."
	Since 1971 "The Toy Man® Seal of Approval" has served as an emblem and standard for professional recognition of a product or online service having met the globally recognized evaluation standards of The Toy Man® Product Guide.   This emblem was first established in 1971 by the International Parenting Institute™. It is modeled after the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval®", an emblem of recognition for products which meet the globally recognized high standards set forth by the Good Housekeeping Institute®.

THE TOY MAN® PRODUCT GUIDE AWARDS "The globally recognized awards that are received by a limited few... and give a product the well earned recognition it deserves!"
	The products and online services which become recipients of "The Toy Man® Award of Excellence" acheived an evaluation category rating average of [5] Stars, the highest level of rating available on a 1-5 scale evaluation model.  The average is based upon the overall average from all applicable evaluation categories, not just the 6 evaluation categories featured in this summary.

"The Toy Man® Award serves as an emblem of recognition for products & online services that contribute substantially to positive skill growth and/or productivity.  ( This includes books, CD's, DVD's, consumer electronics & accessories, recreational games and equipment, home furnishings, juvenile, software, toys and specialty. ) This distinguished award is exclusive as well as unique, with the editor's signature which represents a product being selected as an . PLEASE NOTE: The eChoice™ Award images which were used from 1971-1984, 1984-2007, 2007-April 2010 have been retired. Although the former versions of the eChoice™ Award have been retired, they still remain valid.