Vowing to stay a child

Peter Pan

Universal Home Studios

DVD: $19.95-$26.98

VHS: $15.95-$24.98

For the family

This richly visual 2003 feature is loaded with special effects, including some impressive state-of-the-art flying scenes. And except for Wendy, who is a feisty, budding writer here, it is a fairly faithful rendering of J.M. Barrie’s evergreen celebration of childhood, albeit one that can wear a mite long for adults.

The DVD is packed with extras, including the book’s poignant coda, missing from the film, in which Peter returns to find Wendy grown up and invites her daughter to Neverland instead. Many of the extras, however, are ho-hum behind-the-scenes glimpses; “Outrageous Outtakes” featuring Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is the worst of the lot. The best is an extensive look at the cast’s flying lessons.

*

Chased by Dinosaurs

BBC Video

DVD: $19.98.

Ages 8 to adults

(800) 216-1BBC

www.bbcamerica.com

Many a 5- and 6-year-old can rattle off the names of favorite dinosaurs -- iguanodons, apatosauruses, velociraptors -- but this eye-popping merging of a digital “prehistoric safari” and the adventures of real-life “explorer” Nigel Marvin is filled with tooth-and-claw rippings and rendings and is too intense for young children. It’s amazing stuff, though, not least because of Marvin’s deliciously committed performance as a zoologist on the time-traveling trip of a lifetime (on land and in the sea), whether rhapsodizing over therizinosaurus dung or hand-feeding a nightmarish mosasaur. Includes the Discovery Channel’s previously televised, Emmy-winning special consisting of “The Giant Claw” and “Land of the Giants,” and the new “Chased by Sea Monsters,” plus a terrific DVD documentary extra, “Extreme Dinosaurs: The Science of Giants.”

*

Martian Television Invasion

Thaddeus Rex

CD: $14.99

www.CDBaby.com

www.Amazon.com

This is a first CD for educator, guitarist and singer-songwriter Thaddeus Rex -- nickname, T-Rex -- and though at times more than a mite pedantic, the best of these “kick the box, just use your mind” songs offer a pop beat and a sincere celebration of reading, moms, puppies, hopes and dreams.

*

Big Kid

Sleeveless

CD: $15

Ages 3 to 8

(888) 606-6874

www.sarahickman.com

Joined by her mom, 6-year-old daughter and various other adults and kids, Sara Hickman makes her new get-up-and-dance, multicultural CD a happy, noisy, earnest family affair. Performed in styles from zydeco and folk to hip-hop and R&B;, the mostly short tracks are both thoughtful and zany and include poems, a “Pledge” for a better world, a “Look at Me” reminder for busy parents that time is fleeting and an adventurous, pajama time trip to the store.

*

The Second Line:

Scarf Activity Songs

Johnette Downing

Music for Children

CD: $15

Ages 4 to 9

www.Johnettedowning.com

“Scarves up, scarves down, shake your scarves all around.” New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Johnette Downing’s playful, jazz-infused CD (scarf included) takes its title from a variety of high-spirited celebrations that are observed by a line of handkerchief- and scarf-waving folk who parade behind a brass band.

With her signature mix of Dixieland jazz, Cajun, Creole and zydeco rhythms, her vocal and instrumental sophistication and all-embracing warmth, Downing creates an irresistible musical jubilee.

*

Aesop for All Ages

Anne Nachtrieb Zesiger

CD: $15.95

Ages 6 to 12

www.everafterclassics.com

Singer/guitarist Anne Nachtrieb Zesiger and her lyricist, tuba-playing father H.C. Nachtrieb, along with other fine musicians, offer vivid, day-dreamy versions of such lesson-imparting tales as “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse” (“Each to Each Their Own”), “The Ants and the Grasshopper” (“Anticipate”), “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” (“You’ve Gotta Believe Me”) and “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” (“He Looked So Good”).

The image-rich lyrics, set to mellow and beautiful folk-rock melodies transform Aesop’s fables into musical story-telling that lingers in the imagination.