Showing results by author "Carl Sommer" in All Categories

Mama and Papa have always told their chicks never to have anything to do with strangers. But the sly fox disguises himself as a little lamb and tries to trick the chicks into going with him. His early attempts fail because Clucky listens to Papa and Mama. The fox finally succeeds by promising delicious corn to lure some of the chicks. After a horrifying experience, Clucky's sister Wendy escapes and realizes the importance of always listening to her parents and never talking to strangers. 

Marcus and Marcella hate the noisy forest animals and the hard work in searching for food every day. Their eyes light up when a chipmunk tells them that the farm has no noise and lots of food. In spite of being warned by Mama Beaver, they immediately move to the farm. Their dreams come true. But their dreams are shattered when the farmer and his wife come home. The chase is on. After barely escaping, they quickly return to their forest home. They discover that even with all the noise and hard work, the forest is a wonderful place to live. 

Tombo the tadpole thinks he is the king of the pond. He brags that he is the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest tadpole and teases and chases all the other tadpoles. However, while Tombo is showing off doing a triple flip, a boy catches him. The boy puts him into a fish tank and gives him fish flakes to eat, a food Tombo despises. When Tombo turns into a frog, the boy releases him back into his pond. Then Tombo discovers that he is no longer the biggest and fastest, but he does learn the value of friendship. 

Missy the mouse has a very big problem - she's dissatisfied with who she is and what she looks like. Even worse, Horace the cat is constantly chasing her, and she can't do anything about it! One day, while being chased by Horace, Missy wishes herself into becoming a big cat. Her wish comes true, and she chases Horace. Missy is delighted that she is now the biggest and most beautiful cat in the whole world. But she quickly discovers that cats have serious problems with dogs.

Proud Rooster, always ignoring everyone's advice, gets into all sorts of trouble. Filling his tummy with green strawberries, falling off a tree while showing off, and skating on thin ice after being warned, nearly do him in. But his hard lessons change him forever. Proud Rooster is glad to learn that it is not too late to obey. In this exciting tale, Carl Sommer reveals the importance of humility, obedience to parents, and self-discipline.  

As a reward for winning the soccer championship, Davy is chosen mayor for a day. The band and the whole town assemble together for this great event. Tired of his parents' rules, Davy's first official announcement as mayor is to eliminate all rules. The parents' groan, but the children jump up and down for joy. But the day without rules was a disaster for everyone. The whole town becomes angry, but Davy finally saves the day. 

Life couldn't have been better for Buzzie Bee, until she overhears some disturbing news. Buzzie became furious and started a revolt among the younger bees. The angry bees left the hive to start their own. In the new hive, the young bees argue and fight over who should do the work. They finally discover that working together with a leader is the only way to have a happy hive. They return and follow the queen bee. 

Witnessing the deterioration of her inner-city neighborhood, Stephanie decides to "light her candle" to help clean up the trash and stop the violence. After convincing her two friends to do as much good as they can for one week, Stephanie and her friends, with the help of parents, end up transforming their inner-city school and the whole city from a place of violence and deterioration to a model of order and cleanliness. 

To grow up to be big, little lions have to learn survival skills, but the cub Sangu doesn’t want to listen to Papa and Mama’s lessons - he just wants to play. Getting lost while escaping a charging rhino, Sangu learned how unprepared he really was to be out on his own. Befriended by some kind gazelles, Sangu didn’t have the slightest idea as to what a lion should be. After being taunted by his friends, Sangu finally learned to be assertive, to value learning, to listen to his parents, and to respect himself. 

Randy was a poor young boy. Everything he had was old. His rich neighbor Mike had a new bike and new toys, and he constantly teased Randy. Randy wished he was rich so he could buy everything new. He was warned by those around him that riches alone don't bring happiness, but Randy never listened. To Randy's great delight, his wish came true! Everything he touched turned into gold - even his beloved dog. As he held his lifeless gold dog, he realized he was now the most miserable kid in the whole world. Remembering he had one more wish, he used it to have things return as before.

Trapped high on a mountain by deep snow, hungry townspeople wait desperately for one of the three big trains to bring them food, but they all refuse to go up the mountain. Seeing the desperate situation, The Little Red Train and a family of brave helpers decide to go up the mountain in spite of the ridicule from the big trains. The Little Red Train and it helpers overcome severe obstacles and save the people from starvation. 

As a wee bear, Teddy was a very smiley fellow, but now that he is older, his smile is nowhere to be found. Frustrated and bewildered, Teddy tries to find joy through new toys and fun activities. However, for toys and activities to be fun, one needs to be happy, and Teddy is anything but. In fact, the more he tries to make himself happy, the grumpier Teddy gets.  

Individuals with a sunny attitude understand that the ending of one opportunity in life often opens the door for a new one. Carrying big loads of grain is easy for young donkeys, but what happens when they get too old to be of use? One old donkey takes off on a journey of rediscovery, picking up an old dog, cat, and rooster along the way. Intending to combine their musical talents to start a band, this lively crew finds another surprising way to benefit the community.

Sometimes there is danger in being too friendly; as is the case with kind-hearted Little Red Riding Hood in this loveable rendition of a Brothers Grimm classic. Distracted by the Big Bad Wolf with a bouquet of lovely flowers, the kind-hearted little girl forgets her mother's instructions and strays from the path on the way to Grandmother's house. Little does she know, the crafty wolf has devised a wicked plan to arrive at her house first. Will Grandmother meet an unfortunate end?

This lovely tale tells the story of Princess Isabella, who is greatly loved by her parents happy and carefree until she overhears girls making fun of her large nose and ears. Miserable and ashamed, she quits playing and hides in the palace. Nothing can sway Isabella's feelings of ugliness and sadness until an old woman reminds her that giving love to others brings deep happiness.

Believing in a foolish superstition, Chicken Little is convinced that the sky is falling. In her distress, she convinces a number of other animal friends that this is indeed the case. One after another, the animals join Chicken Little, soon forming a frantic pack. Fortunately, Chippy Chipmunk steps in with wise intervention. What follows confirms the importance of critical thinking and the possible dangers of gullibility.

Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why certain individuals choose to spread gossip about others. In this rendition of Aesop's timeless fable, the reason is crystal-clear: The lion is hungry and would do anything to have a delicious bull for dinner. Using malicious gossip, the sly fox helps the lion by separating the bulls for capture on the promise that he will receive his own tasty portion of the meal. Will the lion eat the bulls?

While a little fun is essential for a happy life, wise individuals know that prosperity begins with hard work. Gary and the other grasshoppers want to play all day, and they cannot understand why the ants work so hard and miss all the fun. Alex and the ants know they must work during the spring to have food for the winter. Sure enough, when winter arrives early, the lazy grasshoppers have nothing to eat. Passage of a new law that requires the ants to share their food with the grasshoppers transforms the whole community into a fun-loving crowd.

There is an old saying that states, "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." Miller Elmo most certainly could have benefitted from this sage advice. His constant effort to please the local farmers grows into an obsession to satisfy everyone, which the miller unfortunately passes on to his son. The two learn the hard way what can come of always taking the advice of others instead of listening to your heart.

When an aging emperor begins the search for his successor, he wisely listens to an elderly advisor and creates a test to find a courageous boy of character and integrity. To choose a worthy successor, he gathers seven of the best students in the land and gives them each a seed to cultivate and return to the palace. Even with careful research and tending, Ming's seed does not grow. While many urge him to use another seed, he refuses to be dishonest.