Described DVDs for Children with Visual Disabilities

Elmhurst Public Library

What are described dvd’s?
Described dvd’s include a track that provides an audio narration of scenes and images for people who are blind, have low vision, or who are otherwise visually impaired. For example: “Mrs. Miller walks down the hallway, stops, and opens a door.” The Elmhurst Public Library also has many closed-captioned dvd’s for people who are hearing-impaired.

Arthur:  Big Brother Binky
Binky's family adopts a baby girl from China. Binky is excited about preparing for her arrival and visiting China.

Arthur:  Binky Goes Nuts
(From the series, PBS Kids Go!) When Binky discovers that he's allergic to peanuts, he has so many questions: Will he be forced to live without Chinese food? Will he ever again be able to eat with his friends? And most importantly, will his mom ever calm down?

Arthur:  Season 11
Arthur and his friends encounter the joys and difficulties that all kids experience. From keeping secrets to going to the hospital, Arthur manages to handle each situation with imagination, kindness and humor.  Includes 19 great adventures.

Arthur Sells Out
Chronicles the adventures of the world's most famous aardvark, eight-year-old Arthur Read, and his family and friends.

Between the Lions:  Season 1
A series that teaches children to read with humorous characters, stories, skits, parodies, and songs.

Brain’s Shocking Secret
Three more episodes from the PBS series, Arthur.

Bone Diggers: Australia's Lost Marsupials
A million or more years ago, during the Ice Age, Australia was home to a wide range of extraordinary giant animals. None was quite as bizarre or fearsome as Thylacoleo, the meat-eating marsupial lion. Pound for pound, this creature had the most powerful bite of any mammal, living or extinct. A Nova program.

Building Pharaoh’s Ship
A magnificent trading vessel embarks on a royal expedition to a mysterious, treasure-laden land called Punt. Is this journey, depicted on the wall of one of Egypt's impressive temples, mere myth, or was it a reality? Nova follows a team of archaeologists and boat builders as they reconstruct the vessel shown on the mysterious carving, and then finally launch it into the Red Sea on a unique voyage of discovery.

A Christmas Carol
Ebenezer Scrooge begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk and his cheery nephew. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late. Starring Jim Carrey. Rated PG.

Degas and the Dancer
In 1874 Paris, painter Edgar Degas is struggling with debt after his father's death. He takes a job illustrating a small book on opera and becomes inspired by a young ballerina named Marie. Originally shown on HBO.

Descent into the Ice
Follow a team of daring 'glacionauts' as they descend into a labyrinth of unexplored ice caves in Mount Blanc to find trapped flood water that menaces the populated valleys below. From Nova.

Dogs and More Dogs
An entertaining and affectionate search for the secrets of dog variation and behavior. Visit state-of-the-art dog labs where the latest in genetic mapping and even cloning are in the air. Explore the bond we share with these remarkable animals. A Nova program.

The Four-Winged Dinosaur
In 2002, the discovery of a beautiful and bizarre fossil astonished scientists and reignited the debate over the origin of flight. With four wings and superbly preserved feathers, the 130 million-year-old creature was like nothing paleontologists had ever seen before. In this program, Nova travels to the Chinese stone quarry where the fossil was discovered

The Great Robot Race
Twenty-three unmanned robotic vehicles compete in a race sponsored by the Pentagon's research agency across a 130-mile stretch of Nevada desert.

How to Train Your Dragon
Hiccup is a Viking teenager who aspires to hunt dragons, but doesn't exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. His world gets turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view. Rated PG.

The Last Airbender
Join Aang, an extraordinary boy with incredible 'bending' powers, as he journeys through an exotic land filled with magical creatures and powerful friends. As the Avatar, he is the only one who can end the age-old conflict between the four nations, Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. Rated PG.

Lizard Kings
Though they may look like dragons and inspire stories, they are actually monitor lizards, the largest lizard to walk the planet. With acute intelligence, they are a very different kind of reptile, blurring the line between reptiles and mammals. Nova follows expert lizard hunter Dr. Eric Pianka as he tracks the elusive creatures through Australia's heartland, for an unparalleled close encounter with these versatile 'living dragons'. From Nova.

Martha Speaks: Martha Says It with Flowers
Martha is a dog who can speak, thanks to her favorite meal of alphabet soup, and has silly adventures while learning new words along the way.

Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist
A visit to Paris gives a self-centered teenager a lesson in art, life and love, as she interacts with her aunt, the artist Mary Cassatt.  Originally shown on HBO.

Nanny McPhee Returns
When Nanny McPhee appears at the farmhouse door of a busy young mother Isabel Green, she discovers that Mrs. Green's children are in an all-out household war with their two spoiled city cousins. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and an elephant that turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to show the children five valuable lessons, the most important of which is how to get along. Rated PG.

Rembrandt, Fathers and Sons
The artist Rembrandt loses his wife and in his grief neglects his infant son. It is his apprentice who convinces Rembrandt to fullfil his parental duties. Finally understanding his own father, Rembrandt breaks with artistic convention to produce his masterpiece, "The Nightwatch." Originally shown on HBO.

Secrets of the Crocodile Caves: The Unique Animals of Madagascar
The remote Ankarana preserve on the island of Madagascar, a few hundred miles off the coast of Africa, shelters an astonishing array of exotic wild animals including: Nile crocodiles that live in caves, rare crowned lemurs, and the lethal fossa. Join your guides and explore this rarely seen island refuge. A Nova program.

Tangled
When the kingdom's most wanted bandit Flynn Rider hides in a mysterious tower, the last thing he expects to find is Rapunzel, a spirited teen with an unlikely superpower, 70 feet of magical golden hair! Together, the unlikely duo sets off on a fantastic journey filled with surprising heroes, laughter, and suspense. Rated PG.

Toy Story 3
As Andy prepares to leave for college, his loyal toys find they have been donated to the Sunnyside Daycare where untamed tots with their sticky little fingers do not play nice. So, it's all for one and one for all as they join Barbie's counterpart Ken, a thespian hedgehog named Mr. Pricklepants, and a pink, strawberry-scented teddy bear called Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear to plan their great escape and ensure that no toy gets left behind. Rated G.

Typhoid Mary, the Most Dangerous Women in America
In 1906 in America it was first discovered that humans could transmit typhoid fever. This is a dramatization of the outbreak and a profile of Irish cook Mary Mallon, known as 'Typhoid Mary'. Quarantined against her will, the story reveals the newfound power of health officials to protect the masses, often at the expense of personal liberties.

In the library’s SWAN online catalog, you can find described dvd’s using the following keywords:

• Described video
• English audio description for the visually impaired
• Optional descriptive audio in English for the visually impaired

Elmhurst Public Library
www.elmhurstpubliclibrary.org
(630) 279-8696