The new Rugrats series is now available on Paramount+. Fans can join Tommy, Chucky, and their friends as they go on all new adventures. From learning to be brave to defending their toys from an evil clutter genius, the babies are back in action looking to have fun, eat mud, and discover the world around them.

I received the chance to review the first two episodes and here is what I thought. FYI: All opinions are 100% my own.

As a fan of the original series, I started watching the remake with high hopes. It was exciting knowing that some actors were returning to voice a few main characters, such as Tommy voiced by Elizabeth Daily and Angelica voiced by Cheryl Chase. This was going to be a blast from the past with all the feelings of nostalgia.. The word WAS’ is definitely a foreshadow in this case.

I expected different art, different voices, different stories, and a few new technologies that we have come to enjoy in our daily lives. Let’s face it, the original Rugrats was released 30 years ago. Cell phones and other advancements were not used like they are now. I am ok with all of that. Things change and changes can be good. However, when you take a character that served in the military, was proud of his service, and was a strong minded individual and then completely turn him upside-down to become something the character originally did not approve of, I cringe.

Grandpa Lou Pickles is one of my favorite characters from the original Rugrats show. His war time stories, hilarious shenanigans’, and insanely deep sleep naps were what made Grandpa, Grandpa. He didn’t approve of hippies, struggled to understand his boys career choices, and obviously had opinions that differed from those around him. Many of his conversations were with Tommy since his boys often found him outdated and old. Tommy, however, adored him. He had stories of working at Area 51, stories of the trenches, and stories of love. His character was the most developed and well rounded in the entire series.

This new series takes Grandpa Pickles and switches off his charm, his character, and his knowledge. He is now a yoga loving, healthy cooking, grandpa babysitter. And while those attributes are not at all wrong to have, they just don’t go with Grandpa Pickles. I am not sure if the creators were trying to be ironic when they made him a hippie, but it didn’t work. I can only ask, What Happened to Grandpa Lou Pickles?

If we take Grandpa Lou Pickles out of the equation, I still didn’t enjoy much of the show. The faces were often emotionless, the comedy was lacking, and the stories were a little boring. Yes, the show featured blasts from the past like Doctor Who and Jurassic Park, but without those, it lacks the luster of the original. Sadly, I am unable to give this the SKGaleana’s seal of approval.

Maybe they will fix future episodes to fit more with what Rugrats fans are looking for. If they do, I will certainly add an edit to this review.

For those looking for the original, Nickelodeon has released the entire series on a 26 DVD disc set. We get the original Grandpa Lou Pickles, Tommy, and all his friends as they explore the world using their imaginations. Grab a copy from Amazon.com (affiliate link) to re-watch the journey of our lovable baby friends.

I should start this blog post with a little information about myself. I just so happen to be a person that absolutely loves stickers. I mean I have a huge collection. Most feature geeky things like Star Wars or Disney characters, but I truly collect almost all stickers. The more unusual or creative the sticker is, the better. I have several friends that go on the hunt for the most unique stickers they can find in order to send me a fun little thinking-of-you gift. I love it so much. So when I received the chance to review a set of family fun activity books that contain stickers, I couldn’t say no.

Thank you Insight Editions for giving me the opportunity to review some fun and amazing books. To my readers, all opinions are 100% my own. I only share and recommend products or services I think will be a good fit for my readers. This post does contain affiliate links that I receive a commission for when an item is purchased.

Now let’s enter the exciting world of animals!

I was sent three books to review:

• Colorful Creatures,
• Curious Creatures,
• and Habitats and the Animals Who Lives in Them

I thought these books were going to be standard size sticker books, something in the range of maybe 10 pages of photos with a page of maybe 10 to 20 stickers. However, these books are enormous! Each book contains 2 pages of stickers and over 100 pages of amazing photos of animals, insects, and environments. Each page features several different animals, fun facts, activities, or other interesting information the whole family will enjoy doing and learning. For example, some pages may contain word searches, mazes, or other interactive puzzle games.

The sticker pages are absolutely amazing. Many of the animals we, sticker-enthusiast like myself and my family, don’t see as stickers very often. For example, below there is a camel, a moose, a shark, a lizard, and other colorful animals from the Habitats book. These animals are not that mainstream and it is awesome to see them in the sticker world.

Not only do we get awesome animals stickers, we also get gorgeous animal stickers. The colors are vibrant, the shapes are fun, and the details are very realistic. It looks as if the artist took actual photos and made stickers out of them. I love them so much! My favorite one is the eagle. I know I will be sneaking that one out of the book before my family starts placing the stickers all over the beautiful scenes found within the book. (insert evil grin here)

As an added bonus, there are a lot of stickers. I counted the stickers on one page from the Habitats book and the first page has over 50 unique animals stickers! That is enough to cover all the sticker scenes in the activity book and have some to spare for other fun projects (that means I get to keep my eagle sticker). I love it when books spare no expense when it comes to their sticker collection.

Along with the stickers, each book also comes with a vibrant poster featuring dozens of colorful animals. The poster is about 16 inches by 20 inches (my random guess hahaha). The posters are folded into quarters and taped to the inside back cover of the book. While I love the posters, the tape is a bit annoying. Even taking it slow and steady, I couldn’t remove the tape without causing damage to the beautifully made posters. I understand the need to keep the poster with each book, but I think it needed to be in a plastic sleeve to keep it safe.

Putting the tape aside, the posters are beautiful. Lots of colors, lots of animals, and lots of images that catch the eye. I took a picture of Curious Creatures’ poster to show how unique these posters are. This one contains images of parrots, goldfish, snakes, frogs , and so much more. It is almost like a seek and find poster. Someone can say an animal and the family tries to find it . Good luck, there are a lot of animals to see.

Even with the poster tape fiasco, I still think these books are absolutely amazing. They are colorful, filled with tons of animals, contain 2 pages of animal stickers, and have amazing activities to enjoy! Like they say on each cover, these books will make family learning fun! I give the collection five stars. I almost made it four stars because of the tape on the posters, but there are so many amazing features such as photos of animals, fun activities, and tons of stickers that I figured one piece of tape doesn’t take away the sheer awesomeness that these books have.

Below are some more details for each book and what families can expect with each amazing edition.

Colorful Creatures

Colorful Creatures features animals in a rainbow of colors. There is a section for each color of the rainbow and these sections contain photos of animals in each color tone: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink, brown,, black, white, and gray, and multi-colored. Readers will find red parrots, orange cats, yellow snakes, green fish, blue lizards, purple beetles, brown spiders, black dolphins, and much more. Many of these sections contain mazes, connect the dots, sticker scenes, and other engaging activities. I have included a little flip through video so that families can see just how many facts, photos, and activities this book contains.

Curious Creatures

Curious creatures features animals that are more unique. It separates animals into specific categories that make us curious about why they have these special features and how do they use them. The categories are:

• Eyes and Ears
• Fur, Feathers, and Prickles
• Patterns
• Beaks, Bills, and Noses
• Shells and Scales
• Tusks, Horns, and Antlers
• Tails
• Body Shapes
• Arms, Legs, Hands, and Feet
• Wings
• Teeth and Claws
• Glow in the Dark

Within the pages are tons of animals and their curious features with fun activities to match. There are also 2 pages of stickers that feature many of the curious animals depicted inside the book. Check out the flip through below for a speed look at many of the pages.

Habitats and the Animals Who Live In Them

Habitats and the Animals Who Live in Them shares photos of different environments and the unique animals that make their homes in them. The habitats range from beach animals to urban oddities. Each area shows what possible animals can be found, what they look like, and fun activities for the family to learn together. The Habitats include:

• Beach
• Mountain
• Rainforest
• Ocean
• Polar
• Desert
• Grassland
• Rivers and Lakes
• Woodland
• Reefs
• Urban
• Camouflage

I will admit, because I grew up in Alaska, the Polar section has a special place in my heart, but it is awesome to learn about all the other habitats that can be found on our blue marble of a planet.

I created a fast flip through of the Habitat book to showcase the awe-inspiring environments, unique animals, and the two pages of stickers. Viewers may also spy a few fun activities like mazes, spot the difference, or finish the pattern.

What I love most about all three of these books is that they are very visual, very colorful, and extremely fun. The whole family can enjoy the activities, looking at the animals from all over the globe, and enjoy learning as a family. It is a wonderful way to encourage family time, activity time, and of course, sticker time.

MTV Entertainment Group and Paramount+ have combined forces this Mother’s Day to bring forth Dave and Virginia Hanlon Grohl’s epic unscripted series From Cradle to Stage, which is streaming today, May 6th! This series focuses on specific rock stars and their relationship with their mothers. It also dives into the upbringing of each rock star and the journey their mother’s took as the rockers reached for the stars.

In anticipation of From Cradle to Stage coming to Paramount+, I received the chance to watch and review the series, share my unique opinion, and open a fun mailer. I want to take this opportunity to thank MTV Entertainment Group and Paramount+ for sponsoring this post. I also want to reassure my readers that all of my opinions are 100% my own.

When I first heard about the series From Cradle to Stage, I honestly had no idea what to expect. Was this going to be another documentary about the life of a rock star? I have seen several shows featuring rock stars and I am usually unimpressed. But when I was offered the opportunity to watch a screener, I figured why not. Let’s see what From Cradle to Stage is all about.

The first episode of From Cradle to Stage features Dan Reynolds, the singer from Imagine Dragons, which just so happens to be one of my favorite bands. Way to go Paramount+, I am now hooked. With Dave and Virginia Grohl controlling the narrative, the story of Dan’s childhood is told through the eyes and experiences of those who lived it, Dan and his mom Christene. We quickly learn that Dan is one of nine siblings, he was raised Mormon, and that his mom, although apprehensive, supported his choice to be a musician..

I love how this episode gets the point of view from the family, those closest to Dan, and, of course, the mom. It is enlightening to hear their tales of how they go from child to superstar. What I love most about this series is that the conversations with those who helped shaped the rock star’s future are all unscripted. Dave or Virginia ask a question and we get a real time honest answer and expression. Weirdly, it makes me feel closer to the musician and some how, I like Imagine Dragons even more.

Dan and Christene Reynolds is the first episode that will get the viewers hooked, I know it hooked me. The next episodes will be released every Thursday over the next five weeks. Each will feature a rock star and their mother. I have included the list below. I am sure for many music fans, one of these episodes will feature a rock star they know and enjoy listening to.

• Episode 1: Dan and Christene Reynolds (May 6, 2021)
• Episode 2: Pharrell and Carolyn Williams (May 13, 2021)
• Episode 3: Miranda and Bev Lambert (May 20, 2021)
• Episode 4: Brandi and Teresa Carlile (May 27, 2021)
• Episode 5: Tom and Mary Morello (June 3, 2021)
• Episode 6: Geddy Lee and Mary Weinrib (June 10, 2021)

The future episodes of From Cradle to Stage follow the same premise. Dave and Virginia meet with the mom and the singer, get a point of view of their life, and ask interesting questions to get real reactions and answers about their path and their rock star/mom relationship. I will say this, with some of the musicians, the answers are impressive, however, other musicians make me blink in a stupor to their one word answer. Pharrell Williams is one of the musicians that shocked me the most. His interview shows this quiet almost shy person as he stares at the camera searching for an answer. Unlike his interview character, his music depicts this out-going lyrical man that can slam some of the most popular music out with record breaking sales. I would almost swear the two are completely different people. I wonder if this is because his mom might be watching the interview.

When the moms are interviewed, From Cradle to Stage goes from a rock star journey to a family journey. Many of us know that Miranda Lambert is a famous country singer, but not many of us know how her mom helped facilitate her journey to becoming a major country star. For example, did you know that Miranda’s mom, Beverly, became her “mom-ager?”

From Cradle to Stage is a fantastic series filled with honesty, humor, amazing childhood stories, and most importantly, it shares the reason for the rock star’s success, their mom. It tugs at your heart, makes you love the musicians even more, and literally makes you want to pull out some of their music and just enjoy the beat that all started with a supportive mother and her need-to-rock child. I love every part of this series and fully give it my recommendation with a 5 star review.

After watching the series and absolutely enjoying everything about From Cradle to Stage, I decided to do an unboxing video with my exciting MTV and Paramount+ mailer. The items inside cater to the rock star in all of us, give a shoutout to the moms for Mother’s Day, and a specific item shocked me and my camera person. I mean what is inside this mailer makes perfect sense, and you won’t hear my camera person complaining hahaha. I truly hope you enjoy and subscribe to get more fun videos in the future: SKGaleana on YouTube.