kiddie

Eighty-six years ago, when a kiddie fare cost 15 cents, my then-6-year-old grandmother watched the theater blink from sepia to vivid color splendor.

We’re nearing the home stretch for kiddie summer movies, moms and dads.

The book opens at Phoenix, the clothing store at the Glendale mall where Jada now works, and includes a hilarious yet mostly sincere appreciation for the beleaguered centers of suburban America: “I loved mall smell,” Jada narrates, waxing poetic about the scents of the bins at the candy store and the ever-present pizza smell before admitting that she sometimes even leans down to smell the plastic kiddie ride horses.

Much like its kiddie counterpart, Chuck’s Arcade offers a blend of retro and modern amusements — classics like Donkey Kong and Mortal Kombat sit alongside newer fare like Halo and Connect Four Hoops.

His original animated “How to Train Your Dragon,” made in collaboration with Chris Sanders, is a 21st-century kiddie classic, a spry and delightful adventure about interspecies empathy.