Baby Einstein Series

$24.95, DVD-video

Teaches: music, early learning

CTR Review

This is a set of beautifully done videos with names like baby Shakespeare, baby bach and baby einstein. Each DVD compiles videos that previously appeared in VHS format. In Baby Van Gogh, for example, babies might hear the Lone Ranger theme while bright yellow chicks hop across the television. Moving, turning dartboard-like gears and moving liquid decorate other screens. Hands put blocks in cars, and letters are slowly placed on the screen, spelling "GREEN." Each DVD contains 160-170 minutes of well-made video. So what did our baby testers and their parents think? They were evenly divided. All of our testers were between the ages of 12 and 24 months. Some families reported that their babies watched for a couple of minutes and then lost interest pretty much each time they plugged them in. They wouldn't make the purchase as they felt the whole experience was much too passive. Others told us that the videos had the same holding power as the Teletubbies PBS show. Their babies seemed to enjoy the experience, and they would probably buy the less expensive videotape.