Baby Shakespeare

Rating:
Summary: (Mostly) Guilt-free Pleasure
Review: This video entertains my 16-month-old son without fail, and has for the six months we've owned it. He's seen Baby Van Gogh, Baby Galileo, and Baby Neptune, as well as cartoons and other child-directed video; this remains his favorite.

In brief, it consists mostly of vignettes featuring child-friendly themes such as trains and butterflies, with pictures and poems about each subject drawn from Shakespeare, Ogden Nash, William Wordsworth, W.B. Yeats, and others; these are interspersed with footage of mobile toys with Beethoven's music played behind (performed by a small ensemble featuring piano, guitar, drums, vibes, etc.) and quick shots of kids doing things like singing the ABC song. The gentle, quiet images and music--the other videos mentioned above are busier--seem to connect best with him in his generally calm household (and with his verbal parents).

I recommend it with only a couple reservations, and they're contextual. First, one can argue that the very young shouldn't get a lot of TV exposure, and I won't argue against that. Secondly, I can't swear that Alex is taking away a lot from this, only that he finds it more engaging than any other TV/video he sees, and we believe its content is wholesome and harmless... and that's what we ask of it.

Other Baby Einstein reviewers have ranted that the videos are "baby crack": mesmerizing, risking the creation of ADHD-speed attention spans, and indoctrinating about toy products. I think that's catastrophizing. My son watches this easily because it's colorful, simple, and has toys and kids in it--the things that interest him--without a lot of frenzy; he gets bored with cartoons or Sesame Street, but not this.

As other reviewers say: Maybe its greatest value is in holding little attentions for a half hour without damaging them, so bathroom or household tasks can be knocked out without howls and pleas for attention. It accomplishes this without turning Alex into a zombie, and he's always impressed that I know the ABC song or Julie's opening poem about the main character. Don't ask it to educate your child or babysit beyond one-showing's length, and I think you'll be happy (and mostly guilt-free) that it's in your house.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Educational DVD; Perfect "Time-Out" for M&D
Review: Our daughter has been watching "Baby Shakespeare" since around 8 months. The language elements (each separate vignette tracks to a word, like "grass," "snow," "leaf," etc.) were a bit beyond her at first --it's not like she was repeating the words or anything -- but the combination of words, music (classical -- mainly Beethoven) and images make her giggle constantly and keep her riveted for about half an hour.

Officially, "Bard the Dragon" is the hero of the DVD, and our daughter is now sufficiently familiar with Bard so that she laughs at him as he frolics on screen. Other giggles come from the shots of the live kids singing the "ABCs," and from some of the toys that are shown on-screen during the musical numbers. Bard has other "friends" in the DVD, but they aren't on the screen as much, so our daughter hasn't gotten quite as "bonded" with them as she has with Bard.

The DVD has a few options, but you will probably find yourself hitting the main "Theater" option most. I recommend that you resist the temptation for auto-replay. This option seems to lead to burn-out for the kids faster.

Rating:
Summary: Puppets, Poetry, and Playthings
Review: This was once my daughter's favorite video. Now it is fast becoming a favorite of my son's. It is called Baby Shakespeare but there are only a few lines of his used. This is similar to Baby Mozart with its footage of toys in motion and classical music, but this one has added poetry to the mix.

The video is broken into segments. Each segment begins with an opening curtain, a toy camera, and a word. The word is shown and a poem about the word is used. The poems are really not for children (especially the snow poem which is probably above many adult heads). There is then plenty of footage of toys in motion. The segments vary in length (Cat is really short). The segments then end with a closing curtain.

The credits attribute the music to Beethoven but there are at least two pieces using Mozart. This one also uses more in the way of puppets, especially Bard the dragon (he's on the cover of the box).

As a lover of classical music, I find this video far less annoying after numerous repetitions than many other children's videos. Just remember to turn this one off before the ending credits. After the sleepy final segment (Moon) hopefully lulls your child to sleep, the credits jump in with a rousing Ode to Joy.