Rating: Summary: Great Music, But One Big Sales Pitch for Toys! Review: As a fine arts teacher for middle and upper schoolers, I was very excited to see what all the hype was about. The combination of music with visual art is a natural way to involve multiple senses for all ages and create that "teachable moment" in a fun and exhilerating way.Granted, the music is great -- how could it not be? But to pair such masterpieces with commercial toys in a very clumsy and amateurish video production and call this educational is an abomination! Really, the only purpose that I see to this pairing is pure and simple -- money. They want you to buy all the toys. And after watching this over and over, your kids will beg you to go out and buy them! Now are the toys really that bad? Probably not, but for a production that prides itself solely on its educational value, then why are we all subjected to one big commercial for all of these products? (I find it very interesting that at the end of the video, the narrator/creator tells us exactly where we can buy all of the toys -- hmmm, what is she getting in return for this "free" advertising?) This series had great potential, and does expose kids to classical music(thus the 2 stars). My two nieces (8 months and 3 years) are mesmerized when they watch it. Entertaining? Perhaps. But is it educational? Not in my book. Just think what it would have been like if the creator had paired the music with swirling abstract colors, shapes, and lines, like Disney's "Fantasia" where characters morph into abstractions to emulate and support the idea that music is an abstract form of communication. Or even if they showed people actually playing instruments to make the connection between what is heard and how the music is produced. Too bad this series wasn't created by real educators.
Rating: Summary: Looks cheap but my 4 month old son loves it! Review: Honestly anyone could make a video like this by filming items around their home and adding music. Because of this I was at first disappointed with my purchase, but after I saw how much my son loves it I quickly changed my mind. It keeps him interested when nothing else will and soothes him to sleep when he won't go down on his own.
Rating: Summary: Worst of the series Review: Baby Mozart is great. Baby Beethoven is very good. But as others have noted, Baby Bach is slow, unimaginative, and not worth the money. The most annoying element, by far, is Julie Smith's shameless inclusion of her own kids - dressed and made up in a way that recalls the videos of Jon Benet Ramsey - in segments that have nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the video. It's like some kind of slealth 'video resume' for her kids!
Rating: Summary: Bach is so good! Review: I really like these videos. My daughter is 28-month's old and diagnosed with autism. She will only sit for 10 minutes to Book of Pooh, The Wiggles, Rolie Polie Olie and Kipper videos. I thought I'd give these a try after all I've read about them in children's magazines. I think the best two in this series is the animal ones: Neighborhood and World Animals, but Baby Bach is very good as well. In this video there are toys in motion to Bach's music. The toys are stuffed animals, trains, action toys. The motion of the toys fits very well to the music, which is superb. I am surprised my daughter will sit the entire 25 minutes to this tape. I think the quality of these Baby Einstein videos is remarkable. There are two young children in this video along with a few puppets. Not as many puppets as in later Baby Einstein films though. We really enjoy this tape and it is of very high quality.
Rating: Summary: keeps even small babies entertained Review: my son has loved the baby einstein series since he was 2 months old. the colors and music keep him entertained
Rating: Summary: I agree w/ the others, Baby Mozart is FAR better. Review: I agree with the other reviewers, Baby Mozart is the best of the series. The problem with Baby Bach, Baby Santa's Music Box (the two others I have seen so far) is that there are scenes with children in them. My daughter is not at all interested in the people scenes for some reason. She loves all the movement and all the toys, and in the Bach series, there simply aren't as many moving toy scenes. (Same goes for Baby Santa which is definitely the WORST of Baby Einstein.) I think the thing that bothers me the most about Baby Bach is that Julie Clark puts her children in it, and frankly, I find it to be the MOST annoying part of the show, thank goodness it's only for a few minutes. Trying too hard to be cutesy, believe me, it's not at all cute. In buying the Baby Einsten tapes / DVDs (in general) I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at my daughters reaction. She is captivated by the (moving) scenery, it's amazing to see a five month old so interested, I almost want to videotape her watching it, yes it's that cute. And I think you will be thrilled, too, when you see your child interact. Should you buy this one? Sure, it's one of the better Baby Einstein tapes, but it's not the best. I think the original Baby Mozart is by far the best. They should stick to the original format.
Rating: Summary: FANTASTIC Review: My twins love all of these but they seem to really love this one the most. just mesmorizing to them.
Rating: Summary: Sad Baby Back Review: I ordered Baby Mozart after hearing about it from a number of my friends. My 5 month old daughter loved it and would squeal with delight when it was on, so we decided to get her a couple more of the DVD's. When we received Baby Bach and put it on my daughter started crying within the first 5 minutes and wanted nothing to do with it. I tried it a couple more times over the next week and found no interest in this DVD. I wouldn't recommend it.
Rating: Summary: A Parent's lifesaver Review: My daughter loved this video, along with the Baby Doolittle as she got a little older. She wasn't much of a sleeper early on, and this was a great way to keep her entertained and stimulated, while giving me a few minutes to do a few things around the house. I never felt guilty about her watching a video, as it included classical music and calming movement, vs. some of the other loud, visually blasting videos also on the market. She now has a love of music at 2 years, and seems most riveted to classical tunes. I give it to all my new mom friends as a shower gift!
Rating: Summary: Disappointed in NJ Review: My son LOVED Baby Mozart so I thought this would be similar. I think they were promoting their children too much to concentrate on the content of the video. It still has some great scenes, but they are combined with some awful scenes.
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