[.ca] Scarry, Richard

From Amazon.com:
A painless way of learning a few things about shapes, numbers, letters, opposites, and good manners, Best Learning Songs Video Ever is an engaging treat for young kids who love music. The story finds Huckle Cat and his buddies putting on a backyard variety show that draws the entire town as an audience. With Huck as master of ceremonies and Lowly Worm as stage manager, the children of Busy Town entertain their families and friends with tunes about the fundamentals of an education. Besides Hilda Hippo's ABC song, there's Oly Owl's melody about shapes, and Alex and Anna's song about opposites. There's much more, including a couple of golden oldies such as "If You're Happy and You Know It." A real winner. --Tom Keogh

Sweet, innocent, simple, captivating - A Great Learning Tool:
I started out by buying Richard Scarry's counting DVD. I loved it so much, I bought all the rest (minus the nursery rhymes DVD). My 2-year-old son really enjoys watching the movie, as does my 6-month-old daughter. I personally enjoy the DVD and its innocence. I like that it is simple yet captivating for them. It really holds their attention. I tend to be pretty particular when it comes to movies for my children, making sure they don't teach any bad habits and that it doesn't teach anything contrary to the Bible. I was very pleased to see there wasn't any reference to magic, fairies, etc, as many things tend to include such references these days. The DVD gave more than one example for each letter (F is for Firetruck, etc), and I was so glad to see that all of them were positive examples. What a great learning tool!

Recommended!:
This is my 2nd Richard Scarry DVD - I also have the ABC DVD. Of the two, I think the ABC is better, but this one is quite good too. It covers a series of concepts with a song each, like counting, shapes, prepositions, alphabet, opposites etc. Of the songs, I don't find any of them memorable except the one teaching the alphabet, which is super (A is for apple, B is for bed, C is for crown that you wear on your head etc). The DVD is about 30 minutes long, which I find ideal - you can get a bit of housework done without making the TV too much of a babysitter. Be aware that the Richard Scarry DVDs look a bit low-tech, they are not flashy and polished like Sesame Street DVDs.

Refreshing new songs and great learning concepts:
I'm a huge fan of the Richard Scarry DVDs and videos, and this one is certainly amongst my favourites. It is delightful to learn and sing some new songs with my 15 month all that can teach her about opposites, the alphabet, counting and shapes. The tunes are catchy, the music is appealing and the lyrics are well sung. Very sweet and simple, perfect for toddlers! I don't see myself getting sick of this video any time soon, whereas if I hear "Wheels on the Bus" and "Old McDonald" one more time....

Play this one in a crunch:
I don't rely on the television to entertain my 20-month old, but when I absolutely have to get things done around the house, I put in this DVD. She LOVES it and is mesmerized for the entire 30 minutes. It isn't fast paced like most cartoons and has beautiful music and lyrics. I even find myself humming the songs as I work. Because of the quality of this DVD, I've purchased other Richard Scarry books and DVDs and have been just as satisfied.

Not very entertaining or inspiring:
This video is the one that my child of 32 months is the least interested in. It is rather one-dimensional and does not engage the child. I found it to be boring and not fun. If I could return it, I would. Strangely enough, she and I prefer Barney's Let's Play School much more, even though it is choreographed.