[.ca] Sesame Street: Imagine That!

Rainy day, go away!:
Much like "Kid's Favorite Songs," the production values on this tape are pretty poor. The video consists almost entirely of the contrived setup: a sudden rainstorm traps Zoe, Telly, Gabbi and some other kid-actor types inside Finders Keepers (the neighborhood junk store) without any adult supervision. Mumford appears briefly, almost unrecognizable to my two-year-old as he's both out of costume and context. Most of the songs aren't clips, but are sung by the kids in the store. There is one saving grace to this video: a terrific clip with Ernie singing "Imagine That," the song where he imagines himself a knight and a brave sailor, only to illustrate the fun in being himself in his own home. The only other worthwhile clips are live-action clips of kids, one is "Happy Happiness," with kids playing on the beach. I'd buy this for the Ernie clip, but don't expect too much from the rest.

Good but not great:
My 2 year old son wasn't thrilled with this 30-minute video and hasn't asked to watch it repeatedly like he does with the videos he really enjoys, maybe because he has other Sesame Street Videos and some of the bits and songs are used from other videos, so he is starting to get a little bit bored. However, he did enjoy the song about the rain, and he really likes to see anything with Zoey in it. Probably because Elmo isn't in it at all he doesn't take as much of an interest in it, as Elmo is the character he appears to feel the most comfortable with and helps link him with the other characters. Also it seems that the concepts in the video are for a slightly older child. Still, an enjoyable amd worthwhile video, as are all Sesame Street videos! I do prefer the newer 50 minute Elmo's World video formats, as does my son.

For rainy days and everyday!:
My 20-month-old loves this video! It's a rainy day on Sesame Street and Telly and Zoe, along with three of the regular Sesame Street children, wait out the storm in Finders Keepers. In addition to helping Mumford find his way to the beach, they come up with several imaginative ways to pass the time. The video is lively with lots of catchy songs, which include the fun "Imagine That" sung by Ernie, and "I Love the Rain/I hate the rain." Though younger kids will love this video for the sights and songs, it can be useful for older children as well, as it teaches fun ways to spend rainy days indoors, such as recycling old containers to make fun new toys.