children's video & dvd review

  Product Review
There is so much to discover in the sky--from the sun and clouds, to the stars and moon, to planets and galaxies. Baby Galileo explores the fascinating sky through intriguing sights and sounds, and is the latest video in the Baby Einstein series. Intended as a "video board book", this video features intriguing visuals set to "reorchestrated" classical music.

The visuals are eye-catching and often mesmerizing, and include a creative mix of kinetic art, toys, real-world objects (live-action video), and fun puppet shows. The puppets offer young viewers a little dose of slapstick comedy, and the spinning tops, colorful pinwheels, and mobiles capture children's interest. Children are introduced to the sun, clouds, stars, moon, planets, galaxies, and space through a series of mixed media vignettes. For example, the sun is depicted in a variety of ways--through live-action scenes, drawings, toy sunflowers, and more. For the most part, classical music is featured, but the video also includes "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" sung by children. The video cycles through each planet, and includes text for each new concept introduced.

While the video's focus is an exploration of nature, children also learn about the concept of night and day. Because the video naturally progresses from "good morning" to "good night", it makes a fantastic before-bed video. As with previous titles in the series, the choreography is superb, the transitions between sequences are smooth and interesting, and the scene changes seem to have been carefully timed to maintain a young child's attention. In comparison to other videos in the series, we found Baby Galileo more low-key and subdued than others. Again, it is a good choice for winding-down time.

Dollar Value
The video retails for approximately $15 US; and the DVD edition is available for a suggested retail price of $20 US.

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