Time Machine
2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best Baby Einstein Video - a review of Baby Einstein Language Nursery, May 12, 2005

196 Reviews Say It All... This is not the best Baby Einstein Video of the many that are on the market and I would suggest you buy all of the others before this one. Particularly good are the early B.E.'s.

Our principal reason to dislike this video is the lack of music which leaves it 'dry' and plainly dull: the readers are not particularly inspired and read in a monotone. Then there are the other odd things that others have commented on, like counting to 20 when the clock only goes to 12. That confused by son who is 2.5 years old and who still loves the Baby Einstein franchise.

And I would have thought it would have been more productive to read commonly known nursery rhymes, in tempo, in the various languages... rather than reading heaven's knows what.

Save this one for last.

I really like the premise: expose our children to multiple languages using attractive photographs. The pictures are clear and colorful, and the book uses the ever effective mirror at the end, which really grabs a little one's attention. The facing page uses one sentence to describe the picture, translated in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Hebrew. Pronunciations are written underneath. The downside is that the book is not engaging enough to serve as a storytime, with its simple sentences, most of which the child (my children, at least) don't even understand. Better to consider it a teaching tool. My kids and I do read it every now and again, because I have an interest in languages and I like introducing them to my children. Still, it is not a bookshelf favorite. ( )

The pictures offer easy identification and will continue to be fun as s/he understands that the same item can be described in more than one language.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.