When I received the latest Little Einsteins DVD for review, Little Einsteins: Fire Truck Rocket’s Blastoff, complete with never-before-seen episode “Fire Truck Rocket,” I thought I’d just grab a few quotes from my son and be done with it. Why shouldn’t the four-year-old who is the intended viewer be the reviewer, too?
There may be some precious “out of the mouths of babes” gems to follow, but I had to put in my two cents about the real hook on this DVD: the interactive component. No, I’m not talking about interactivity akin to Dora yelling at the pint-sized viewer from inside the screen (though Swiper’s “Oh Man!” sounds awfully cute coming out of a preschooler’s mouth). Think Wii meets your remote, meets Who Wants to be a Millionaire … or maybe Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?.
Let me clarify … the first question on Millionaire, or the first grade questions on Fifth Grader. Yes, that’s right: either my child is the next Einstein or the questions on the interactive feature are designed for, well, the not-Einsteins. There, I dodged that bullet and avoided any — or at least many — hate comments.
Beyond the disappointment of the interactive feature — which is a fun idea but sorta boring in actuality — you get four episodes of a show your kids would most likely love. There really is a little bit of everything — music, math, shapes, colors, social values, culture … it’s a show you’d want your kids to watch.
As for the episodes included, the four-year-old had some things to say. “Fire Truck Rocket” has a great beginning song (The 1812 Overture!), and he was actually sad that there aren’t really music pets to have, like in “Melody The Music Pet.” Carmine the car is pretty cool because he has trombones on his sides, and, well, then there’s ice cream.
How can you lose?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Sep 09, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
