| The Baby Einstein Company's "video board books" were designed as music-focused developmental tools to stimulate babies' brains (prompted by research proving that exposure to classical melodies can improve verbal ability, spatial intelligence, creativity, and memory in youngsters). Now the company is expanding into other art forms, including color and art. The idea remains the same--taking bold, beautiful objects (toys, puppets, nature scenes) and setting them to fun renditions of classical music (their recordings are easily the best in the crowded field of child development). A new puppet--Vincent Van Goat--introduces the six primary colors and associates them with Van Gogh's paintings--"The Starry Night" for blue, "Wheat Fields with Reaper" for yellow. The only misstep is the poetry written and read by creator Julie Aigner-Clark, which is strongly reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days. The company suggests the program is for toddlers between the ages of 1 and 4. Harsh sounds between segments--such as balloons popping and tires screeching--will draw the attention of youngsters but will probably render the video inappropriate for babes in arms. The video can be purchased by itself or with a beautifully produced 28-page book featuring Van Gogh's paintings, screen shots from the video, and Clark's poems. The combination set may be the best way to engage 3- and 4-year-olds' interest; they can follow along in the text while watching the video. Music includes "The William Tell Overture," "The Blue Danube," "Bolero," and Brahms's "Lullaby." The video also provides information on the cool toys seen in the ending "Toy Chest" segment. --Doug Thomas |
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 Another 'hit' for Baby Einstein Company |
| Review Date: September 12, 2000 |
| Reviewer: , |
| We have all of the video products of the Baby Einstein Company. This video is more similar in format to Baby Shakespeare than the Baby Mozart / Baby Bach videos. Nevertheless, I would say that Baby Van Gogh is a better attention-getter and -holder than Baby Shakespeare. The visuals are much more professional and entertaining - the main content being color and art, as opposed to poetry readings. If you are new to the Baby Einstein Company's products, I highly recommend them over the products of the competing companies (we have a VERY extensive childern's video library). The live-action visuals are far more engaging to infants and toddlers than the computer graphics and animation of other videos. In this respect (visually), Baby Van Gogh is even more dynamic than some of the earlier Baby Einstein productions - and certainly has a bit higher production quality. For babies under 6 months, however, I would recommend Baby Mozart as the best 'starter' in the series. As with Baby Mozart, Baby Bach and Baby Einstein, my daughter (now almost nine months) cannot get enough of this video. |
Best in Baby Einstein line so far!
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| Review Date: August 22, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Nikol Le Vine, San Diego, CA United States |
| We have a number of the Baby Einstein videos in our home, but Baby Van Gogh is our hands-down favorite. There are a number of segments on each of the basic colors, showing toys and nature photography that feature those colors. There are children also illustrating the colors (a little girl holding a lemon, boys holding a blue umbrella, etc.). Some of the other Baby Einstein videos feature only girls in live-action shots, but Baby Van Gogh has an even mix of boys and girls. I doubt my son really cares one way or the other, but I liked that aspect. The music featured in this video/DVD is also impressive. There are selections from some classical favorites like the William Tell Overture or Bolero. It's nice to have some variety, as opposed to an entire video of Bach or Mozart. Another thing that impressed me about this video is the artwork they use to further illustrate certain colors. For each color, they have a different painting by Van Gogh (Starry Night for blue, Sunflowers for Orange, and so on). This video brings together so many different aspects and blends them together seamlessly: art, nature, music. At the end of the video, there is also a segment that details the toys shown throughout the program and their manufacturer. So in case you're impressed with any of the items featured, you can buy them for yourself. Truly, this video more than any other provides a complete "Baby Einstein" experience. It's sure to be a favorite in any home. |
Great for infants!
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| Review Date: July 30, 2002 |
| Reviewer: History_of_Art_Geek, Phoenix, AZ |
| As one who strongly supports reading to children, I was a "little" anti-TV for my youngster, until watching THIS video. Julie Aigner-Clark is a genius! Her innovative products, exceptionally creative, are designed to entertain children while they learn. "Baby Van Gogh," is no exception. With an imaginative approach, this instantly engaging video teaches colors through cleverly written text, and real world objects, while stimulating auditory senses with classically arranged musical pieces. My son was immediately mesmerized from the first viewing, two-months old, and remains fascinated to this day, now fourteen months old. I heard about Baby Einstein products from friends, but did not become interested until I learned of the company's dedication to providing financial support to MANY children's charities such as the Autism Society of America, Ronald McDonald House, The Eden Institute, a leading school for educating autistic children, and a host of other organizations committed to children with special needs. I now own several Baby Einstein videos and most of the companion books - they are excellent educational tools. Additional recommendations - "Baby Shakespeare," "Baby Mozart," "Baby Dolittle Neighborhood Animals," also, Richard Scarry's "BEST" videos are excellent for children 1 year and up. |
Excellent
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| Review Date: March 11, 2003 |
| Reviewer: KMT, Collingswood, NJ United States |
| When I received 'Baby Einstein' at our baby shower, I had never heard of this before and was kind of skeptical about introducing my child to TV in infancy. Now, almost 9 months later, I'm happy to say that we are all big fans. And these products are appearing more and more on baby registries for almost all of our friends who are expecting. We own several of the videos in the series, and Baby Van Gogh is probably the reigning champ (followed closely by Baby Mozart and the original, Baby Einstein). The use of color and art are really wonderful ways to delight and entertain a child, and my husband and I find ourselves a bit mesmerized as well. My daughter also loves seeing the other kids in the video and giggles pretty regularly at the same faces and smiles. The creation of these videos, DVDs, CDs and books was a stroke of genius...Baby Einstein is truly an appropriate name. |
3 Cheers for Baby "Van Goat"
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| Review Date: September 8, 2000 |
| Reviewer: , |
| We now have the whole series of Bsby Einstein videos, much to the delight of my 10 month old son. This video, led by Vincent Van Goat. continues in the tradition of Baby Shakespeare in combining poetry and music with bright visuals of puppets and toys and small children. This is the first tape in the series in which little boys get to share the screen with little girls and that is a welcome change. The video focuses on introducing color to children and shows the pictures of Van Gogh as painted by Van Goat. My little boy loves this one too and I would highly recomend it! |
If you choose one from this series, it should be this one
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| Review Date: May 19, 2002 |
| Reviewer: , |
It seems every mother I know has a video from this collection.
I have 2, but have seen all the others time and again. Our favorites, hands down, are Van Gogh and Dolittle Neighborhood.
The others are good, too (with the exception of Baby Einstein, which is miserably boring and uneffective). The problem is that
they are all very, very similar. So you don't need but a couple.
Van Gogh does have its disadvantages, and that is that the images aren't representative of the color they are teaching.
Dolittle is great. Our triplets have been mesmorized by these
videos time and again, although I must say that they also are smitten with the Baby Know-It-All Series, and tend to interact much better with them. I would suggest the Einstein videos for baby's under one year, whereas The Wiggles and Baby Know-It-All are most suitable for 1 year and up.
As for the other videos in the series, we did not like Baby Newton--too slick, and although Shakespeare has great imagery, it only has one poem from Shakespeare and we find that disappointing on the verge of misleading.
Bach and Mozart are almost identical-better to buy a well made music cd from another company. |
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