The Baby Einstein Company has a new DVD in town called “Baby’s Favorite Places: First Words — Around Town.” This new video features baby’s first words around the neighborhood and around the town. This is the second Baby Einstein video to feature the words in sign language; the first was “Baby Wordsworth: First Words — Around the House.” As in “Baby Wordsworth,” Academy Award Winning actress Marlee Matlin introduces the sign language for the word as a picture of the object is shown next to her. Each word is spoken as well. At the end of each segment, a child is shown performing the signs. “Baby’s Favorite Places” is divided into three segments: My Street, The Park, and Main Street. Pavlov, our favorite dog from “Neighborhood Animals,” hosts this DVD. Music by Scott Joplin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is provided by the Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra throughout the video.
My Street
First words introduced in this segment are mailbox, driveway, fence, sidewalk, and garden. Each word is presented under a picture while Marlee Matlin signs next to it. Then, the real-life presentations of each word begin. There are children planting flowers in a garden and kids playing hopscotch on a sidewalk. Children ride bikes and boys play basketball in a driveway. At the end of this segment, Pavlov is trying to put mail in a mailbox but it keeps flying out. Finally, a squirrel (a new character) pokes out his head which is covered with a nightcap. Apparently, the squirrel was trying to sleep.
The Park
Picnic, playing field, playground, trail, and pond are the words presented in this segment. Of course children are shown feeding the ducks and fishing by a pond. Soccer and baseball fields are occupied at the park. Children swing and play on the see-saw and slide. When Pavlov tries to have a picnic with the raccoon and the squirrel, a bunch of ants come along and drag the food away. Surprisingly enough, the ants are not stealing the food, but are taking it to a shady place under a tree.
Main Street
There are two separate parts to this segment. The first part features school, library, salon, bank, and florist. The second part shows cafe, ice cream shop, restaurant, market, and bakery. Children are shown real-life images as people stand in long lines at the bank and kids have their hair cut. Couples are having coffee at a cafe and families walk out of the ice cream shop with cones piled high.
I do not feel that “Baby’s Favorite Places” compares to the higher standards of some of the other Baby Einstein videos. First of all, in comparison to “Baby Wordsworth,” I noticed that the children do not do all of the signs correctly. Yes, I realize that they are children, but when you are trying to teach another child how to communicate, accuracy is crucial. Some of the words presented as “baby’s firsts” are a little weird to me, too. I can’t imagine that when a child goes into town with his/her parents that a florist or a cafe might be one of the first places to go. I applaud The Baby Einstein Company in its effort, but unfortunately this video is not one of my favorites.
“Baby’s Favorite Places: First Words — Around Town” is available for purchase from The Baby Einstein Company, Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, and other retailers.