Baby's Favorite Places: First Words--Around Town (NR, 2006)

Baby Einstein is well known and loved by parents for presenting their little ones with entertaining and enriching videos and DVDs on everything from colors to sounds. Now, the series presents your child with a new opportunity: to identify the things that make up her world. In BABY EINSTEIN: BABY'S FAVORITE PLACES, kids are taken on a gentle adventure around their known world: from their house, driveway, or street to the library and park. Learning happens through repetition, and children are given the chance to learn several ways: through words, sounds, and, with the help of Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, sign language. Between vignettes, they're encouraged by good-natured puppy, kitty, and squirrel puppets who explore the world as your toddler would.

While it's geared for kids as young as age 1, we (along with the American Academy of Pediatrics) recommend that children under 2 avoid all screen media (TV, computers, DVDs, videos) and therefore are only recommending it for kids 2+.

Of course, many families will feel comfortable sharing this DVD with their babies. One 18-month-old demanded to watch it again immediately after his first viewing. He was engaged by it, pointing, asking questions (in baby talk) and putting down his sippy-cup long enough to scrutinize the funny images of doggies hiking, kitties cooking, and raccoons getting the newspaper. Even his 3-year-old sister enjoyed watching and identifying the words as objects came on screen.

Studio: Buena Vista
Director: Bill Weisbach
Cast: Mallory Lewis, Marlee Matlin
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 35 minutes
Theatrical release: July 25, 2006
DVD release: July 25, 2006
MPAA Rating: NR