Baby's Bedtime; Baby's Storytime

These two volumes in the "Stories to Remember" series are aimed towards toddlers and pre-schoolers, and are the weakest of the four tapes. Based on the picture books by Kate Chorao, the videos feature an anthology of favorite fairy tales and lullabies for children. Baby's Bedtime is built around folk lullabies sung by Judy Collins. There are a few bright tunes, but for the most part the songs seem to run together as many incorporate the same ideas (and, on the animation end, many of the same backgrounds and sequences; the moon, for instance, crops up quite frequently). Songs include: "Rock-a-bye Baby," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and "Hush, Little Baby." Mind you, the program is not poorly done, merely boringly done. Baby's Storytime is better, though the rapid pace of Arlo Guthrie's narration is bound to lose younger audiences. Eleven tales, including "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," and "The Gingerbread Boy" are rendered in versions which opt for the original stories instead of the modern updates. Ergo, Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are indeed swallowed up by the wolf, and freed when the huntsman takes an ax to the wolf's belly. And two of the three little pigs do make the trek to hog heaven, as they did in the original-rather than escape to the home of the third little pig, as is often the case in modern retellings. Both of the videos are inexpensive, neither would be a rash or foolish purchase-we just hoped they'd be better. Recommended, with the above reservations. (Available from most distributors.)