Your Baby Can Read! Volume #1

Remember the scene in Parenthood where the overachieving parent played by Rick Moranis shows flash cards to his baby? Advertised as appropriate for "ages three months and up," this program initially matches a word onscreen with a corresponding image, with the idea that the child will learn to recognize the word later when it appears without the picture. Many of the words seem appropriate for toddlers (title notwithstanding, let's leave babies out of the equation here), including "clock," "bird" and "no." But what about words such as "orangutan," "hippopotamus," "antelope," and "giraffe" (many adults would have trouble spelling these!)? The video also includes (twice each) the songs: "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." No thirty-minute video will teach a child to read (especially babies), but this one--with its decidedly peculiar vocabulary choices--seems particularly ill-suited to the task. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 in the series are also available at the same price.] Aud: K, P. (R. Reagan)