I Can Build!; Look What Happens At the Carwash; What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?: Railroaders; Working At Sea

Video producers have discovered a goldmine in moving objects, and consequently we're being deluged with planes, trains, and automobiles videos. Four new entries explore building a backyard playhouse, riding through a carwash, the world of trains, and working at sea. I Can Build follows a mom, dad, son, and daughter as they design, select materials for, and eventually build a nifty playhouse. Excellent computer-animated sequences detail each of the stages of the project, from laying the foundation, and building and raising the walls, to adding a second story and a balcony. Naturally, kids are going to want their parents to build one of these babies for them tonight. Which, in turn, will have moms and dads waxing Bobby Darinesque as they sing the refrain to "If I Were a Carpenter." A couple scenes are either repetitive or pointless, but overall I Can Build! will actually give young viewers a good introductory lesson in basic architecture, and it's nice to see girls in a subject that has traditionally been considered a "guy thing." Recommended. Ages 4-8.Look What Happens at the Carwash, on the other hand, is not nearly as creative. This "unique talkfree video documentary" is different from all the other unique talkfree video documentaries in a way that is apparently not evident to the naked eye. The host, a zany, amiable kid named Zoomer, drives his car through mud, washes his car by hand (continually mugging at the camera), unwashes his car by hand (the whole washing segment is shown in reverse; an annoying and increasingly common method of filler in children's videos), and then finally takes his car to the carwash. The video jacket claims that the program is "closed captioned" but, except for a couple of title cards which Zoomer holds up at the end of the video, I saw no indication of it. Not a bad video, but not an exceptionally good one either. An optional purchase. Ages 3-6.But the pick of this litter is clearly What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?: Railroaders, a winning combination of strong visuals, information about trains and the people who operate them, and a slew of traditional railroading songs. More than a little inspired by Shining Time Station, this program features three young travelers named Allison, Armondo, and Jacob, who arrive at a magical train station run by Mister Charlie. Each of the kids gets a free ride on the train of their dreams (in Allison's case, her wish for the Orient Express is substituted with an Amtrak Superliner), while viewers learn about how steam powers a locomotive; what conductors, engineers, and brakemen do; and the real story behind the Wabash Cannonball. The superb array of background songs include: "John Henry," "Casey Jones," and "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain." Even better than Choo Choo Trains Close Up and Very Personal (VL- 1/94). Highly recommended. Ages 4-8.Finally, Working at Sea takes viewers aboard the oil tanker Arco Prudhoe Bay, a Mississippi River tugboat, a salmon fishing ship in Bristol Bay, and a factory trawler in Alaska's Bering Sea. Young viewers get a glimpse of the normal day to day operations of the different types of waterborne vessels, and see a lot of fish being netted, barges being pushed, and gangways being stowed (that's salty talk for pulling the welcome mat aboard). The vignettes aren't really connected and the script seems to be written from the visuals rather than the other way around. Still, future shipmates (i.e. kids aged 4-8) would probably enjoy this seafaring journey. Recommended for larger children's video collections. (R. Pitman)