Customer Reviews

The Wheels on the Bus... and More Sing-Along Favorites (Scholastic Video Collection)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was looking for a few sing-along DVDs for my 28 month old son and picked this one up along with a few others.

The first one I put in was a Sesame Street, Sing Yourself Silly. He screamed and threw a tantrum crying for his Math Circus DVD. Didnt go over so well. Glutten for punishment, I put this DVD in instead of his Math Circus.

When it came on, the introduction was cute, and I thought, this is kind of nice. Then the Wheels on the Bus came on. And the people and the drawings made it look like some sort of psychodelic vision. I thought it was creepy. Plus the song was kind of slow and I was disappointed becuase I thought it would be something he could sing along with and this was way more drawn out. Thinking this was a disaster I looked over at my son who, through tear stained eyes, said:

"ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

Um, he loved it. Creepy people and all. He gets all excited by various parts and wants to watch it over and over again. He is even singing along. Now, Im so used to it, I kind of dig the singing (which is more bluesy or something, not sing songy kiddish) and I like it too.

Having not learned my lesson, I was again shocked at the Dem Bones being all these dead skeletons that appeared to have been drawn by a (not particularly talented) five year old, but once again, he thought it was great (wasnt scared) and starting singing to that one too (and pointing out the various parts on him, which impressed me he could make the connection to the freaky skeletons and himself). He asks for this DVD all the time now.

So Scholastic obviously knows something I dont and based on my son's reaction, I have no choice but to give this five stars.

Wow, what a surprise this DVD was. Not only did it start with my daughters favorite song and story " The Wheels on the bus" but the list went on and on. 'Dem Bones, Over in the Meadow, There was and Old Lady Who swallowed a fly. Then the stories..."I Want a Dog" is so cute. My daughter, 2 1/2 copies the whole DVD and gets better every day. And my son 6 loves the DVD just as much. They are not fighting over which DVD to choose and I finally have a break from Barney.

I was fearful when I purchased my first Scholastic Video that the interpretations would somehow sully the original books for my son, or alter their meaning. The animation, the songs, the voices are all consistent with the feelings of the original books. The books that are included in this collections are all books I would want in my son's library, and I have, in fact, purchased some of them after viewing the videos. Each dvd includes about 3 stories, and usually at least two 'extras'. I would recommend that anyone interested in this collection invest in the 27 DVD bundle. However, there are more DVD's to purchase.

The Wheels On The Bus is wonderful, so is Over in the Meadow, Dem Bones, and There was an Old Lady (come on, Burl Ives!) Not crazy about I Want A Dog. But wonderful music, and animation.

Received as a gift and currently looking for more titles in the scholastic collection. Dem Bones had my daughter dancing. Over in the meadow just made you feel good about the world. Highly recommend. All the stories/music were fantastic.

We own over 20 Scholastic Video dvd's and The Wheels on the Bus is one of our favorites. We first got it from the library and my daughter just loved it. She was so thrilled when I bought in on-line. This dvd has 6 stories. The main 4 stories are sung. The first extra story (I Want A Dog) is read, but it does have a song a couple of times in it. The last story is just read; no songs at all.

The Wheels on the Bus is based on the book by Paul Zelinsky. When my oldest daughter, now 15, was little we had this book. It's a really neat moving parts book. I am now looking for it for my 4 year old. The story on the dvd is animated and just like the pictures in the book.

Dem Bones is kind of educational; at the end a narrators voice talks about all the bones of the skeleton and then the song is sung again. This one is also animated.

Over in the Meadow is my favorite and it's so cute to hear my daughter try to sing along. I like the song/melody so much that I ordered the book by the same author and illustrator (we'll be able to sing it and see the pictures without always having to put the dvd in). This story, on the dvd, has very little animation; mostly just still shots of the pictures from the book.

I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly is an old one from 1964; before I was born. The animation is the old cartoonish style. This is sung by Burl Ives. It's not one of my favorites....but I've never been overly crazy about that story anyway.

I Want a Dog is another one of my favorites on this dvd. There is a song in the story and it's great. I find myself singing it throughout the day after we've watched it (boy, do I gotta get out, or what??). It is a very catchy song. This has cute animation and is very colorful. I think I'll have to try to find this book also to add to our collection.

The Chinese Violin is probably my least favorite on this dvd, only because I'm not crazy with the illustrations. This is animated also. The violin is totally different than the typical violin that you might think of, so that always sparks my child to tell me that it's not a real violin (to which, of course, I have to explain that it's just a different kind). The voice, I believe, is a child. He sounds like an Asian boy and I do like the voice of the narrator...it goes very well with the story. It is a bit long and my daughter often doesn't sit through it.

Overall, I think this dvd is a great one to add to your collection. I know it will be a favorite with us for a long time. You can also put the words on the screen so you can sing along, which is nice. Some of our other favorite Scholastic dvd's are Chrysanthemum, Swimmy, Harry the Dirty Dog, and Bark George.

I originally borrowed this DVD from our public library, and my two-year-old liked it so much that I bought it for her third birthday. She watches it a few times a week, and it's one of those rare kids' sing-alongs that I don't mind listening to over and over, either. My 'tween doesn't even mind it, and that's really saying something!

My little one usually asks me to replay the title song, which I was surprised to learn is performed by The Bacon Brothers Band---actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael. It's a very pleasant song, and it has me looking into more of their music. (They also perform the title song on Sandra Boynton's "Dog Train" CD, and they have their own adult-music CDs.)

We enjoy "Dem Bones," "I Want a Dog," and "The Chinese Violin," and Burl Ives' version of "I Know an Old Lady" makes me laugh out loud at the end. My personal favorite is "Over in the Meadow," which also makes a great lullaby.

We have most of the Scholastic videos and this is one of the best. The only dud to us is the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly--the concept seems dated, and it didn't make any sense to our four year old. But we loved the rest. The 2 that are billed as "bonus features" are actually outstanding. "I Want A Dog" is wonderful--a delightful story with unbelievably good music sung by Neko Case. Our daughter has requested it repeatedly, and we I can't blame her.

This includes Paul O. Zelinsky's The Wheels on the Bus, Dem Bones by Rob Barner, Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff (illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky, who did an exceptionally lovely job), and I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Rose Bonne and Alan Mills and sung by the great Burl Ives. My almost two year old loves The Wheels on the Bus and will not move when it is on. She also adores the book, which is simply magical, and sold seperately. She does not care for the other three yet, these are for slightly older kids, maybe closer to four years old. The production values on all are okay, not great, but the illustrations and stories are lively and imaginative.

I ordered this dvd, sight unseen, for a number of reasons. First, it is put out by Scholastic and after having been a teacher for 23 yrs. and a Mom about 40 yrs. I have had a LOT of experience with Scholastic and I've never been disappointed yet! I also like the Bacon brothers but they weren't necessarily a selling point. This was sent to my grandson (2 1/2yrs)living in GA, I'm in NY. I visited a few weeks ago and we sat and watched it for the first time. We did ALL the hand motions and sang ALL the words. Then we watched it again, and again, and again, and so on. The extra of the little girl wanting a dog was priceless, I loved it! This is a terrific dvd.

I have three grandson ages 6, 2 and 21 months and they lovethis video.

I bought one for my house and had to buy two more so everyone could have one at each house