Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First of all, it's useful to know that there are two sets of "Richard Scarry" videos available, each produced by a different company: Cinar/Polygram/USA Films offers a video series called "The Busy World of Richard Scarry", and Sony/Random House has a set of videos named like "Richard Scarry's Best (fill in the blank) Video Ever". There are notable differences between them. The "Busy World of...." series consists of episodes from an actual television series, although I don't know what network originally carried it. It's kind of bland and generic kids TV, and it sorely lacks the Richard Scarry charm. Not recommended. Our family much prefers the "Best...Video Ever" home video series. This series features simple storylines and really sweet, catchy songs that both preschoolers and parents enjoy even after multiple viewings. "Best Learning Songs" is probably our favorite because it covers such a variety of subjects. The story is extremely simple: Huckle and friends put on a show in their backyard. Their show consists of gently educational songs about the alphabet, counting, shapes, opposites, common courtesy, etc. On the downside, the animation is pretty primitive, the image quality doesn't improve from VHS to DVD (we now own both), and the price could be better for a 30-minute program. But those charming, educational songs really carry the day, and both of our kids were completely entranced by this series of videos while they were preschoolers.