A painless way of learning a few things about shapes, numbers, letters, opposites, and good manners, Best Learning Songs Video Ever is an engaging treat for young kids who love music. The story finds Huckle Cat and his buddies putting on a backyard variety show that draws the entire town as an audience. With Huck as master of ceremonies and Lowly Worm as stage manager, the children of Busy Town entertain their families and friends with tunes about the fundamentals of an education. Besides Hilda Hippo's ABC song, there's Oly Owl's melody about shapes, and Alex and Anna's song about opposites. There's much more, including a couple of golden oldies such as "If You're Happy and You Know It." A real winner. --Tom Keogh

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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.

99 of 99 found the following review helpful:

This really is the Best learning video ever!Oct 05, 2000

My two year old son has lots of videos and I hesitated to get a Richard Scarry video because my son seemed to prefer real life children as opposed to animation. He's not into Barney (thank goodness) and really doesn't watch any of the "educational" children's T.V. programs so I'm always trying to find videos that he can learn something from and enjoy. Well I was thrilled when we watched this video for the first time. The children's voices are very clear and they enunciate everything very well and they just couldn't be any more precious. My son loves this video and actually has tried to sing some of the songs along with the video which is great because up til now he hasn't done much talking. The songs are very cute and easy to learn and they are not annoying at all like some children's videos. They teach so many things, including ABC', counting to 10, shapes, manners, opposites. I can't say enough good things about this video. If you're looking for a video that your child will love, and learn from without even realizing it, this is the one video you must get. I wish I had gotten it sooner, instead of spending my money on other so called learning videos that my son only watches twice and then gets bored. This is a must have video!

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Excellent teaching tool...very entertainingSep 04, 1999

Our 1 year old thoroughly enjoys this video. We rented it for him and now we're buying it. The characters are very likeable, the songs are catchy, and the lessons taught (ABCs, numbers, manners, opposites) are done so in an easy-to-understand manner. I definitely give this video "2 thumbs up"!

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Recommended!Mar 04, 2004
By Ginger Meggs
This is my 2nd Richard Scarry DVD - I also have the ABC DVD. Of the two, I think the ABC is better, but this one is quite good too. It covers a series of concepts with a song each, like counting, shapes, prepositions, alphabet, opposites etc. Of the songs, I don't find any of them memorable except the one teaching the alphabet, which is super (A is for apple, B is for bed, C is for crown that you wear on your head etc).

The DVD is about 30 minutes long, which I find ideal - you can get a bit of housework done without making the TV too much of a babysitter.

Be aware that the Richard Scarry DVDs look a bit low-tech, they are not flashy and polished like Sesame Street DVDs.

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

Sweet, charming, perfectDec 14, 2001
By David W. Stoesz
Parents know that once you buy a video for your child, you will probbaly have to see it yourself at least 12,000 times. While Barney and the Teletubbies make me want to bury an ax in my own skull, I actually look forward to seeing this inventive, wonderful, whimsical video.

The songs are first-rate, with funny, engaging words and gentle melodies. And they do actually impart educational information about, among other things, shapes, body parts, numbers, manners, and the alphabet. The art is utterly charming, and the voice actors give every character an appealing and vivid presence. There is really nothing not to like about this video. Even the length is right for a child's attention span, and for limiting daily TV time. What I like about it most of all is that, while many kids videos are overbearing and insistent, this one is low-key and laid back.

We tried one of the other Richard Scarry videos (the counting one) and it was okay, but the magic of this one is unique.

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