Customer Reviews:
 I may be crazy June 2, 2006
J. Kalb
Ok my son is a little people addict. He will only watch claymation, like "Wallace and Gromit".
I have a bone to pick with this volume. I think the claymation designers had it in for Maggie. She is totally disportioned...look at how heavy her jaw is in thie video. I don't know if you caught this (as you can see I watch these alot) in story where they bake the cake for the zoo keeper, there is a line "his present is flat as a pancake" they have Maggie speaking it, but it's Michaels voice. cute Video none the less.
 If they don't go to sleep, I don't go to sleep February 4, 2006
My Uncle Stu (Boston)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I love the Little People videos. My daughter loved them as a toddler and still has the occasional hankering for them as a four year old. The Discovering Animals video was the first we got, it came along with a toy school bus, and it's still my favorite. It makes for nice evening viewing because it is calming.
I enjoy the claymation, and I like the fact that the Little People are generally good natured and benevolent. I do worry a little about reinforcing stereotypes in the character of Sonja Lee, the shy, obedient, soft-spoken Asian Little Person whose special gift is her empathic ability to communicate with animals.
The final episode on this tape is a nice bedtime sendoff. The zookeeper enlists the assistance of the Little People because he can't get his animals to fall asleep, "if they don't go to sleep, I don't go to sleep." They try rocking the animals to sleep. They try yawning them to sleep. When these methods fail, Michael comes up with one of his clever ideas, riding the zoo train into a magical nighttime sky of his magical creation. He draws stars and then scatters them into the sky. The effects are mesmerizing as the Little People look down from the levitating train. Maggie compliments Michael on his artistry; he nods calmly and says a soft, dulcet "thank you." The Zoo train continues on into the growing darkness and we are lulled into the closing credits by the slippery, serene falsetto of Aaron Neville singing the theme song.
Fun, Gentle Entertainment for Toddlers January 11, 2005
R. Blauvelt (Los Angeles, CA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
We got this video as a bonus with a Little People playset. My son has enjoyed this and the other Little People videos since before he could walk. Although it does not teach academic subjects (like numbers and letters), it does teach the importance of being kind, polite, and considerate. My son, now 2 1/2, still enjoys these videos, perhaps because they bring to life the characters in the several Little People playsets he owns. Your children will not learn the "Three R's" from this video, but they will likely want to watch it again and again, especially if they already play with Little People toys.
 There are better videos out there. December 20, 2004
Hope Kamowski (Chicago, IL)
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
My 3 year old likes the Discovery Little People videos, and for the most part I don't mind them. I do wish they had some sort of teaching value, like Veggie Tales. (One story's moral was Eddie learned he could jump as high as a frog and Freddie learned he could jump as high as a cloud. Not much of a point.) One good thing my son is learning from these vidoes is the difference between real and make believe. (I.e. Michael makes the zoo train fly, my son always announces at that point, "Trains can't fly, that's just pretend.") If I could change one thing about these vidoes, it would be the guy singing the theme song. His voice is truely obnoxious. My son got this video as a gift, I wouldn't ever buy one. There are better videos out there that are more educational as well as entertaining. (Veggie Tales, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Sesame Street, to name a few.)
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