as far as "non-fiction," the Magic School Bus videos are great, but more for the five yr old. The 8 yr old might like "The Private Life of Plants," a series of 6 videos narrated by David Attenborough. They're for adults, but my son loved them around 8. They're made by the BBC and Turner Home Entertainment--not sure if you can find them to rent, but you could buy them through Amazon, etc. Deborah

I wanted to add some suggestions for the parent who was looking for videos for toddlers, about a month or so ago. (I was moving and haven't had a chance to write until now. I don't remember the specifics of the discussion that took place - feel free to edit anything not relevant or already addressed.)

Of course there are the kid's shows on PBS, and we've shown Alon (who was 2 in May) some of them. But he seems to like other stuff as much as, or more than, most of the PBS stuff we tried. (I guess he's really too young for most of Sesame Street and we haven't shown him Barney because we've heard too many parents complain that their kids are hooked and how annoying it is.)

He really enjoyed a video called "5 Lionni Classics" or something like that; he asked to watch it almost daily for about 2 or 3 weeks when he was about 1-3/4. It was a gift, but I think it came from the SF-MoMA gift shop. It's about 1/2 hour and tells five stories.

He also really enjoyed some videos that you might not think to show to toddlers but that are as appropriate as most kid-specific videos. For example, his favorite video for a while has been Riverdance. At first he just watched, and now he tries to copy some dance moves. (It's sooo cute.) He also likes the July 4 Boston Pops concert that was shown on TV. If your child likes music, you could check the TV listings for a week or two and you're bound to find something you could record (and if they don't like it, you can always try something else). Another alternative would be to buy a Raffi video or something like that.

Also, we've watched some animal shows with Alon, though we haven't recorded anything special. (It might be better if you record them, because then you won't have to worry about whether they'll have anything too sad or gory.) I also remember seeing something on TV about the big trucks/machines used for mining diamonds and I'm pretty sure that my friend's kid - who loves trucks and tractors - would have have been fascinated. I guess the point is that with a VCR you can try things you think you and your child might like even if they aren't on during the most convenient toddler hours. Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996
From: Andrea

A word on videos -- I find that a lot of Disney videos are too violent and startling for my 2.5 year old. He doesn't watch many videos, but when he does, he prefers ones with machines in them, like "What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?" (construction machines), or a great one about tugboats that we rented from Five Star Video on Solano. The tugboat one had a segment on container ports (like Oakland's), which I thought was fascinating -- I didn't know how they worked! I don't like the series that starts with "There Goes A ... (firetruck, truck, police car, etc.) The central character is a bumbler named Dave, who seems to be trying to tell kids that he's too much of an idiot to do anything right. In "There Goes a Truck", he's joined by a female companion and the two fight all the time, accusing each other of being even more incompetent than themselves. Yuck.

Re: Andrea and the There Goes a Train...Truck...Airplane...Policecar, etc.: We have the "There Goes a Train" video. You an send me the rest of the series, if you haven't thrown them out, to CEB, 2300 Shattuck, Berkeley. I have a different take on bumbling Dave, who I think has created an affable persona that shows you don't have to be perfect to learn things, and, by inference, who shows you have to pay attention when you're learning and not daydream. Now I haven't seen the one ones where he interacts with Becky. But I give credit to Dave Hood for conceptualizing, starring in, directing, producing, and writing the series. I think the title of his company, Power to Create, and the location, Mercer Island, indicates someone who had an entrepreneurial and idealistic dream and brought it to fruition, no small feat.I also think his narration strikes just the right note between caution and enthusiasm. Along with his beloved Thomas the Train videos, and his real life Pentrax steam train and Amtrak videos, my son asks to see There Goes A Train every day. And when he watches the trailer that shows the other videos in the series, he makes all the sound effects of buildings being demolished, etc., and he identifies all of the equipment and vehicles and work-roles. By the way, I completely respect your opinion.

Our 2 yr old son, a train fanatic, adores the I love trains videos (expect for the roller coaster sections, which have started scaring him recently). He also watches "Choo Choo Trains Up Close and Personal" which we found at Tiddley Winks. My husband and I like watching them too. The I love trains series is faster paced, has silly kid humor, and flips between toy train layouts and real life action. There are segments on farms and farm animals, construction equipment, circus trains, even the Blue Angels. The music is a bit enthusiastic for my taste, especially the 50th time. We've shown them to non-train adoring kids and adults, and they've like it too. Choo Choo Trains Up...is basically lots of different real trains shot very nicely with their ambient sounds. Its a nice break from the noise of most kid videos.

As for toddler videos, my 2-year-old son also prefers nonfiction (Pentrex steam trains, building skyscrapers, horses etc.). He also likes Thomas the Tank Engine, which I am not 100% sure is age-appropriate for a 2-year-old as when one engine tells the others to Shut Up. The one Disney cartoon video series that I think is great for 2-year-olds is the Spot series. This is not produced by Disney, but is now being distributed by Disney. My son's favorite is Where's Spot, but Sweet Dreams Spot is pretty good too. One caveat: not much happens in these stories. They are definitely for younger kids. Spot and his animal friends play hide and seek, Spot has a birthday party, Spot goes out in the garden and waters the plants (and his dad) etc. Videos in the series have gotten Parents Choice and Oppenheim awards.

We are also great fans of the video "My Neighbor Totoro." If you don't find a used copy of the book, you can usually find it new at Kinokuya Bookstore in Japantown, or at Kimono My House in Emeryville (which also carries other Totoro goodies).

For those of you who aren't familiar with the video, it's a lushly animated story of two sisters and their adventures with mysterious/friendly creatures they encounter in the Japanese countryside. It's available at Reel on Shattuck and Five Star on University or Solano.

I highly recommend a new (in the U.S. market) animation video titled "Kiki's Delivery Service" by Hayao Miyazaki. The Japanese version has been out for some years now. If you liked "My Neighbor Totoro" by the same director, you will probably like it even better. As of yesterday, Costco still had a bunch of them for about $12 each. Quite different in the feel from standard Disney productions.

I believe there will be more animations by Miyazaki to be released in English in coming years. "Castle in the Sky" is one, and the most recent with the Japanese title "Mononoke Hime" (a bit hard to translate, but it's a story about a girl left in the deep woods as a sacrifice and grows up as an adopted daughter of a wolf) is also excellent.

As for the story of Kiki, I quote an excellent description of the book version from the ucb_parents archive:

UC Berkeley Parents Digest Oct 24-26, 1997 -- Circulation: 702
From: Susan

... KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (pub. 1992), based on a story by Eiko Kadono, is essentially a novel of education about a 13-year-old apprentice witch. Witches here are not scary or evil but women with special talents. Kiki has to leave her parents and find her way in the world in order to become a full-fledged witch. She flies off to a beautifully portrayed European-style city, finds a woman baker (very pregnant) who takes her in and lets her run a flying broom-based Fedex out of her store. When things get rough, Kiki finds an older girl artist who lives alone in the woods as a mentor. Kiki struggles with teenage cliques and finds a friend, a good natured boy--whom she saves from mortal danger with her magic powers at the end of the book. It's all delightfully and warmly done. I've never seen an English-language version of the film released (unlike My Neighbor Totoro) so this book may be the only way to get the story.