Sesame Street - Learning About Letters Reviews

• Variety and simplicity

  
  By ALWKZ81HDSCC1 on 2001-08-14
  If you are looking for an introduction to letters for your child, this is a wonderful video. Through entertaining skits and a variety of visuals, the Sesame Street Gang go through the alphabet while coming up with words that begin with each letter. The sequence of photos of street signs and billboards which zero in on each letter in order is a real favorite with our 28-month old and has led to his interest in street signs and letter recognition in our own neighborhood. The pace is leisurely enough for toddlers who are just learning sounds, yet contains enough music and animated sequences to capture the attention of squirmy kids--if you happen to have one of those. Please note: There is no Elmo in this video, which to my mind is a plus but may be a disappointment to rabid Elmo fans.
  
  

• A WONDERFUL video for teaching the alphabet!

  
  By on 2002-08-28
  My 24-month-old son has a speech delay. He knows only about 15 words, even though he's been receiving speech therapy. Imagine my surprise, then, when he started holding up his alphabet blocks this week and saying the names of several letters out loud! I've been playing this video for him every morning while he eats his breakfast, and he's obviously been learning. He can say the names of about eight letters, and can identify most of the rest by pointing if I ask him to. He's now pointing at letters everywhere ... on the box of diaper wipes, in his books, everywhere ... and saying the names of the letters out loud. He loves this video, and so do I. It reminds me of the Sesame Street shows I used to watch when I was a child. (Put it this way ... I like this video so much, I'm buying a second one in case the first one wears out!)
  
  

• One of the best Sesame Street videos of all-time!

  
  By A2IYCW7FG88FOY on 1998-05-11
  Here is one of the first Sesame Street home videos, and also one of the best. Each letter is represented, and many are backed-up by classic skits from the early years. "C Is for Cookie" is here, as well as many other favorites! If you can only afford one Sesame Street video, this is one to think about! END
  
  

• Lots of educational fun for parents and kids

  
  By A2B3QTNPR6EFDO on 2005-01-06
  My 21-month old has become a Sesame Street fanatic, with Cookie Monster being his favorite Muppet. He also has loved to recite the alphabet since he was around 16 months old. So I thought that this DVD would be a natural for him, and it was. Unlike the current Sesame Street show that airs on PBS or Noggin, this DVD has a few "retro" skits in it that I remember as a kid growing up in the 1970s (especially Cookie Monster's "C is for Cookie"), and unlike many other children's TV programs (Barney, Jay Jay the Jet, etc.), it doesn't dumb down learning for kids or broadcast midless pap that drives parents nuts. The plot of this DVD has Big Bird and Ernie hosting a celebrity roast honoring Cookie Monster. Some of the humor is right out of old "Muppet Show" episodes! I actually enjoy watching this with my son, and he has yet to grow tired of it.
  
  

• Best of the ABC bunch!

  
  By A1LMY96BQ91K4I on 2005-04-12
  This is the oldest, and probably the best, Sesame Street ABC video currently available on DVD. Big Bird and Telly Monster take us on a tour of the alphabet, illustrating each letter with a word. Intercut with this material are a variety of classic filmed and animated pieces. These include...
  
  * Leana Horne sings the alphabet song
  * Cookie Monster sings "C is for Cookie"
  * An animation in which a fairy illustrated words beginning with F
  * Kermit shows us how to draw the letter M.
  * Cookie and Herry sing an M song about all the tasty food that begins with M.
  * Ernie and Bert sing the L song.
  * An animation in which a wizard transforms himself into things that begin with the letter R
  * Letters Everywhere ( where the individual letters of the alphabet are identified in street signs -- a definite highlight for most toddlers )
  * An animation illustrating the letter V in which a villian tries to steal a vase.
  * A sweet, low key alphabet animation in which the letters are transformed from a variety of illustrations.
  
  ...plus some additional minor animations for letters such as G, H, K & O
  
  The video ends with Luis reading a story about a king who banishes the letter P with predictible problematic results.
  
  The fact that the entire alphabet is recited several times in different and entertaining ways makes this the most thorough, and likely most effective, Sesame Street ABC video. It's also notable that the video packs a great deal of quality material into a mere 30 minutes.
  
  One final note, the video pre-dates Elmo which will be a plus or a minus depeding on your and your toddler's tastes.
  
  
• One of the bes leter videos out there!
  By AC42P7OG6V9JC on 2006-03-28
  My daughter got this as a gift when she was 1 and it was definitely too old for her. She loved SS, but the video was too slow for her. She's now 2, so I pulled it out and let her watch it the other day. She loves it! It's now her favorite video. She has a few other alphabet videos, but what's nice about this one is that it takes the next step and introduces words and a little phonics.
  
  This is classic SS at its finest. They mangage to incorporate a lot of the classic letter cartoons and videos, while still showing the favorite characters thoughout the episode. A warning, though, this video does not have Elmo in it. I was worried that my daughter wouldn't watch it for that reason (she won't watch Follow that Bird or 1 2 3 Count With Me which stars Ernie), but she didn't seem to notice or mind. It stars Telly and Big Bird, but sill features Cookie Monster, Kermit, Snuffy and several others. After Big Bird and Telly run through the whole alphabet, it ends with a nice story being read, so kids can understand that the leters they just learned can form words and with words, you can create stories.
  
  It's very clever and very well done. As a parent, I enjoy watching it since I remember watching a lot of the cartoons when I was little. If your child loves the alphabet and is eager for the next step but not ready for reading, then I'm sure they'll love this video.
  
  
• The BEST alphabet video on the market!
  By A23EIGPNA020UT on 2003-01-26
  I bought this tape for my little boy when he was 16 months old.
  This is by far the best alphabet movie I have seen to date. It's not all annoying loud songs like so many of the movies are now. My son is allowed to watch one movie per day, and this is usually his first choice. Believe it or not, by 17/18 months he was saying the entire alphabet. His pediatrician was shocked at his 18 month visit! There are lots of neat songs and video clips from Sesame Street episodes from the early 70's I remember myself on this tape!
  
  
• Best video my kids ever watched!
  By on 2001-03-23
  I bought this video in 1989. My daughter loved this video and watched it over and over again. No kidding...by the age of 18months, she could not only sing the alphabet but could identify the letters!!! I totally attribute this to the Learning About Letters tape! It is great. I now have two more little ones and plan to purchase this tape for the second time!!!
  
  
• Sesame Street - Learning About Letters
  By A2M1856E9F3I6F on 2005-12-02
  I'm an older mom of 4. I'd purchased this video for my first three older children and had since given it away. Who knew I'd have a fourth child so late in life? Knew this video was a must. Glad that I could find it again, every one of my older children learned their ABC's from this video. I remember the 'C' is for cookie sung by Cookie Monster, Bert singing La la la la lullaby and 'O' is for oatmeal, and the king that banished the letter 'P' from his kingdom. I remember this as if it were yesterday and it's been well over a decade! I could not recommend this more, every parent should own one, it really, really works!!!
  
  
• A Classic Hit
  By on 2000-05-23
  I bought this video over 10 years ago for my son and now both my pre-k daughter and my toddler daughter love it. We all have different favorite bits from the video; my four year old loves the letter O, my husband loves the letter J. This is classic Sesame Street.
  
  
• Sesame Street's Learning About Letters
  By A33UW2DVXLVB63 on 2002-04-11
  To Parents,
  This is a great movie for kids when they're getting hang of the abc's. My eight year old loves Cookie Monster like Cookie Monster is family and I wanting to find a video tape that includes him. Watch as Telly Monster and Big Bird lead kids in the abc's. Also there are songs that explain the abc's and also they have letter cartoons. This will really get kids to know the abc's. So if your looking for a abc's video this would be a awesome choice.
  
  
• The number one video
  By AJ4LTQMAB0QFQ on 2002-03-09
  This video was excellent for my two year old son and for me (brings back memories of my childhood). It's the best of Sesame Street and a must buy for parents.
  
  
• Definitely Recommended
  By AYA7BD21FUWCL on 2005-07-08
  My daughter knew her entire alphabet before her second birthday thanks to this video. Take that, Baby Einstein!!! I thought that it might be to "old" for her compared with the older Baby Einstein videos like Baby Newton, Baby Nepture, or Baby Shakespeare. This was because there is more explanation and more story line. However, by about 20 months it held her attention pretty well.
  
  There are two clips where they show each of the letters in caps and recite the alphabet. The rest of the time, they are discussing other letters, sometimes in caps and sometimes in lower case. I thought this might be confusing for my daughter but it didn't seem to have any negative effect. For each letter, they also introduce words that start with that letter. You know, like for "A" there is "apple" and "airplane".
  
  You can keep this one on a lot guilt-free. Again, my daughter could identify all the capital letters before 24 months. I kept it on, and then she learned to put all her blocks in alphabetical order, then to type them in order on the computer. (Put the caps on at first, then take them off so they can figure out the relationship with lower case letters. I never had to teach her the lower case letters.) Mind you, she did this on her own without any extra coaching from me. She is 4 months shy of her third birthday and has yet to outgrow this video. I figure if I keep playing it, spelling words will be next.
  
  _Learning About Letters_ is longer and better done than the _Alphabet Number Game_ featuring Elmo. Don't give in to the marketing! Pick this one over Baby Einstein or the more recent Elmo DVDs.
  
  Addition 3/2006: My daughter is 3 now and yes, she has learned to spell some words from this video, like "box" and "yo-yo". She has moved on now to Disney princesses and no longer watches this video avidly, but it did have a good run.
  
  
• Classic Sesame Street is the best and educational too!
  By A2BD157WUNIL17 on 2004-10-03
  My Dad bought this tape back in the 80's when my sister was little, but she never used it. Now that my little boy is 2 years old, my Dad showed this video to him and in less than a week he became an expert at recognizing letters on signs, license plates, in books, etc. He's only 2! I don't let him watch Sesame Street on TV because I personally don't think it has much value these days. I grew up watching Sesame Street in the 1970's and the modern version just doesn't compare.
  
  Anyway, this video is fabulous. I was happy to have a short (30 minutes),entertaining and educational video to show my son, but I had no idea he would learn so quickly. Yet, why should I be surprised? After all, it is classic Sesame Street. I only wish there were more old Sesame Street videos and DVDs available. I'm thrilled to share a part of my childhood with him.
  
  If you want your kids to learn the alphabet quickly, I highly suggest using this video.
  
  
• FUN AND EDUCATIONAL!
  By AVR17P2OZU901 on 2005-09-09
  My kids have many educational videos and this is one of their favorites. My son (2 yrs) already knows his alphabets, and my daughter (1 yr) it too youngs yet, however this video keeps their attention thru the whole thing, and I actually really enjoy it as well. They love cookie monster singing 'C is for cookie, that's good enough for me, C is for cookies that's good enough for me, cookie cookie cookie starts with C'. It's a sweet, fun video.
  
  
• Old School Sesame Street At Its Best!
  By A115V2AWZON0TZ on 2005-11-29
  We got this video as a present for my son's first birthday. I originally decided not to let him watch any TV before the age of two. However, I wanted to see what the video was like, since I grew up on Sesame Street. And my son just LOVED the video. I like it because it does not have fast moving graphics or loud noises. I limit my son's TV watching to one 1/2 hour a day and this is what he likes the best. He dances to it, talks to it, and even says some letters at 14 months old! And after watching it hundreds of times, I am still not sick of it (that is key). I am going to get him other sesame street videos, the one for numbers will be next. I highly recommend this video. Jim Henson was a genious and knew his stuff! You can't beat good old Sesame Street!
  
  
• The best of Sesame Street ever!
  By on 1999-09-29
  My toddler is learning the English alphabet with Sesame Street - Learning About Letters video. He loves Elmo and begs me to turn on Elmo's TV. It is a highly entertaining video, fun to watch (whether you are a Sesame Street fan or not) and the best of all cannot be said, it must be watched on your telly with your toddler. My little one loves Lena Horne's version of the A-B-C-D-E-F-G song and the P story. Watch and check it out!
  
  
• I feel like a child again.
  By AHXKQH1AQYP9 on 2002-01-08
  My 19 month old son absolutely loves this video!! He's only just started watching Sesame Street and already knows Big Bird's voice. He will sit and watch it from the very beginning with Big Bird all the way through Luis's story. This a wonderful video for children and parents should remember many of the songs. I highly recommend this tape!!!
  
  
• The is the worst Seame Street video I own
  By A3RX5RMRAJ8Z5B on 2005-07-14
  There was no thought at all put into the video. My daycare kids won't watch. If you want great letter vidoes choose Leap Frog- Letter Factory, Sesame Street- Do the Alphabet, & Sesame Street- The Alphabet Jungle Game
  
  
• a great ABC video for little ones
  By A321NUHR9BZV0Z on 2004-10-14
  My almost 3yr old son LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this video. He wants to watch it everyday. My son began watching this just a few months ago and knew "ABCD"...thats pretty much it. He now has learned the entire alphabet almost to perfection and I honestly feel it is because of this video. It's only 30 minutes long, but again, it teaches so much in so little time. I definately recommend this one if you are trying to teach the ABC's.
  
  
• I cannot believe this is the same Sesame Street
  By A30W8JYYURDR27 on 2004-12-21
  I bought this dvd for my daughter when she was 14 months old. She picked it out at the store. We could not wait to get home to watch it. It did not even keep her attention for 3 minutes. It has no energy compared to the other Sesame Street/Elmo dvds she has. I watched it with her and found it extremely boring. I could not even make her sit through it that is how bad it was. My husband came home and watched it for himself and he agreed. I would highly encourage people not to buy this one.
  
  
• Excellent Learning Aid
  By A31EAMY5LA1900 on 2004-01-15
  Sesame Street learning about Letters, Has helped my 22 month old twin boys, and my daughter who is 3 1/2 to learn the alphabet, and have fun at the same time. They all ask to watch this video almost every day!
  
  
• Some wonderful favorites on here
  By A3IQGR9K0J296K on 2007-01-15
  This is a great DVD, and I sure remember learning my alphabet and letter sounds on Sesame Street! The reason I give it only 4 stars is some letters are rushed through, while others have skits to go with them. For example, "M" has both Kermit teaching children how to draw it with their "pointy finger" (love that!), and Cookie and Herry doing the "MMMM" song. But other letters just get mentioned with a couple of words they start with, and then it's on to the next letter. Of course, this is for the sake of time and attention span. I would rather see MORE skits... I think it's better to reinforce the sound and learning of the letter. But overall, a great DVD with some fun memories if you are an "old school" Sesame Street fan, like me!
  
  
• Learning about letters...the old school way!
  By A4Z17Z22NLYTP on 2007-04-15
  This video is chock full of "Old School" Sesame Street favorites to teach the alphabet including, Lena Horne singing with Fat Blue and some other Anything Muppets, the live action film where we find letters in everyday signs, and of course, "C is for Cookie." This video is copyrighted 1986, long, long before Elmo took over Sesame Street. Elmo doesn't appear anywhere in this video. Instead we see Telly, Big Bird, and Buster the Horse taking us through the alphabet. It all concludes by Luis reading a story called "King Peter the Persnickity." I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended for anyone with small children.
  
  
• Great entertainment and Great learning!!!
  By A3ADBN5LNB9U7P on 2003-12-12
  This video has been around for a while; my now 14yr old daughter used to watch this video everyday from 9months old on. No kidding, by the time she was 18 months old, she could identify ALL the letters if you asked her to point to any one!
  Now, I have a 4yr old, 3yr old, and twin 2yr olds who are really learning alot from this video, albeit not as fast as my 14yr did.
  I would recommend this to anyone with kids from 6months up!
  
  
• A favorite
  By A37539R2T3RLFU on 2007-02-17
  I bought this for my son who was learning his letters from his books. He really enjoys it, shouting out the letters when he sees them on the screen. His favorite things are the clip where they go all over the city and find all the letters and the clip of the kind of Renaissance fair alphabet which he sings along with. I wish they would release more of the old sesame street videos to DVD.
  
  
• Not bad, but...
  By A3TSUNKOQ3SOAR on 2003-09-16
  The quality of the tape itself could be better. Also, it is a bit tiring for a toddler to sit through this video with the whole alphabet being introduced at once.
  
  
• Great DVD
  By AASG6677JTOZJ on 2004-12-20
  My toddler LOVES this video. Not only does it entertain him (he doesn't get distracted watching it), but at 20 months old, my child can identify all but 5 letters of the alphabet and not just on the video. He identifies them everywhere we go (e.g., signs in a cab, street signs, books, etc.).
  
  
• Great DVD
  By A28SK7KMIOPKQY on 2005-08-05
  My 2 1/2 year old watches this DVD over and over again.
  
  
• Learning can be fun and easy
  By AM71LLA8OC8FL on 2007-05-12
  My granddaughter who is 22 months old recognized Big Bird (aka: big bo) on the dvd case immediately and could not wait to have it played. She interacts with the Sesame Street characters as she watches, and is always wanting to practice her ABC's with her parents and grandparents. This is from the earlier (1960's)Sesame Street productions, and I feel that it is even better than the newer dvds that are being produced. I feel its so important that children start early to appreciate that learning can be fun, and this dvd is a good tool in the learning process. My granddaughter gives it a big thumbs up (she hugs the dvd case, instead of actually doing a thumbs up...but it means the same). Great educational tool that is fun too.
  
  

• Sesame Street - 123 Count With Me
• Sesame Street - Learning About Numbers
• Sesame Street - Do the Alphabet
• Sesame Street - The Best of Elmo
• Sesame Street - Kids' Favorite Songs