Dora the Explorer - To the Rescue [VHS]
Similar to the interactive environment ofBlue's Clues,  but geared toward a younger audience, comesDora the Explorer, a  fully animated Nick Jr. cartoon. Like all Dora episodes,To the  Rescueresembles a computer game (sans mouse and cursor) to teach  Spanish, number and object recognition, deduction, reasoning, and early  math skills. Its host is a girl, not much older than her viewers, with  a sunny disposition, bilingual abilities, and a no-nonsense approach to  problem solving; in other words, a worthy role model for toddlers and  preschoolers who willingly play along with the show's format. In the  first of two 25-minute segments, Dora discovers that three  award-winning piglets have escaped from their pen. She enlists the help of  viewers to rescue them before Swiper the Fox swipes their blue ribbons.  "I need your help," she explains. "If you see the fox, yell 'Swiper'."  And yell they will. They'll also choose items from her backpack, count  piggies, and steer the swine clear of danger. The second segment  charges viewers to help Dora return a lost baby bird to her mother, who  lives in a hard-to-find little blue tree. But first, they must select  an object from Dora's backpack to help dry the wet bird and then locate  the tree on her map. Children will learn a handful of Spanish words as  they successfully resolve the dilemmas, and can shake out their wiggles  with "The Monkey Dance." Parents should be mindful thatDorais  meant for the ages 5-and-under crowd. Older kids will find it  repetitive, predictable, and slow-going--the very qualities that make  it a winner for its intended audience.--Lynn Gibson