The first thing my child ever saw on TV wasn't a Baby Einstein video. (Too bad because I could be getting a refund for it right now! If you haven’t heard, parents are buzzing about the news that Baby Einstein is offering dissatisfied customers money back for DVDs bought between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009). Instead, my daughter, then 23 months old, was watching a Scholastic DVD titled The Wheels on the Bus.

I’d gotten the DVD as a gift but had held on to it, thinking that she was too young. But I noticed that the stories on the DVD—all adapted from award-winning children’s books—featured songs kids could sing along to. Too much talking would bore her but music had the potential to keep her interested. Well, my toddler was enthralled. She sat through all four stories (The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky, Dem Bones by Bob Barner, Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff, I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Rose Bonne and Alan Mills), which is a lot of time for a two-year-old.

Her faves are Wheels on the Bus (music by The Bacon Brothers) and Dem Bones (the dancing skeletons didn’t scare her at all). She also really likes one of the two bonus stories included on the disc: I Want a Dog by Dayal Kaur Khalsa. As for me, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the adaptations. The animators have stayed true to the original illustrations and spirit of the books, and the music is great. You’ll find yourself humming the songs throughout the day along with your kid. My experience has been so positive that I’m planning on buying more Scholastic videos. They feature many well-known books by authors like Maurice Sendak, Kevin Henkes, and William Steig.

If done right, I think different mediums (books, TV, computer, music) can all be enriching experiences for kids. By right, I mean age-appropriate content and moderation. The latter is key. According to a study recently released by The Nielsen Company, American kids ages two to five are glued to the screen more than 32 hours a week and kids ages six to 11 watch TV about 28 hours a week. Yikes!

What’s more, one medium doesn’t have to detract from the other. In fact, after watching The Wheels on the Bus on DVD, I got the book. My daughter’s eyes widened in delight and wonder; she couldn’t believe the story she liked to watch on TV had materialized in solid form and that she was holding it in her hands. Now she wants to read the book (the interactive flaps, wheels, and other moveable parts are genius!) as often as she wants to watch the DVD—which is quite often. And we’ve added other DVDs to our library, like Here Come the ABCs by the alternative music group, They Might Be Giants. The animation and tunes on the DVDs are catchy, clever, and slyly educational. (The group just published a new children’s book with an accompanying DVD titled Kids Go!) When deciding on what your kids willwatch on screen, it’s nice to know that there are many high-quality DVDs to choose from.