Lions in Library are Excellent - Need DVD version!
We just bought the entire 35 volume set of Between the Lions videos for our son as a posthumous gift from his grandmother, a librarian and storyteller, extraordinaire. She would have LOVED this show.

This excellent PBS show feels like an update on Sesame Street with a strong pull for parents to participate and enjoy it along with their kids. This Lion family in a Library teaches all of us that parents reading to their children every day is how a child will best learn to read. The show's presentation is a lot like "Saturday Night Live" in the old format with some really funny similaries that include using the same music for Wayne's World (made famous by Dana Carvey and Mike Myers) in "Gawain's Word", a segment showing the daily creation of a word, and "Dr. Ruth Wordheimer" with her couch and office, counseling words and readers alike.

"The Vowels" series are five of the first shows, based on the series numbers on the outside of the boxes. These five tapes are very good, but our son much prefers some of the newer ones in the whole volume set because the stories are better and even more creative than the excellent, award-winning first ones!

We watch it every day, and our son, who is 4.5 and was born with probabilities of learning issues due to his inconsiderate birth giver, is already reading words to us on several of these shows and in his books!

Our ONLY complaint about these videos is that they are not available on DVD. We know that our son will wear them out and we want them to last longer, as they are not cheap!

Our local library's VHS departmenthead told us that they did not have room to add more VHS tapes to their collection, so they would not be buying this series. That is a CRIME. These videos are one of the most helpful products I've known on reading, and I know what I'm talking about. We owned Hooked on Phonics which I bought for my father when he was recovering from a stroke, and it pales in comparison.

We have contacted the management of this delightful PBS show to request that they produce and distribute this product in DVD and encourage you to do the same. "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has!" Margaret Mead

Great tapes! Educational and Fun
My kids just love these tapes and I even enjoy watching them. Very cleverly done, mixing different ways of teaching reading as well as different levels of difficulty. I thought my kids would lose interest after they started reading but they haven't. I like that the words are spelled on the screen so the kids see the letters as well as hearing them.

Rockin' good time with The Lost Rock!
My daughter has loved this show since she was under a year. She still may not understand how to spell yet, but she loves to dance to the songs and laughs at many of the characters. From tooth to fish, my daugher is soaking informaiton up, and loving it. Her favorite is 'The Lost Rock'. I agree, it has the best songs to dance to. I just wish there were more videos available. I'll watch those lions over Barney any day.

Thank God for PBS
I have a daughter, 7, who is struggling to learn to read. We've tried Hooked on Phonics and other ways to help her learn, but nothing was "clicking" - until we discovered Between the Lions. The videos are well worth the cost and if you have a VCR, I'd buy a few extra blank tapes and record the shows!!

A Roaring Good Time!
"Between the Lions Presents the Vowels" contains some of the very best episodes of the Between the Lions teaching programs. I just happened to come upon this unique PBS Kids program while taking care of my 2 year old grandson. We both fell in love with the fast paced, enormously entertaining and highly educational program. The Lion Family seems to capture the attention of my grandchildren ages 2 to 7. Even their parents find it to be one of the best educational programs on television today. I find it so delightful that I sit down and watch the antics of all the characters along side my grandson. I only allow 1 hour of television a day and "The Lions" as he calls it is what he asks for. Each video covers one of the vowels and it focuses on that vowel in a variety of fun and entertaining ways. The music is upbeat and the characters are absolutely hilarious! No wonder this program has received numerous prestigious awards such as the Parents' Choice "Gold Award" and The Television Critics Associations' "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming Award. I have yet to find a more creative program.