In The Night Garden - Who’s Here?

The Memory Garden -

In The Night Garden - Who’s Here?
Chances are there’s barely a parent of a toddler in the country who hasn’t encountered In The Night Garden in some form over the past few months. The latest BBC-hit from the CBeebies channel, and with a passing resemblance to Teletubbies, this debut DVD for the show brings together five episodes. And many parents already, we suspect, will have their credit cards ready.

In true childrens’ television tradition, In The Night Garden is often as alien to adults as it is compelling to its real target audience. But heck, do children love it. Accompanied by the gentle narration of Sir Derek Jacobi, it’s billed a nursery rhyme picture book of sorts. This manifests itself in the shape of a wild mix of children and characters, who get up to a mixture of diverse and diverting activities.

And this is one of the many areas where In The Night Garden strikes gold. Not only does it have a distinctive and warm collection of characters, but it does have an educational undercurrent to it all. In short, it engages its target audience particularly well, and teaches them a little in the process.

The DVD is rounded off with special bonus footage and a parents’ guide, but it’s the five episodes that are set to be spun time and time again. And rightly so. Expect this to be the first DVD release of many, too, for a show with many, many years ahead of it. –Jon Foster
List Price: ?12.99
Amazon Price: ?8.98
Customer Review: when we were wise
What age is this extraordinary programme aimed at, I wonder ? Some of the reviews indicate that older children of 5 or 6 love it, as well as pre-schoolers (at which it is aimed) and adults. Ben Bold has his own agenda which made me smile…see his review. All I can say is that it has a particular quality of excellence that you associate with something of timeless appeal. My 2 year old grandson, his father and mother and I all watch in a state of almost helpless fascination. It is calming, very surreal, mysterious almost zen-like. Maybe, in the Night Garden, we all return to the old Garden from where we all came………
Customer Review: its perfect
i think all the in the night garden storys are wonderful. i have three young children and along with my husband we watch as a family. i find their way of kissing and hugging a good way to show young children love and friendship without corrupting their minds. i would much rather see those weird characters hugging and kissing than most thing we see on childrens tv. some people may find the repeating phrases annoying but it teaches children different sounds very much like the teletubbies did. my two year old son is disabled and has difficulty communicating but since he started to watch it he has been making more sounds and enjoys having them repeated back to him. also the calming voice of derek jacobi makes it a little bit grown up as he is a great actor and adults can relate to him. my husband noticed it before the kids. you get used to the names and songs the more you watch. the voices and repetative phrases become conversational to young kids. it sets their imaginations wild and they have more fun with it. i am sure that any young child who watches it will grow up to be talented in some why. painting, writing, things you have to have an imagination for. thank you for reading my review, i hope you found it useful ashley charles, wife, mother and fan

Your 3D Garden Double Pack
List Price: ?19.99
Amazon Price: ?11.98
Customer Review: Beware this CD out dated and now repackaged
I discover that this CD old CD was once called Romany Growing Plants and has now been re-packaged. Read the review in the March issue of Computer Active you'll see it says Romany Growing Plants is also available as Your Garden Encyclopedia from Focus. This program starts to wilt under close scutiny. First of all, the interface feels incredibly dated, and although the cover claims that the program is 'interactive' it can hardly carry this clain by modern standards. Quite what the use is of features such as a 10,000-yeal diary, address book and calculator escapes us, and while some ground is made up in the program's broad coverage of plant types and characteristics, there is a consistant lack of depth to the information. altogether this package falls short for anyone seeking real practical help in the garden, and at no pointdoes it feel like a product that has been designed with the UK gardener in mind.
Customer Review: Does not live up to expectations
This CD does not live up to expectations, I thought from the description that it it had a vast range of plants and information but it turned out to lack many of my garden plants. My overall impression was it is of inferior quality. It was not expensive and so has my two star rating.