Baby Einstein Plans 'Pals'

For more than a Decade, Baby Einstein videos have been one of the first choices parents make when searching for video content for babies. More recently, Little Einsteins has entertained preschool-age Playhouse Disney viewers. But missing from the Einstein family has been a property that bridges the gap left between the two series—one for toddlers. That's about to change with the debut in spring 2009 of Einstein Pals, a DVD series created to address the developmental needs of 2 and 3 year olds.

“For over a decade, parents have been telling us how much their babies love Baby Einstein ... [and] as their children grow into toddlers, they then ask us, 'What's next?'” says Susan McLain, Baby Einstein's vice president and general manager. “Our research confirmed that 80 percent of moms would like a program geared specifically to the needs of their 2 to 3 year old toddler.”

The property stars eight toddler-aged animal characters, each corresponding to one of the eight “pathways of discovery” in the educational theory of multiple intelligences.

“With eight very diverse, distinctively likeable characters, toddlers may see parts of themselves in one or more of the characters,” McLain told Playthings. “We believe it is a very positive series that celebrates toddlers' unique personalities and talents while encouraging them to sing and dance and play, having fun as they discover new things.”