Trains and More Trains, Plus the Duchess of York’s Helicopter

Audio

All Aboard. John Denver, Sony Wonder, 38 minutes. CD: $13.98; cassette: $9.98. New from Sony Wonder’s Family Artists series--catering to adults as well as children--this well-produced collection of country, bluegrass, swing and folk train songs targets the older age group with a predominance of lonesome whistle-type songs. Included are Vince Gill and Guy Clark’s “Jennie Dreamed of Trains,” Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waitin’ for a Train” (“My pocketbook is empty; My heart is full of pain”) and George Allen’s “The Last Hobo,” to name a few. Upbeat songs include a “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” medley and “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” and “The Little Engine That Could.” You’ll also find Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and Steve Goodman’s “City of New Orleans” here. Denver’s clean, gimmick-free vocals and top-line instrumentalists make it easy on the ear.

Video

Budgie the Little Helicopter. UAV Entertainment, 75 minutes, $14.95. (888) 482-8932. Web site: uavco.com. The home video version of the animated series based on Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson’s children’s book characters. The several interconnected adventures here, featuring Budgie, Pippa the monoplane, Lionel the “aircraft in charge” and other machine and human pals, are not notable for the animation, which is disappointingly mundane. However, the stories are well-voiced and smartly written with positive messages and distinctly British charm: Sassing is “giving cheek,” a rest is a “lie-in” and tea is the beverage of choice, even for burly bad guys. The video includes a CD soundtrack and pictures to color.

I Love Toy Trains 4. TM Books Video, 35 minutes, $12.95. (800) 892-2822. Tom McComas’ award-winning kid-vid series continues with another edition of impressive real and toy train footage, original songs (written and performed by James Coffey), sound effects, safety pointers (by child narrators) and humor. Designed to appeal to an adult’s romance with trains as well as to a child’s interest, the video features steam, electric and diesel trains on the go and classic electric Lionel and American Flyer toy trains and even wooden Brio trains in layouts. It even combines two major kid interests: trains and dinosaurs. Staged antics of toy dinosaurs on a train layout are accompanied by clever lyrics: “Look out, there’s a dinosaur on the loose; he just took a bite outta my caboose. . . .”