"Language Nursery: Voices from Many Lands" (originally titled Baby Einstein) is the first video in the direct-to-video edutainment series Baby Einstein. It was released on January 31, 1997.
The video was created by Julie Aigner-Clark, the founder of The Baby Einstein Company, who was unhappy with the media catered toward children at the time and desired to make something for her daughter, Aspen. The video received mostly positive ratings from newspapers and other press reviews and sold over 100 videos within the first week of the video's release in stores.
The video features nursery rhymes, alphabets, and counting sequences in seven different languages: English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, to the visuals of toys by several manufacturers and images, intended to stimulate an infant's brain, along with other natural sounds and music.
Development and production Clark stated that she desired to create a video board book, with images and toys against black and white backgrounds, as opposed to animation which Clark felt her daughter could not focus on as well. Research she read indicated that infants were able to respond to and produce sounds from all languages at six months, but that the ability was gone by one year as children often only hear one language,Baby Einstein 1997 VHS two minute discussion and thus the repeated exposure to the sounds benefit the brain's auditory cortex.. She also stated that she had read a Newsweek article discussing the benefits of exposing a child to classical music and the sounds of foreign language. Clark went to a nearby language school and hired mothers to do the readings in their native tongues in a tone in which they might speak to a baby, replacing the original Spanish speaker with a Mexican restaurant worker due to the original voice actress not being conversational enough. The initial video shoot cost Clark and her husband, Bill, $15,000 for the first video shoot ($31,000 in 2026).
Video guide +Baby Einstein, Language NurseryLanguageNarratorVoiceover/MusicLanguage Nursery DVD parents' guideEnglish TranslationTypeVisual (with manufacturer if toy)Language Nursery 2004 DVD Menu, Toy Chest1997199820002004199720002004EnglishJulie Aigner-ClarkHello!GreetingBear in the Box (Ambi Toys) colspan="4" Baby Einstein Theme SongOpening Titles colspan="8" Fishbowl (zoomed in)Fishbowl (zoomed out)GermanGabriele RewisLeise, Peterle, LeiseQuiet, Young Peter, QuietNursery RhymeRed, black, and white patterns colspan="5" Old MacDonald Had a Farm SongRoly Poly The Friendly Calf (Iwaya)RussianLudmilla Zaitsev1-20Counting SequenceRock-A-Stack (Fisher-Price)Stacking Wooden Rings (Schylling) colspan="8" Sesame Street Express Ride-On Train (TYCO)Fantasy Train Set (LGB)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettaisあいうえお ()AlphabetLiquid Motion Tumbler (Carlisle)EnglishJulie Aigner-ClarkJack and JillNursery RhymeThe Funny Barnyard (Dah-Yang Toy)HebrewLynne AlbertsonIris Zingerנומי נומי (Numi, Numi)Sleepy, SleepyFour flowersGermanGabriele RewisBacke, backe KuchenBake, bake a cakeBright Starts Musical Mobile (Kids II, Inc.)SpanishErica SilvaMaría Fernanda MoralesHola!Hello!GreetingBear in the Box (Ambi Toys)FrenchFreda GuetarniValérie Siclay1-20Counting SequenceCardboard Bricks (Rolyco)RussianLudmilla ZaitsevWiegenlied, K. 350 (Bernhard Files) LullabySpell Candles (LadyRobyn)UFO Flash Lamp (Distributed by various companies)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettais江戸子守唄 (Edo No Komori Uta)Edo LullabyDreamland Babies Doll: Harmony (Mattel)Groovy Girls: Cicely (Manhattan Toy)Girl Doll (Baby Gap)Tidoo Doll (Corolle)Raggedy Ann (Applause)Betsy Wetsy (Ideal)Corolline Doll (Corolle) colspan="8" Sesame Street Express Ride-On Train (TYCO)Fantasy Train Set (LGB)SpanishErica SilvaMaría Fernanda MoralesOye! Mira!Hey Diddle DiddleNursery RhymeWiggly Caterpillar (Blue Box)GermanGabriele Rewis1-20Counting SequenceSpiral Lamp (Kenart)FrenchFreda GuetarniValérie SiclayJ'avaisI HadNursery RhymeBaby's Music Box Animal Carousel (Shelcore)Musical Push n' Go Merry (Tomy)HebrewLynne AlbertsonIris Zingerהאבי בייבי (Habi, Beybi)Hush, BabyFun Links (Kids II, Inc.)שלום (Shalom!)Hello!GreetingBear in the Box (Ambi Toys)אלפבת (Aleph-bet)AlphabetAlphabetFoam Learning Blocks (Lee Chyun)ABC Big Blocks (Schylling)SpanishErica SilvaMaría Fernanda MoralesBrilla, Brilla, Estrellita!Twinkle, Twinkle, Little StarNursery RhymeRed, black, and white patternsEnglishJulie Aigner-ClarkHumpty DumptyCurious Creatures:Busy Starfish (The First Years)FrenchFreda GuetarniValérie SiclayAlphabetBright Starts Musical Mobile (Kids II, Inc.) colspan="8" rowspan="2" Wind-Up Musical Lamb (Batnam)Lily Lamb (Eden)Sesame Street Express Ride-On Train (TYCO)Fantasy Train Set (LGB)RussianLudmilla ZaitsevМаленькие гуси (Malen'kiye Gusi)Little GeeseNursery RhymeThe Funny Barnyard (Dah-Yang Toy)GermanGabriele RewisChildren's SermonSeeding Colorful Pinwheel (IKEA)EnglishJulie Aigner-Clark1-20Counting SequenceWind-Up Musical Teaching Clock (Fisher-Price)Tick Tock Musical Clock (Tolo Toys)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettaisこんにちは (Konnichiwa!)Hello!GreetingBear in the Box (Ambi Toys)FrenchFreda GuetarniValérie SiclayLittle Bo-PeepNursery RhymeBright Ball (Playskool)Pupsqueak Puppy (Learning Curve)JellybeansCurious Creatures:Busy Starfish (The First Years)My First Christmas Bear (Eden)Sherbert Pig (Eden)Leggy Larry the Octopus (Jolly Toys)Lamaze Octotunes (Learning Curve) colspan="5" Do You Know the Muffin Man? SongWooden Xylophone (Plan Toys)SpanishErica SilvaMaría Fernanda MoralesAlfabetoAlphabetAlphabetPrecision Gyroscope (TEDCO)HebrewLynne AlbertsonIris Zinger1-20Counting SequenceFishbowl (zoomed out) colspan="8" Sesame Street Express Ride-On Train (TYCO)Fantasy Train Set (LGB)HebrewLynne AlbertsonIris ZingerEveryone Clap Hands (Game Song)Nursery RhymeRock-A-Stack (Fisher-Price)Stacking Wooden Rings (Schylling)EnglishJulie Aigner-ClarkTwinkle, Twinkle, Little StarSpell Candles (LadyRobyn)UFO Flash Lamp (Distributed by various companies)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettais1-20Counting SequenceRed, black, and white patternsRussianLudmilla ZaitsevТише Малыш (Tishe Malysh)Hush, BabyNursery RhymeJulie Aigner-Clark's hand FrenchFreda GuetarniValérie SiclayBonjour!Hello!GreetingBear in the Box (Ambi Toys)GermanGabriele RewisAlphabetAlphabetRock ‘n Roll Tops (Maui Toys)Whirlwind Air Powered Gyro-Top (Uncle Milton)HebrewLynne AlbertsonIris Zingerלך לישון (Laila Tov, Yedidi)Good Night, My FriendNursery RhymeSleigh Bells (ChimeScapes / JW Stannard)Wind Chimes colspan="8" Metronome (Wittner) with red stickerMetronome (Wittner) with yellow stickerSpanishErica SilvaMaría Fernanda Morales1-10 (1997–2003)Counting SequenceShake ‘n Shine Rattle (The First Years)1-20 (2004)EnglishJulie Aigner-ClarkLittle Miss MuffetNursery RhymeSesame Street Express Ride-On Train (TYCO)Fantasy Train Set (LGB)Girl Doll (Baby Gap)Groovy Girls: Cicely (Manhattan Toy)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettais桜 (Sakura)Cherry BlossomsBell pepperBananaPeasCarrots and celeryAppleRussianLudmilla ZaitsevАлфавит (Alfavit)AlphabetAlphabetCatGermanGabriele RewisHallo!Hello!GreetingRed German HatAlpine Hat with Quill (Rubie's)Mini Plush Duck Rattle (Brio)Baby Einstein Duck Plush (Baby Einstein / Kids II, Inc.)JapaneseMiyuki Tayaka-PaisleyMiho Mettais虹 (Niji)RainbowsNursery RhymeFloppy Fairy Tales: Hey Diddle Diddle Plush Cow (Eden)Cow Jumped Over The Moon Plush (Eden0English colspan="7" Closing credits; Aspen Clark playing with My First Playset (Battat)
Releases Baby Einstein was released on January 31, 1997, in the baby-centered store The Right Start. The original tape was advertised as offering "visual multilingual experiences that will increase your baby's capacity". In October 1998, Billboard reported that Baby Einstein had sold 40,000 copies since its February 1997 release, primarily through the Right Start catalog and stores associated with Gymboree. Julie Aigner-Clark said she preferred smaller specialty retailers because the $15.95 video was largely "selling itself" without extensive marketing support.
The video went through several re-releases. The first was in 1998, where some transitions were changed as well as the Hebrew narrator, Lynne Albertson, being replaced by Iris Zinger. Another re-release was in 2000; aside from being released on both VHS and DVD, German narrator, Gabriele Rewis, re-recorded her dialogue, Japanese narrator Miyuki Tayaka-Paisley was replaced by Miho Mettais, and French narrator Freda Guetrani and Spanish narrator Erica Silva were both redubbed by Voice Productions International, respectively; the images of carrots with parsley and pepper were changed to an apple and banana.
A 2001 re-release saw the video retitled "Baby Einstein - Language Nursery", and the 2003 cover saw the video changed from the original starfish logo to a caterpillar. In October 2004, along with the following nine videos created by Clark, were revised by Disney, replacing several toys and changing the credits to credit the toy manufacturers. The video was retitled "Language Nursery - Voices from Many Lands".
Reception Baby Einstein was recognized by several publications. Reviewers were cautious about its claims about child development. In spring 1997, Parents' Choice gave the video an Approval Award. Other reviewers questioned whether exposure to foreign languages would actually achieve Clark's goal of creating greater brain capacity but still concluded that infants would enjoy the video. Parenting offered an assessment in November 1997 with reviewers stating it was difficult to determine whether the video was successful in building connections in the auditory cortex, however, reported that the infants used as reviewers were "transfixed" by it. The magazine subsequently included Baby Einstein in its Video Magic Award recipients.
Following the video and company's wider attention, critics began examining its infant developmental claims more. An August 1998 article in Thousand Oaks Star expressed skepticism about whether such stimulation could produce intellectual acceleration, with pediatrician Paul Reisser saying that it might instead simply make for an interesting study. Citing developmental research, he emphasized interaction between parents and children and cautioned against trying to place infants into a framework before they were developmentally ready. The following December, The Tennessean framed these developmental benefits as claims made by the video's creators and proponents rather than independently established effects. Pediatricians likewise in April 1999 argued that educational material presented early could be helpful but said the potential of the human brain remained uncertain.
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