Works: Fabulous Foods
(Sony $12.95 Score:) The best title in this "Work" series looks at familiar products and how they are made. Here, learn how apple juice, yogurt, bread, blueberries, and pasta are made. Footage of cows being milked and blueberries being cleaned and sorted fascinated our testers. In My House looks at flowers, mail service, and how bricks, baskets, and pottery are made. Narrated by kids who wear a "magic" hat, these are pretty straightforward-not incredibly compelling, but informative for "how do they do that?" curiosity. Fun and Games was a disappointingly slow look at how crayons and toys are made. Will be enjoyed by the next age group. 4-9

Age: Preschool,Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2001.

The Blue Angels: In Pursuit of Excellence
(Dreams Come True $14.98 Score:) Get a sense of the precision involved, not just in flying in formation in shows, but at all times as the Blue Angels' team of more than 100 works together to make it all happen. Amazing footage puts you right in the cockpit and for a few heady moments you too will have the wings of an angel! The Big Airshow from the same company was too slow paced for our testers. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2001.

Building Big
(WGBH, WGBH $69.95 Score:) David McCaulay, author of the award-winning The Way Things Work, takes viewers on an exploration of Bridges, Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams, and Tunnels in each of five videos, each followed with activity ideas for building related structures with straws, newspaper, and tape. These are uneven; for example, the Bridges video is more compelling than Dams--but these held the interest of older viewers. (800) 949-8670.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2002.

Popular Mechanics for Kids: Radical Rockets
(Koch Vision $12.98 Score:) Two teens take kids on a visit to NASA and get to try out all sorts of equipment used to train real astronauts. This is an interesting video for kids who are taken with the idea of exploring space. We didn't like Slither & Slime, with too many moments that felt like "Fear Factor," with earthworms slithering over the kids' faces. 7 & up.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2005.