Family : A Look at Some Down-to-Earth Jobs

Ah, dirt. For kids whose eyes light up at the sight of a backhoe, nothing beats a blissful hour or two in the back yard with a plastic dump truck and a shovel. When it’s time to clean up, the fun can continue with three recent live-action home videos that serve up an earth-shaking feast of cranes, dump trucks, bulldozers and plenty of dirt and debris.

In “Heavy Equipment Operator,” the first in the new “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” home video series from Big Kids Productions, three young boys get to meet the machines of their dreams.

On construction sites, real machine operators--big, burly amiable guys in hard hats--talk about their 40-story-tall cranes, 14-wheel dump trucks and enormous excavators as the camera zooms in on tracks and treads, buckets and cables, flatbeds and metal jaws. $15.95; (800) 477-7811.

“There Goes a Bulldozer,” from Kid Vision’s Live Action Video for Kids series has a similar up-close format. It’s more specific and interesting, however, in describing how certain jobs are done, from foundations and walls to roads, and it makes a point of talking to a female forklift operator.

On the downside, there is a bit too much of the adult host, the pseudo-klutzy Construction Foreman Dave, whose bumbles and pratfalls aren’t any funnier than they are necessary. The powerful huge machines, chewing up earth and concrete as if they were some fantastic prehistoric beasts, can easily hold young viewers’ interest all by themselves. $10.95 or $12.95 with small metal toy bulldozer. Available at some Wherehouse and Tower Video stores; call ahead to verify, or call (212) 275-2900.

For younger children, there’s “Tanner’s Growing Up in Alaska,” a leisurely paced, simply shot video from Bebout Productions. The film, set in a snowy Alaskan town, follows preschooler Tanner and his dad on a tour of the local logging and commercial fishing industries. There are lots of close shots of toothy machines, heavy-duty trucks and boats, tree felling, lumber processing and fish catching. There’s also time out for Tanner to show off his recently acquired dressing skills and to see him snowmobiling solo and dog sledding with his mom and her friend. $19.95 plus $3.95 shipping and handling; (800) 447-6987.

* Going On: Chris Burke, the young actor with Down’s syndrome who played Corky on the “Life Goes On” TV series, can boast of another accomplishment: He headlines with musicians Joe and John DeMasi on “. . . Singer With the Band,” an upbeat pop album just out from Zoom Express/BMG Kidz. The feel-good album features titles such as the Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (the “Life Goes On” theme song), “Love Makes the World Go Round” and an uplifting pop anthem, “All Walk Together.” Guest artist Cissy Houston solos with “Nature Boy.” A portion of the sales proceeds go to the Very Special Arts organization. Cassette: $9.98; CD: $15.98; (800) 727-2233, (800) 342-0295.