Suitable that our economy is going to the dogs. After all, this Saturday, Oct. 4, is World Animal Day! To celebrate, the two-legs at National Geographic Kids Entertainment are partnering with zoos across the country and its very cute, animated preschool show, Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies, to bring you some kid-friendly edutainment: premiere screenings of Mama Mirabelle, art projects, and – our favorite – photo workshops for preschoolers taught by real live National Geographic photogs. If you live in Tacoma or Tampa, head over to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium or Lowry Park Zoo on Saturday to participate. The following weekend, events will be held at the Dallas Zoo and San Francisco Zoo.
Can’t make it? Have your kiddo take a photo of her fave animal, and upload it www.mamamirabelle.com. Who knows? She may win something called a “prize pack.” Normally, that translates into “useless garbage and choking hazards.” But because it’s provided by National Geographic and Fisher-Price, we’re (slightly) more optimistic.
Think we’re cheating you out of more details? See for yourself here.
And edutain yourself more about World Animal Day right about here.
If you want to know what really goes on behind the scenes of Sesame Street, or better yet, how you can get a piece of that action, circle Tuesday, November 18, on your calendar. (Or put it in your Blackberry, whatever.) That’s the evening a sure-to-be-fascinating panel discussion about the longest-running (and most respected) kids’ show will take place at the Apollo Theater in New York. The topic: “Breaking into Kids’ Media: How to Get to Sesame Street.” Participants will include executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente, research director Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Sonia Manzano (“Maria”), and producer/director/”Elmo” performer Kevin Clash.
Cool, right? And did we mention it’s free? Register here. And email us details if you run into Cookie Monster in the lobby. We’re so sure he’s actually like the character he plays on TV!
Nothing like a good, old-fashioned, um, chicken party. If you’ve been hankering for chicken – and that would be a cute puppet chicken with a kid-friendly personality, not the greasy fast food kind I craved when I was pregnant – you’re in luck! From 6:00-9:00 p.m. ET, PBS KIDS Sprout’s The Sunny Side-Up Show will be celebrating the birthday of co-host Chica the Chicken with party games (hopefully not “Pin the Tail on the Chicken”) and a few live musical performances, including one by kids’ rockers The Dream Jam Band, warblers of such hits as “Nicky Nicky Knock Knock” and “Cow.” (We’re hoping that last one isn’t a ballad.)
If you and your preschooler want to participate, go to SproutOnline.com for info on how to upload birthday artwork, video or email wishes. Per The Sunny Side-Up Show’s very cool interactive philosophy, a live onscreen crawl during tomorrow’s program will feature all the submissions. (Kiddos will also be able to call in live to say “Happy Birthday.” Whether they’d like to mumble, scream or throw out a random comment, “My daddy’s wearing two different socks today,” – is , of course, entirely up to them.)
Insert your own chicken-cross-the-road joke here. We won’t cry fowl.
If you keep sneaking into the living room to catch glimpses of the latest TV hyperbole news about the upcoming election, relax. While you might be horrified at the mud-slinging going on (and would hopefully give your kids a time-out if they were acting as sleazy and underhanded as, say, Steve Schmidt) you don’t have to keep politics a secret from your kid.
Paul Nyhan, who blogs over at Working Dad for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, explains. And much, much more even-handedly than we would.
Cute New Show Alert: Chapman Entertainment, the brains behind Bob the Builder, have a new animated program for preschoolers: Roary the Racing Car. It’ll be, ahem, roaring towards you on Monday, Oct. 13 on PBS Kids Sprout. A few bits of goodness about the show:
It’s narrated by Sam Hornish, Jr., one of the most successful drivers in the recent history of open-wheel racing. (NASCAR and stuff.)
The show has the same fun, modern-Claymation-y feel as Bob the Builder. (See for yourself in the clip below.)
And although we find it off-putting that Roary’s name is constantly followed by ™ in the press release – as in, you’re soon going to be seeing images of this lovable single-seater on everything from Band-Aids to socks – the show’s all about teaching positive messages (like doing the right thing and being optimistic) and building social skills.
If you’ve got an impatient offspring (with or without a lead foot), check out Sproutonline.com next week for Roary-related activities, clips, games, and print-outs.
We love Charlie and Lola everso much. And U.K.-based executive producer Claudia Lloyd is awfully charming, too. Sit down with some biscuits and juice and read our email interview with her after the jump.
You might not know Dr. Laura Brown by name, but thanks in large part to her, the shows your preschoolers are watching are smart. Get an explanation (and read our interview with Laura) after the jump.
Shows that set out to expand the world of young kids, not shrink it, get extra points from us. That’s why we’re digging the new Bollywood-themed ep of The Wonder Pets!, which airs on Nickelodeon tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. This latest adventure finds school pet heroes Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming helping an arrogant white Bengal tiger (voiced by critically acclaimed Indian actress Nandita Das) who has a thorn stuck in her paw. They’re too big to pull it out, so of course, they have to enlist the aid of tweezers famous mouse, Raji, a.k.a. The Puller of Thorns.
Lots of Indian-inspired music and dance (and yes, a big Bollywood number, love it!) follow. Your offspring will be asking for curry celery afterwards.
Stupendous – no, make that extremely stupendous – news for fans of Noggin’s abruptly canceled The Upside Down Show.The Australian is reporting that the genius live-action program starring Australian geniuses of live action David Collins and Shane Dundas, is being developed into a movie by Blink Films. We’ll keep you posted on new info as we hear it.
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You might not know Dr. Laura Brown by name, but thanks in large part to her, the shows your preschoolers are watching are smart. Get an explanation (and read our interview with Laura) after the jump.
