Liberty's Kids

Liberty's Kids is a great show for kids just beginning to learn the American Revolution. It presents events, such as the Boston Tea Party, in easy to understand ways and with accurate information. In the first episode about the Boston Tea Party, kids learn about Phyllis Whitley, a woman barely touched upon in most social studies classes, if at all. Also, by bringing a British girl who opposes slavery and the Revolution into the mix, one gets the viewpoints from all sides. And lastly, the series offers a huge array of big names bringing these important characters to life, most notably Walter Cronkite as Benjamin Franklin. These 40 episodes, all about different, important stages of the Revolution, can be a wonderful addition to a lesson and really can bring to life the story for kids struggling with the concepts. I highly recommend it.

I remember this show as a kid and how much I enjoyed watching. It is both an educational and entertaining show that teaches kids about the American Revolution. There are very few children's shows on television that are about history, much less those that are as good as this one. Sure, there are good shows that teach kids about many other subjects like math and English, however history is greatly overlooked.

The story is about Sarah, a Loyalist girl from England, James, a colonial journalist working for Ben Franklin, Henri, a little French orphan, and Moses, a freed African who works at the print shop. Together they live and experience the American Revolution firsthand.

However there is one thing I wish this show had done, which was show a little more of what it was like to be a loyalist in America during and post war. Sure there were a few loyalists here and there, but it would have been more interesting if they had shown a little more of the struggles that loyalist families had at that time and how families were torn apart do to the war. That aside, it's still a great history show for kids.

Long story short, this is one of my favorite shows from when I was a kid, and there should be a lot more like this on television today. Particularly shows that can get kids interested and excited about history.

Really great program. Withstanding the goofs listed, this film is a very helpful tool in my 8th grade U.S. History class. Due to governmental guidelines, I am teaching children that are not on "grade level", but are expected to pass state exams on material covering this time in history. I would hope that viewers would look at the basic historic events, so wonderfully presented for all age levels, as a learning tool and not look for ulterior motives. What a novel idea that learning historical facts can be entertaining and easy. Too many people are so full of their own intelligence, they don't think of the ones that struggle with academia, and are quick to claim "political incorrectness". If they think that the British are portrayed as our "enemies" in this series, guess what, they were. Key word being "were". The negative comment that I read about this film made me realize why so many of our programs are canceled. I applaud PBS for airing this program and have witnessed the effects that it has on children. I haven't had any students coming in ready to obliterate all British citizens, but I have had many come in with prior knowledge of the Coercive Acts, Boston Tea Party, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and much more information from this time period in our history.

Liberty's Kids is PBS Kids series that takes place in the Colonal era. James Hiller (voiced by Chris Lundquist), a ophan who meets Englishlady Sarah Philips (voiced by Reo Jones) during The Boston Tea Party. Other characters such as Moses (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) who also rescued Frenchboy Henri (voiced by Kathleen Barr) from the ship. James and Sarah become reporters of The Pennslyvania Gazette whiched owned by Dr. Benjamin Franklin (voiced by TV news legend Walter Cronkite).

They also meet important colonial figures like George Washington through John Adams (voiced by Billy Crystal). The show has other celebrity voices like Woopi Goldberg through Dustin Hoffman.

This is the best show on PBS since "Square One TV/Mathnet" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

I give it 10 out of 10.

This series beats the heck out of my lecturing to my students. I teach U.S. History to 1877, and we are coming now to the American Revolution. I have shown the Boston Tea Party and the shot heard 'round the world videos to them, and they actually pay attention, rather than talk or fidget or sleep as they are sometimes prone to do when I'm talking. I can't use all the videos, but there are some which may find their way into my class, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It's a painless, entertaining way to present the revolutionary era, and I would recommend these (they're on YouTube) to other teachers when they cover the same era.