Entre osos Leões

My kids are now 5 and 3 and they both just love this show. They stop whatever they are doing and pay attention to the show. They love Gawain's Word, Chicken Jane, and the musical skits. We always let our kids watch this entertaining and well-written program. Even my husband and I have found tips that we didn't realize before regarding English grammar.

This series wonderfully combines learning and entertainment and provides a half-hour where the children will be enthralled in the jokes, skits, and songs; and the parents will not mind watching along with their children. Each show centers around a vowel sound that is constantly repeated in different skits and songs for effective teaching value. Each show also contains a theme; one delightful episode focused on Shakespeare in a light manner for a quick introduction to the Bard for young children. They might not have understood the verse, but the fact that a chicken puppet played Juliet will have them giggling. This is a great show to rival other shows that teach reading, especially Reading Rainbow.

When I was a kid all I ever wanted to watch was Electric Company. Seeing past episodes of it now, I kind of laugh and think it is silly, but it served its purpose. The whole reason behind the show is to teach pre-reading skills. The best way for most children to learn initially when they are pre-school age is through repetition. The characters are lovable, children will attach easily to them, which will also help to increase pre-reading skills. In this day and age reading starts so much earlier in school systems it's nice to have a show that is trying to help specifically with this task. Sesame Street is up there too it just isn't focused solely on reading. Some of my favorite Muppet voices are in this show: Moakley from Fraggle Rock among them. I love this show and think that it is a must to have in the household and my children both love it. Including Cliffhanger. However, their favorite is Chicken Jane. It's a FUN show.

i have to give wgbh props for making this show. this show is great for kindergarteners and early elementary children! the whole cast of puppet characters are so cute and the fast-paced and creative segments are sure to entertain kids while parents will be amused by the witty puns: for instance, gawain's word (wayne's world)and even the title between the lions (between the lines) are just a sample. the show really brings books to life for kids, especially when characters pop out of the pages of the novels. additionally, during the story readings, the narrator's words are highlighted so that children can follow along... this is especially important since one of the most important steps of literacy is to recognize words with their sound. there are also segments and songs about vowel sounds and sounding out words. this show is very innovative in the way it presents reading... i'm sure you'll agree once you watch the show.

perhaps those people who don't understand the purpose of this show might find it a little cheesy, but one must remember that who the targeted audience of this show is: young children, and while adults might find the humor banal, little kids who, who have a simpler sense of humor, find it hilarious. not only that, i totally trust the folks at wgbh... because this organization is dedicated in providing educational and entertaining programming for children. you can't overlook the fact that this company has a whole development, research, and content department that puts a lot of time and effort, as well as research and testing to make sure that the programs you see are developmentally appropriate and entertaining. they just don't take ideas and pull them out of their butts, there's a process that scrutinizes every program and episode so that the end result is quality programming.

the kids love it, and isn't that what really matters?

This show is the about the best 30 minute reading lesson you can give your kids short of having a reading teacher give them a one-on-one lesson. It presents a sound or word in multiple ways to get children thinking about how our reading works.

It also uses contemporary children's books so if one show really works with your kids, you can take them to the library and see the same book they saw on the show. (Although they won't see talking lions)

The show focuses on teaching reading, not math or manners or anything else, which is where it differs from Sesame Street. It also doesn't try to make jokes for the parents who might be watching the show with their kids. So, if you're not a small child or the parent of one, you probably won't see much point in the show. There is a quite negative review of this show on this site and it's probably from someone for whom this show was not intended. Some kid's shows really are just for kids.