Get a “TASTE” of READING With Super Why!

Hip Hip Hooray! Super WHY whips up a whole new reading-powered adventure when the Super Readers soar into the pages of a cookbook for the very first time!

Super WHY and the Cookbook will premiere January 29 on PBS stations from coast to coast (check local listings). Whyatt wants to bake his little sister a special birthday cake - but he doesn't know how. So Super Why and his friends soar into a new kind of book - and get the information they need from a rhyming chef with a silly sense of humor as well as a recipe for fun! In the end, Whyatt learns how to create the perfect birthday for Baby Joy.

Here are some awesome tips to help you cook up your very own yummy reading adventure! Encouraging preschoolers to read recipes, signs and more helps them navigate their world and gives them a real reason to use their new-found literacy skills. Asking questions will expand their creativity as well as reinforce comprehension. It can also inspire them to write their own signs, recipes or stories!


* Pick out a simple and tasty recipe with your budding Super Reader. Ask them to point out all of the letters and words they already know in the ingredients

* Write a grocery list together, sounding out the words as you go along

* At the supermarket, have your kids help read the signs so you can find the ingredients you need

* As you cook, read the recipe out loud every step of the way

* Before serving your delicious treat, create colorful place cards for each member of the family, assisting your preschooler in writing out the names. Have fun – and bon appetite!


Each episode of Super WHY, the award-winning literacy series from Out of the Blue Enterprises, engages young viewers in fun, interactive alphabet and word games, as well as imagination-stimulating spelling, vocabulary and comprehension activities, helping to instill a life-long love of reading all along the way!

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Richard Scarry Busytown Mysteries on CBS Saturday Mornings!

Saturday Mornings will never be the same!

When I was younger, I remember having a Richard Scarry book or two. In fact, I remember having this cool little Apple Car toy with Lowly in it.. I used to take that thing every That feels like forever ago, but last Saturday morning my memories came flooding back when I noticed that BUSYTOWN MYSTERIES was on CBS!

The Busytown Mysteries series follows the lives of the most beloved Scarry characters, lead by Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm, as they solve the many every day mysteries of Busytown. Where is Mr. Frumble’s pickle car? The Busytown kids will find out! How can they help a lost parrot find its owner? Leave it to Huckle and friends to solve the case! Busytown Mysteries engages children with fun storylines and lovable characters, while introducing them to deductive reasoning skills. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

The half-hour program is made up of two 11-minute stories per episode. You can watch Busytown Mysteries on CBS weekend mornings in the Cookie Jar TV block of children's programming. To check when the series is airing in your area, click here for the schedule.

Busytown also entertains and educates fans at home with the fun, interactive website BusytownMysteries.com where kids can explore different neighborhoods in Busytown, interact with the Busytown characters and play 14 games and activities designed for preschoolers, including interactive games, a Fan Club and “My First Email,” which lets little ones email their progress to pre-approved friends and family addresses.

Richard Scarry’s books have sold over 150 million copies and have been translated into 30 languages over the last 40 years. If you grew up reading these books, you can now share the fun with your children watching brand new TV series check out all of the Busytown fun online at their comprehensive website BusytownMysteries.com.

The kid's experience: Alex was intrigued at the storyline and mysteries Huckle was trying to solve. Abbigaile enjoyed watching it- although the story line was a little "above" her age range, she thought it was hysterical, and even guessed where Lowly's Apple Car was before Huckle solved the mystery. The both of them sat and watched the episodes, and were excited to see them again.

We haven't had an opportunity to visit the BusytownMysteries website yet, but from the poking around that I was doing the other night, I can tell you I forsee Alex having a lot of fun on the website. I love the fact that even though the show is entertaining, it's educational. Finally, quality children's programming, real life lessons, and a cartoon that makes children think- THANK YOU CBS for listening to parents!



Thank you to the One2One Network for providing our family with a DVD copy of Busytown Mysteries, and for allowing us to post our review on this entertaining new show. By posting this review, I have been entered to win one of 3 Visa/Mastercard giftcards. This does not affect my opinion, as it is just that- my opinion. Your experience may differ.

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Nickelodeon & Mattel Announces New Look for Dora!

"For nearly ten years, Dora the Explorer has had such a strong following among preschoolers, catapulting it into the number one preschool show on commercial television," says Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing for Mattel. "Girls really identify with Dora and we knew that girls would love to have their friend Dora grow up with them, and experience the new things that they were going through themselves. The brand captures girls' existing love of Dora and marries it with the fashion doll play and online experiences older girls enjoy." "We are thrilled to partner with Mattel to develop this brand extension that will enable girls to continue to learn and interact with their Latina heroine, Dora, as they grow up together."

I'm not sure how I feel about the "new" look Nickelodeon and Mattel have put together for Dora the Explorer. Carol Costello assured CNN viewers that Dora's "tweenage" look is much more conservative than the shadow profile above suggests. She assures viewers that Dora is wearing leggings under her skirt and that the new look portrays an icon growing up, not maturing sexually, and most importantly, Dora still "uses her brain" to problem solve and investigate her new mysteries.

The perks of the new Dora doll include the ability to link her to the internet so children can play in a "world" where they can dress her up, interact with her, and help solve Nancy Drew style mysteries. The new Dora moves from having adventures in the forest and jungle to the concrete jungle, and adventures in middle school. It has been told that the new Dora is geared for ages 5 and up, but somehow, I do not see my 5 year old playing with a doll that goes to middle school. I cannot help but feel the initial discontent most other bloggers have already displayed, but part of me is eager to see the new look of "tweenage" Dora. Dora's new look is scheduled to debut in fall of 2009.

Until then, what do you think of Nickelodeon & Mattel joining forces to give Dora the Explorer a new "Tweenage" look?

Do you think that the "Tweenage" Dora will grow with your children, or do you think that kids grow old of the new Dora just as quickly as the current Dora?

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