The Best (New) PBS Kids Shows

My mom was a fifth-grade teacher before she retired and became a "Grandma nanny" for my daughter. Growing up with a teacher for a mom meant that my TV choices were fairly limited, at least while I was in elementary school.

I almost exclusively watched PBS Kids shows, and honestly, I loved it. My favorites growing up were Arthur (which is still on the air after 24 years!) and Kratt's Creatures (which has been replaced by Wild Kratts). Now that I'm a dad, I'm so excited to introduce my child(ren) to PBS Kids shows. They will certainly have a variety of both old and new shows to choose from!

If you have a Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, smart phone, or tablet, the PBS Kids video app is available for free! New episodes are added (or old episodes are recycled in) every Friday. Note: A limited number of full episodes and clips are available at any given time. If you want to watch all episodes at once, you'll need to subscribe via Amazon Channels.

The purpose of this article is to recommend four brand-new PBS Kids shows: two that came out in 2019 and two that are out in 2020.

Molly of Denali

(July 15, 2019) - ages 5 and up

My daughter Elanor is only 17 months old, so I know that she is too young to watch much TV. However, I'm sure I'm not the first to admit that being a new parent is exhausting, and you just need a break sometimes. During those times, Molly is our first choice. Ellie LOVES watching Molly of Denali. Her mom and I love it too!

The first episode that we watched together is called "Grandpa's Drum". In the episode, Molly, who is an Alaskan Native girl, finds out that her grandpa used to sing and play the drum, but that he doesn't anymore, so she decides to find out why. Molly ultimately discovers that when Grandpa Nat was young, Alaskan Native children like him were sent away to a boarding school with non-Native teachers who enforced rules of speaking English only, and singing English-only songs. She found out that the students were made to feel bad about their heritage. Grandpa Nat decided then that, if he wasn't allowed to sing the songs of his culture and language, he just wouldn't sing anymore.

In the end, Molly and her friend Tooey learned the songs of their culture and sang them to Nat, who joins in with them at the end, in tears.

Honestly, I tear up every time I see that episode now. It's such a powerful message. You should never feel bad about your heritage and your traditions. What a great lesson to teach!

Another thing that I love about Molly is that she is very tech-savvy. She has a vlog (in another great episode, she gets a Native name that means "one who informs us"), she does her research (and teaches how to do research), she makes charts to organize information, she asks questions when she doesn't understand something; she is truly an ideal student!

PBS's description: "Molly of Denali is an action-adventure comedy that follows the adventures of feisty and resourceful 10-year-old Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl. Molly helps her mom and dad run the Denali Trading Post, a general store, bunkhouse, and transport hub in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. Each episode follows Molly, her dog Suki and her friends Tooey and Trini on their daily adventures in Alaska, from fishing to building snow forts to delivering a camera to friends on a volcano via dog sled."

Xavier Riddle

(November 11, 2019) - ages 8 and up

What I love most about this show is that while it teaches history, it emphasizes many times during every episode that every famous and important figure from history started life as a child, just like the children watching from home. It's so inspiring: it teaches kids that they can also be a force for change in the world!

The first episode that I watched of Xavier Riddle was about Jackie Robinson. Each episode starts with a problem that needs to be solved in the present day. In this episode, a bully makes a rule that only kids wearing red sweaters can swing on the swings. Each episode then goes back in time to see how some historical figure solved a similar problem. In this case, they saw how badly Jackie Robinson was treated due to the color of his skin ("and I thought rules about sweater color were bad"), but they also learned how he overcame people's prejudices and racism to become the first African American to play pro baseball.

PBS's description: "Inspired by the best-selling kids book series, Ordinary People Change the World, by New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum follows the adventures of Xavier, Yadina and Brad as they tackle everyday problems by doing something extraordinary: traveling back in time to learn from real-life inspirational figures like Marie Curie, Harriet Tubman and Jackie Robinson when they were kids. Each adventure will help young viewers make the connection between the skills that made these historical figures heroes and those same qualities within themselves, helping them discover that they, too, can change the world."

Hero Elementary

(June 1, 2020) - ages 4 and up

Four elementary-aged superheroes: Lucita Sky (who can fly), Benny Bubbles (who can shoot bubbles from his fingers), Sarah Snap (who can teleport with a snap of her fingers and also has super strength), and AJ Gadgets (who invents gadgets and can project his thoughts) use their "superpowers of science" to find solutions to fairly everyday problems. (There are no evil villains to defeat in "Citytown".)

The first episode that I watched featured a baby sea turtle that had gotten itself stuck in some garbage on the beach that was the result of someone littering instead of recycling. They cleaned up the beach and educated everyone around (and at home) how important it is to recycle and not to litter. A great lesson!

Fun fact: Hero Elementary is produced by Twin Cities Public Television, right here in Minnesota!
PBS's description: "Hero Elementary is a school for budding superheroes, where kids learn to master their innate powers, like flying and teleportation, while exploring science along the way. Hero Elementary aims to give children ages 4 to 7 the tools to solve problems by thinking and acting like scientists and igniting their natural curiosity and empathy."

Elinor Wonders Why

(September 7, 2020) - ages 3 and up

I don't have much to say about this show yet because it hasn't been released yet. A few clips and one full episode have been released to preview on the PBS Kids video app, and I watched them with my daughter, who is also named Elanor. I can already tell: she's going to really love this show! I am, too, as it teaches kids to be curious and wonder why things are the way they are (and to ask questions and learn)!

PBS's description: "This animated series for preschoolers aims to encourage children to follow their curiosity, ask questions when they don't understand and find answers using science inquiry skills. The main character Elinor, the most observant and curious bunny rabbit in Animal Town, introduces kids ages 3-5 to science, nature and community through adventures with her friends Ari, a funny and imaginative bat, and Olive, a perceptive and warm elephant. As kids explore Animal Town, they meet all kinds of interesting, funny, and quirky characters, each with something to teach us about respecting others, the importance of diversity, caring for the environment, and working together to solve problems."

Honorable Mention

Two incredible, (relatively) new kids shows can actually be found on Netflix. I mention them here because they are both based on former PBS Kids entities: Magic School Bus Rides Again, and Carmen Sandiego. I hope to review them here at some point. Check them out!

Thanks so much for reading! Please feel free to share this blog post on Facebook and Twitter if you want to recommend PBS Kids shows to friends or family with young children.

If you want to recommend shows to me that I didn't include here, you can find me on Twitter: @aehanson.