Air Times: Usually daily, check local PBS stations
Length: Approx. 30 minutes
Target Age Group: 4-7 years
Network: PBS Kids
Between the Lions - Overview
The family that reads together, stays together. Between the Lions features a family of lions - Mom and Dad, named Cleo and Theo, and their children, Lionel and Leona - who run a library that is filled with the magic of books.
Each episode finds the cubs using reading and language as they learn and grow through their experiences. With the help of their book-loving parents, the cubs find that books and stories can come alive, literally and figuratively in this show, and can not only be fun, but also helpful in many ways.
The series combines puppetry, animation, live action and music to develop a literacy curriculum geared to beginning readers aged four to seven. Characters from books come alive, letters sing and dance, and words play in the world between the lions. Also, every episode addresses the five key areas of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and text comprehension.
Copyright © Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). All Rights Reserved
Between the Lions - Guide Review
If children are sitting in front of the TV watching Between the Lions, it is actually time well spent. The show is fabulously fun and entertaining for kids, and the core literacy concepts are sound and very effective.For children in the early stages of learning to read - from those just learning letters to those who are beginning to read on their own - Between the Lions will expand their ability and understanding of language and phonics. The show covers letters and vowels, and also letter combinations, words and comprehension. Most importantly, the lions convey their love of reading in a way that makes reading exciting and fun for kids.
Between the Lions - Expand Upon the Curriculum
- See the Between the Lions website for stories and games that encourage learning and literacy.
- Parents can watch Between the Lions with kids and get a lot of different ideas on how to use books and stories on a daily basis.
