‘Alma’s Way’ comes to PBS

Posted on September 21, 2021March 14, 2023 by Francine Brokaw

When you first hear there is a show about Puerto Ricans living in the Bronx, you might think about the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story. Well, if you think this new PBS Kids show is anything like the atmosphere in that film, you are way off. While the central character, Alma, is Puerto Rican, her Latin heritage does comes into play (like the Alaskan heritage does in Molly of Denali) however the main focus is on learning to solve problems.

As Linda Simensky, Head of Content at PBS Kids, said, “In each story, Alma uses ‘Think-Through’ moments to stop, listen and process in the face of a tough decision and reflects and takes action while demonstrating social awareness.” Simensky added, “We hope this inspires kids to find their own answers to problems, express what they think and feel, and recognize and respect the unique perspective of others.”

Although Alma is the central character, there is a diverse cast that plays and solves problems along with her. They are made up of all backgrounds and ethnicities.

Alma’s Way is the brainchild of Sonia Manzano who based it on her own childhood growing up in the Bronx in a Puerto Rican family. Although she has Puerto Rican heritage, Manzano considers herself first a New Yorker and wanted to show the diverse borough of the Bronx in a way that entices love and understanding among neighbors. “I was always walking that bicultural tightrope that is America, that is the Bronx.”

“All of the characters on the show are based on my real relatives,” Manzano explained, “and I had a cousin Eddie …” Her cousin had polio however she adjusted that in this show. “So our character on the show has cerebral palsy, …”

The Executive Producer, Ellen Doherty, explained that they worked with doctors from Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh to advise them on this character. According to one doctor, who was consulted about the Eddie Mambo character, “If he’s walking a short distance or around the house, he might not need his crutches, but for a longer distance he would need his crutches. So it is really a choice based on what kids would do.” In that they are able to accurately portray this sweet little boy.

Summer Rose Castillo, who voices Alma, claimed, “I’m a lot like Alma because she’s a little girl and she’s from the Bronx. She’s Puerto Rican, and I’m Puerto Rican. And she loves to explore her world, and I do too. I love to go hiking with my family, and I also like to figure stuff out as well.” When asked what she learned from being part of the show, she quickly replied, “So what I have learned from doing the show is that I could believe in myself, trust in myself and never be afraid to dream big.” And that, in a nutshell, is the goal of Alma’s Way.

Alma’s Way is geared for ages 4-6 and premieres on PBS Kids October 4. Thinking for themselves is what the show aims to impart on kids, and that is a lesson worth learning.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA. Follow her on Twitter.

‘Elinor Wonders Why’ airs on PBS Kids

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Francine Brokaw

Elinor Wonders Why is the brainchild of cartoonist Jorge Cham, whose daughter Elinor is always filled with questions, and scientist Daniel Whiteson. To make this a fun series for kids ages 3-5, the characters are all animals and live in Animal Town. Together they explore and discover things about science, nature, and their community.

First, there is Elinor, an observant and overly curious bunny. Ari is an imaginative bat and a little perceptive elephant named Olive rounds out the core group. Together these enthusiastic youngsters find answers to many things surrounding them and learn about the environment as well as how they can work together to solve problems and figure out things in life.

Jorge Cham told a virtual press conference, “I think the show is to encourage kids and to model getting them interested in nature and following their own curiosity and being in charge of asking their own questions and finding their own answers.”

There’s no doubt kids are curious and always wondering why things reacts as they do or look as they do. “Sometimes they learn a little bit about the environment and also a little bit about engineering,” Cham added.

About the look of the show, he explained, “The design of the show, I am a cartoonist. I was originally an academic. I like to say I am a recovering academic. But I am a cartoonist and I draw bugs and I illustrate a lot of science education. A lot of the look of the show came from the designs, the original designs, my show and my cartoon style. That’s really where we went. We were really interested in making it two-dimensional, 2D that energy.”

Each episode includes some music as well as the adventures of the animals as they learn and explore their environment. “It is all sort of our core mission of getting people excited and interested and engaged with not just science, but innate curiosity and wonder about the world,” explained Cham.

Both Cham and Whiteson have young children and often draw on the questions and curiosities of their own kids. As Whitson said, “So really the brainstorm started with, ‘Okay, let’s ask our kids what science is for.’ Before COVID-19, we walked around the neighborhood and asked questions, ‘Did you know that cats have babies too?’ The kind of thing that blows the minds of four-year-olds. Really our episode, the goal is a question that a real child could ask.” Parents will inevitably see some of the same curiosity in Elinor, Ari, and Olive that their own children have. These three characters represent the inquisitiveness of our own kids.

“In terms of the animals in the show,” explained Cham, “this is something Daniel and I had a lot of conversations about because it is a science show and we are trying to teach about nature. So we wanted to be really clear and have some very sort of clear rules, I guess, intuitive rules in terms of how the world works. So the rule that we have is that all of the speaking characters are all these mammals so they are clear to explore things like lizards, bugs, insects and birds and worms and trees and nature. So they study those as the kids at home would study them or observe them. But we also sort of retain a lot of the animal characteristics for the characters so they are not stand-ins, as other shows. Ari still flies.”

The characters will definitely capture the imaginations of viewers and their curiosity will relate to the as well. Elinor Wonders Why airs on PBS KIDS.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a long standing member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association.

Pinkalicious & Peterrific will premier February 2018 on PBS Kids

Posted on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 by Francine Brokaw

PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC follows the adventures of Pinkalicious and her brother Peter. Pinkalicious imagines creative possibilities everywhere she looks. She is an artist at heart—and, like most creative people, she sees the world differently from others. She knows what she likes, and she’s not afraid to express herself—though she sometimes needs help from her brother, Peter, and her neighborhood friends.

“PBS stations are a go-to destination for the arts in their communities across the country; we often hear from artists that their first exposure to the arts came from PBS programming,” said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS. “We are thrilled to build on our commitment to the arts with a PBS KIDS series entirely dedicated to the arts and creativity. Through PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC, we hope to encourage children across America to follow their passions and express themselves creatively, while building important skills and having fun.”

PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC is designed to help preschool-age children explore the arts and creativity. “Research shows that participating in the arts strengthens children’s cognitive and emotional skills, and leads to higher academic performance,” said series Executive Producer Dorothea Gillim. “Kids will simply connect with the great characters Pinkalicious and Peter, and their friends Jasmine, Rafael and Lila; the entertaining and quirky stories; and the visually stunning animation.”

The new PBS KIDS series is based on author-artist Victoria Kann’s number-one New York Times-bestselling Pinkalicious book series, which includes 63 titles and has sold more than 23 million copies to date. The most recent book in the series, Peterrific, debuted in May 2017. The HarperCollins book series has been translated into 8 languages, is sold in 9 countries and inspired a stage musical, Pinkalicious: The Musical, which premiered in New York City to sold-out audiences and continues to be performed there and across the country.

“I’m tremendously excited to see the world of Pinkalicious and Peterrific come alive,” said author and illustrator Victoria Kann. “And I’m grateful to PBS and WGBH for helping to empower kids to explore and express their full creativity through this wonderful new series.”

Each episode of PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC will include two 11-minute stories as well as a live-action interstitial and an original song. The series is currently in production at WGBH and its animation partner, Sixteen South, for 38 half-hour episodes and one hour-long special, which will roll out on PBS KIDS beginning in 2018.