If you have a son (of daughter) in the age range of 4-5, I bet you know about the always caffeine-powered Kratt Brothers. The show is called Wild Kratts and the two stars are brothers, Chris and Martin. It plays regularly on PBS and on TVO and maintains about 10% of our PVR at all times.
Harrison always had an interest in nature and animals, but since discovering Wild Kratts, he has become a junior Jack Hanna. His knowledge has skyrocketed and the facts he shares I sometimes need to reference with the Internet to make sure he is not making it up. By the way, he never is.
He knows more about the wild life of Madagascar than I ever did. His love of sharks, bears and other creatures is beyond amazing.
For those who are not familiar with the television show, it follows the adventures of animated versions of brothers Chris and Martin Kratt, hosts of such educational shows as “Kratts’ Creatures” and “Zoboomafoo.” Ah yes, Zoboomafoo, I remember you from my days working at YTV.
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In the show, the animated Kratts encounter wild animals during stories of adventure and mystery, while they use live-action to introduce each episode. Basically they do the educating about the animals in person, then switch to cartoon mode to tell a story. The one I remember from the other day, they were teaching kids why it is bad to harm sharks and why it is wrong for people to make fin soup.
It does not stop with a TV show. Oh no.
There is also an online game that Harry plays on the PBS Kids website. From what I can tell, you have several “creature powers” that you have to choose from to figure out a level. If you need to climb a tree, you need to know what creature has the power to do that and so on.
He would play all day if we let him. He also gets to play this at school. Playing on the computer seems to be a reward for good behaviour. It’s funny when I pick him up, the first thing out of his mouth is how many creature powers he used that day.
From my side of things, the show is very educational. Sure, the brothers always seemed hopped up on jungle juice, but when dealing with kids, you need that kind of energy. Also, the show was not made for my enjoyment. I will say, if you do sit and watch an episode with your kid, you will learn something.
You will also be able to play a popular game that Harrison likes to play. It’s called “what is faster than a cheetah?”
The funny part is, there is no animal you can say that is faster. Even when I make up creatures.
So I would recommend the crazy Kratt Brothers if you are looking for a fun show that has almost every aspect that you could want in a show for your kids.
Harry was definetly born to be Wild Kratts.
