Between the Lions facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Between the Lions |
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| Genre | |
| Created by |
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| Starring |
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| Theme music composer | Sarah Durkee Paul Jacobs |
| Opening theme | Between the Lions (Sung by Cindy Mizelle) |
| Ending theme | Between the Lions |
| Composer(s) | Chris Cerf |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 130 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 26 minutes |
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| Release | |
| Original network | PBS |
| Original release | April 3, 2000 – November 22, 2010 |
Between the Lions is a fun American TV show for kids. It mixes animation, live-action, and puppets. The main goal of the show is to help young people love to read. It was made by WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. The show also worked with Mississippi Public Broadcasting.
Between the Lions won seven Daytime Emmy awards. These awards were given between 2001 and 2007. The show was like a friend to Sesame Street. Some characters from Sesame Street even appeared in season 2 episodes. The show first aired on April 3, 2000. It ran until November 22, 2010. After the show ended, reruns were shown until August 31, 2011.
Contents
What Is Between the Lions About?
The show is mostly about a family of lions. They live and work in a big, busy place called "The Barnaby B. Busterfield III Memorial Public Library." The lion family helps people learn about books. Other characters also live in the library. These include Click, a computer mouse, and Heath, a dinosaur who is a thesaurus.
The show helps kids learn to read. In each episode, the lions pick a picture book. They read it to the audience. Sometimes, they read famous folktales or old myths. Other times, they read popular storybooks. The lions often learn lessons from the stories they read.
The show has many short educational parts. These parts are often funny versions of well-known TV shows. They are made to teach younger viewers. The show almost always takes place inside the library. It shows the lions' adventures there. There are also two pigeons, Walter and Clay. They often annoy a living statue of the library's founder, Barnaby B. Busterfield III. This part is usually for laughs.
After the fourth season, the show changed a bit. Each episode became two shorter stories. These stories were about a single topic. The show also started to focus more on consonants instead of vowels. Some older parts of the show were replaced with new ones. Characters like Busterfield, Heath, Walter, and Clay were seen less.
Meet the Characters
The library is full of interesting characters! Here are some of the main ones:
The Lion Family
- Theo Lion – He owns the library. He is Lionel and Leona's dad and Cleo's husband. Theo is a bit rough and has a loud voice. He loves to eat meat very fast! He also likes to joke and has a powerful roar. Theo loves telling stories and showing people great books.
- Cleo Lion – She is the cubs' mom and the family's hunter. Cleo loves reading to her kids. She uses stories to teach them important lessons. She can also be a country singer named Tammy Lionette. Cleo is good at finding any book in the library.
- Lionel Lion – He is Theo and Cleo's seven-year-old son. Lionel loves reading "Cliff Hanger" books. He always wants to know what happens next. This often annoys his sister, Leona. Lionel can get embarrassed by his family. But he loves them very much. He often thinks he doesn't need help, but he usually does.
- Leona Lion – She is Theo and Cleo's four-year-old daughter. Leona is curious about everything. She is learning to read, just like Lionel. She likes to practice pouncing and hunting on her brother or dad. Leona doesn't like Cliff Hanger books. She finds them too predictable.
Other Main Characters
- Barnaby B. "Don't Call Me Buster" Busterfield III – He is a grumpy rock statue. He founded the library, which is named after him. He lives on the second floor. Walter and Clay Pigeon often annoy him. Since he's a statue, he can't move. So, he can only complain to the pigeons or the viewers. He hates being called "Buster." He also doesn't like it when the announcer bothers him. He can open the top of his head! Busterfield is not seen after Season 4.
- Walter and Clay Pigeon – These two birds live in the library's dome with Buster. They talk to him and annoy him. Walter is the male pigeon, and Clay is the female. They are city birds, but not very smart. They need each other's help to say full sentences. Walter and Clay are not seen after Season 4.
- Click – She is a live computer mouse. She looks like a real rodent. Click is very good with computers. She can move objects and characters into and out of books or websites. If someone needs her, they just call her name. She loves to help others. But she must stay connected to a computer. She can also get computer viruses. Click disappeared for a while after Season 4 but came back later.
Other Important Characters
- Dr. Alexander Graham Nitwhite – He is a pelican scientist. He often says he found "the only word" with a certain letter mix. But his duck helper, Watson, always shows he's wrong. His name is a funny take on Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone.
- The Information Hen – She helps people with library questions. She often tells a joke or sings a song to give information.
- Heath the Thesaurus – He is a giant dinosaur (a sauropod). He is a funny play on the word "thesaurus." He lives in the basement. He shows up when someone needs a word defined.
- Grandpa Lion – Cleo's dad and Lionel and Leona's grandpa. He visits the library and tells stories.
- Gus the Rabbit – Lionel's best friend. He has trouble reading but keeps trying.
- Announcer Bunny – A rabbit in a top hat. He introduces the show and different segments.
- Arty Smartypants/The Great Smartini – A funny puppet man. He stars in magic shows where he makes new words. He also reads "four words without any assistance whatsoever."
- Smarmy Marmy Smartypants – Arty's mom and assistant. She sometimes babysits the cubs or reads to them. She also hosts her own segments.
Who Are the Performers?
Many talented people brought Between the Lions to life.
Main Performers
- Bertice Berry – Herself
- Fred Newman – Did many voices and appeared as himself.
- Ruth Westheimer – Played Dr. Ruth Wordheimer.
Puppeteers
These are the people who moved and voiced the puppets:
- Kathryn Mullen and Pam Arciero – Leona Lion
- Anthony Asbury and Noel MacNeal – Lionel Lion
- Heather Asch – Clay Pigeon, Click the Mouse, Marmy Smartypants
- Jennifer Barnhart – Cleo Lion
- Tyler Bunch – Walter Pigeon, Heath the Thesaurus, Dr. Nitwhite
- Tim Lagasse – Arty Smartypants, Watson, Barnaby Busterfield III, Theo Lion (puppetry)
- Peter Linz – Theo Lion (voice), Heath the Thesaurus, Announcer Bunny
- Martin P. Robinson – Grandpa Lion
Voice Actors
These actors provided voices for cartoon characters:
- Jennifer Barnhart – Female cartoon roles
- Tyler Bunch – Cliff Hanger Narrator
- Fred Newman – Many narrators and characters
- Chris Phillips – Cliff Hanger
- Christopher Cerf – Larry the Lost Rock (singing)
- Emilio Delgado – The Ram in the Pepper Patch
- Sonia Manzano – Doña Viv/Koyel
Special Guests
Many famous people and characters visited the show:
- Characters from other PBS Kids shows like ZOOM and Sesame Street.
- Celebrities like Al Roker, Jasmine Guy, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Vanessa Williams, and Jane Seymour.
- Athletes like basketball player Stephon Marbury.
- LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow also appeared in PBS Kids ads with the cast.
Fun Segments and What They Teach
Between the Lions has many funny and educational parts. The show's name itself is a play on words. It means "between the lines" (reading carefully) and also refers to how many old libraries have two lion statues at the entrance.
Learning with Characters
- The Monkey Pop-Up Theatre: Monkeys sing in opera voices from a pop-up book.
- The Vowelles: Three colorful lips sing songs about vowel sounds. They help kids learn how vowels work in words.
- The Word Doctor with Dr. Ruth Wordheimer: Dr. Ruth Westheimer plays a friendly "word therapist." She helps monkeys with long words or words that want new meanings.
- Little Wendy Tales: A girl and her cat turn into superheroes. They fix stories by changing punctuation. This shows how important punctuation is.
- Fun with Chicken Jane: A funny take on old "Dick and Jane" books. Two kids get into trouble, and a smart chicken spells out the solution. But the chicken often gets hurt instead!
- The Adventures of Cliff Hanger: A cartoon outdoorsman is always hanging from a cliff. He tries to escape using his "trusty survival manual." But he always ends up back on the cliff! This segment teaches about cliffhangers in stories.
- Gawain's Word: Two knights joust. They each have half a word. When they crash, the word comes together. This teaches about blending word sounds.
- Tiger Words: A golfer named Tiger spells words in a competition. He always makes a mistake but then fixes it. This teaches about correcting spelling.
- Sam Spud: A detective potato types out a story. He makes and fixes typos, showing how word sounds work.
- The Un-People vs. The Re-People: This cartoon teaches about prefixes like "un-" and "re-." The Un-People cause problems, and the Re-People fix them.
- Silent E: A sneaky criminal, Silent E, changes words by adding a silent "e." For example, he turns a "cub" into a "cube." This teaches how silent "e" changes vowel sounds.
- Vowel Boot Camp: Lowercase vowels are soldiers in a camp. They practice making their sounds. This helps kids learn vowel sounds.
- The Lone Rearranger Rewrites Again: A cowboy rearranges mixed-up sentences. This teaches about sentence structure.
- Moby Duck: A spoof of Moby-Dick. Two captains look for "Moby, the great white duck." They never see the duck right behind them! This teaches about different word sounds.
- Blending Bowl: NFL players blend sounds to make words. This is like a football game.
- Opposite Bunny: A superhero bunny turns bad things into good things. This teaches about opposites.
- Swami Smarmy Marmy: Smarmy Marmy tells monkeys their future.
- Fred Says: Fred Newman sounds out words and acts them out.
- What's Cooking?: Theo and Cleo Lion are chefs. They read recipes and often eat the food raw! This teaches about following instructions.
- The Joy Learno Show: A funny talk show where guests talk about words and their meanings.
- Replacing Letter Songs: Songs that show how changing one letter can make a new word.
How the Show Teaches Reading
Between the Lions uses many ways to help kids learn to read and love books.
Teaching Techniques
- Featured Letters and Sounds – Each episode focuses on a specific letter or sound. You hear and see this sound in many words throughout the show.
- Text on Screen – Important words or sentences appear on the screen as characters speak. The featured letter or sound is often highlighted.
- Stories – Every episode has one or more short stories from books. These stories connect to the episode's theme. They also show words with the featured sound. Sometimes they are real books, and sometimes they are made-up tales.
- Songs – Catchy songs help kids remember rules for English spelling and pronunciation. For example, "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." The words of the songs are often shown on screen.
- Animations and Skits – Short cartoons and skits show how words are formed. They also show how words change when letters are added or removed.
- Definitions – When a long or unusual word is used, a quick definition is given. This might be part of a conversation or a funny moment with Heath the Thesaurus.
- Repeated Vocabulary – New words are introduced in each episode. These words are then used many times throughout the show.
The show also teaches that reading is important for everyday life. It shows how books can help with cooking, using a computer, or finding your way. It also explores how books can make you feel. For example, it's okay to be sad if a character you like has something bad happen. Most importantly, Between the Lions shows that "Reading is cool!"
Emmy Awards Won
Between the Lions won several Daytime Emmy awards for being an excellent children's series.
- Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series – Won in 2009.
- Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series – Won in 2008 and 2009.
- Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition – Nominated in 2008.
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design – Nominated in 2008.
- Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series – Nominated in 2008.
- Composition – Nominated in 2008.
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