The Kids from Room 402 facts for kids

The Kids from Room 402 is a fun Canadian-American cartoon show. It was made by CinéGroupe and Saban Entertainment. The show first aired on October 9, 1999, in the United States on the Fox Family Channel. In Canada, it started on Teletoon on August 29, 2000. There are 52 episodes, each about half an hour long. The last new episode aired in 2000, but reruns continued until 2005. Kids in Latin America and Europe also watched the show on Fox Kids. Even after Disney bought Fox Kids and changed its name to Jetix, the show was still popular. It stayed on TV until Jetix became Disney XD.

The cartoon is mostly about a group of elementary school students. Their teacher, Miss Graves, often helps them with their problems. She helps them deal with issues they have with each other or with things happening around them. Each episode usually ends with a good lesson or a moral. This helps the characters learn from their experiences.

The TV show is based on a children's book called Gracie Graves and The Kids from Room 402. Betty Paraskevas and Michael Paraskevas wrote this book in 1995. In 2000, the book's name was changed to "The Kids from Room 402" to match the TV series. Lesa Kite and Cindy Begel created the animated series for television. They wrote all 52 episodes.

Meet the Characters of Room 402

This section introduces the main students and adults in the show.

The Students of Room 402

• Nancy Francis (voiced by Mindy Cohn/Patricia Rodriguez)
  • Nancy has red hair and glasses.
  • She often tries to be popular.
  • Nancy is a very smart student and gets top grades.
  • She is usually kind but can sometimes be a bit bossy.
  • Nancy often tries to be friends with Penny but doesn't always succeed.
  • She sometimes ends up being "friends" with Polly McShane, even though she tries to avoid it.
  • Nancy is one of the main characters, along with Jesse.

• Jesse McCoy (voiced by Spencer Klein/Shawn Pyfrom/Justin Bradley)
  • Jesse is known as the least smart kid in the class.
  • His friends, especially Vinnie, often tease him because his mom treats him like a baby.
  • When he has hard homework, he sometimes lies to Miss Graves or his mom.
  • But they usually figure it out and give him punishments.
  • Jesse is bald and wears an orange sweater with blue jeans.

• Vincent "Vinnie" Nasta (voiced by Andrew Lawrence/Pamela Adlon)
  • Vinnie is the class prankster.
  • He is a tall Italian-American boy who loves playing jokes on people, even Miss Graves.
  • Miss Graves often threatens to call his mom because of his pranks.
  • Vinnie wears a football jersey and has spiky brown hair.
  • He is friends with Jesse, and they sometimes pull pranks together.
  • Vinnie has an older brother named Tony. Vinnie sometimes tries to pass off Tony's old school projects as his own.
  • Miss Graves always remembers them from Tony's time.

• Polly McShane (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey)
  • Polly is a proud Lithuanian-American girl.
  • She is often seen as the "teacher's pet."
  • Polly is very smart and scored very high on an IQ test.
  • She wears glasses, has brown hair in pigtails, and a striped dress.
  • Other kids and even staff notice her because she's often loud and intense.
  • She loves spoons and wants to be the center of attention.
  • Polly is known for gossiping and telling on other kids.
  • She can be a challenge for Nancy and Miss Graves.
  • She has a pet goat named Schnitzy.

• Penny Grant (voiced by Tara Strong)
  • Penny is one of the richest girls in the school.
  • She is also very kind and likes to help others.
  • Penny is not snobby, which is different from some rich kids in cartoons.
  • She has blonde hair and blue eyes.
  • She is smart, works hard, and gets good grades.
  • Nancy and other girls try to befriend her because she is wealthy and kind.
  • Penny sometimes doesn't even realize how rich she is.

• Arthur Kenneth Van Der Wall (voiced by Christopher Marquette)
  • Arthur is an upper-class Dutch-American boy.
  • He often tries to sell unusual items to other kids.
  • He has auburn hair and wears a blue suit.
  • Arthur is smart and clever but also very shy.
  • He often tries to make money from others, but his plans usually don't work out.

• Freddie Fay (voiced by Bryton McClure)
  • Freddie is seen as the nerdy boy at school.
  • He has glasses, black hair, and wears a yellow shirt.
  • He works very hard to get good grades.
  • Freddie is often teased by others, especially Vinnie and Jesse.
  • Arthur sometimes tricks him into helping with his plans.
  • For example, in one episode, everyone thought he wet his pants, but it was just the water fountain.

• Charlie (voiced by Crystal Scales)
  • Charlie is an African-American boy with dark hair and a red shirt.
  • He sometimes wins things that Nancy wanted to win.
  • In one episode, a substitute teacher mistook him for Nancy because they switched seats.

• Jordan (voiced by Lauren Tom)
  • Jordan is a Chinese-American girl who is very rich.
  • She keeps her wealth a secret.
  • Nancy finds out her secret and promises to keep it quiet.
  • Jordan doesn't invite friends over because she fears they'll think she's snobby if they know she's rich.

• Gabrielle (voiced by Olivia Hack)
  • Gabrielle is usually seen with Jordan and Nancy.
  • She often agrees with Jordan.
  • Even though she's Nancy's friend, they sometimes argue.

• Tillie (voiced by Tifanie Christun)
  • Tillie is another of Nancy's friends.
  • She is a tall girl with brown hair and is a bit self-centered.

• Jenny (voiced by Jane Woods)
  • Jenny is a girl with red glasses.
  • She doesn't talk much in class.

• Piggy McCall (voiced by Justin Jon Ross)
  • Piggy is a slightly heavier boy with glasses.
  • He is a minor character and doesn't interact much with others.

• Melanie Bellanchof (voiced by Debi Derryberry)
  • Melanie is a new student.
  • Her parents are either divorced or separated, and she lives with her mom.
  • She doesn't like living with her mom.
  • When she doesn't like something, she often says "Don't know," "Don't care," or "Smells."
  • At home, she's often on the phone with a friend from her old school.

Other Kids at School

• Sanjay (voiced by Tara Strong)
  • Sanjay is an Indian-American student with dark brown hair and a maroon shirt.
  • He speaks with an accent.
  • Polly often annoys him.

• Mary-Ellen (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey)
  • Mary-Ellen is one of Nancy's friends.
  • She doesn't have a big role in the series.

• Zack (voiced by Sam Saletta)
  • Zack is the school bully.
  • He appears often as a character who causes trouble.

The Adults at School

• Miss Gracie Graves (voiced by April Winchell)
  • Miss Graves is a very good teacher.
  • She is often the voice of reason.
  • Most students go to her for help or advice.

• Mr. Stuart Besser (voiced by Rodger Bumpass)
  • Mr. Besser is the school principal.
  • He is known for being clumsy and a bit silly.
  • Students often make fun of him.
  • His mistakes and lack of awareness often provide funny moments in the show.
  • Mr. Besser was once married to Vinnie's aunt for a short time.

• Nurse Pitts (voiced by Lori Alan)
  • Nurse Pitts is the school nurse.
  • She talks a lot about sickness and sometimes about death.
  • Both kids and teachers are a bit scared of her.

• Coach (voiced by Bruce Dinsmore)
  • The Coach is the school's gym teacher.

• Roberta McCoy (voiced by Edie McClurg)
  • Roberta is Jesse's very protective mother.
  • She often treats Jesse like a baby.
  • This embarrasses him in front of his friends, who sometimes tease him about it.

• Mrs. Amy Bellanchof (voiced by Pauline Little)
  • Mrs. Bellanchof is Melanie's mother and also a teacher at the school.
  • She sometimes struggles with her teaching.
  • Miss Graves helped her improve her class.
  • Mrs. Bellanchof sometimes makes questionable choices, like lying to get custody of Melanie.
  • She also gets angry easily, especially when Melanie complains.

• Mrs. Francis (voiced by April Winchell)
  • Mrs. Francis is Nancy's mother.

Other Adults Who Appear Briefly

• Mrs. Myerson (voiced by April Winchell)
  • She is a kind and respectable woman with blonde hair.
  • She lives near the school and appears briefly in one episode.

• Mr. Miller (voiced by Mel Brooks)
  • Mr. Miller is a pool official in Miami.
  • He appears in one episode when Nancy visits the pool.

Episodes List

The show has two seasons with many exciting episodes!

Season 1 (2000)

Season 2 (2000–01)

Where to Watch: Home Videos

Three VHS tapes of the show were released by CinéGroupe/Star on April 8, 2003. They were available in both English and French. Each tape included one episode from the show. They also came with an episode of What's with Andy? and a music video from the Pig City soundtrack.