I LOVE it!!! But, I haven't seen it in a long time. I've seen it Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. but I can't find it on TV anymore.
Between the Lions
(Rated TV-Y, Educational, Starring Peter Linz, Pam Arciero, Stephen Scarpulla, Where to watch: PBS, DVD)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Educational TV with heart -- and a slight flaw.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 4 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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Sexy stuff:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Between the Lions was written by Joly Herman
Parents need to know that, in terms of PBS educational programming, this series exists somewhere between Sesame Street and The Electric Company. The focus is all about words and letter sounds. Parents will appreciate the parodies of adult shows, and kids will like the characters and the stories read during the program. But how much information is too much? This series is rather wonderful in some ways, but it teeters on the edge of being too chaotic to be effective.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the sounds and words introduced in each episode. What other words have the same sound(s) as the ones mentioned on the show? What do you like about the Lion family? Would it be fun to live in a library?
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More on Between the Lions
What’s the Story?
Compelling characters and serials are what make BETWEEN THE LIONS a fun and fascinating television program. The Lion family, who live and work at the library, are the program's main characters. The mother and father lion provide good parental role models as they care for their clan and read, play, groom, and support their children, Lionel and Leona. A frazzled hen supplies library information, while a talking statue lends his curmudgeonly opinion to two pigeons who can't get their thoughts straight. Parodies of the Dick and Jane books and a short called "Gawain's World" will surely appeal to parents.
Is It Any Good?
In each episode, a vowel sound group (like the short "a" in the sound group "ack") is emphasized. Words containing the sound group (e.g., "back," "sack," and "crack") flash briefly on the screen, while letters are bumped to form new words as they are spoken. Even the strongest readers have to pay close attention to the quick changes in spelling, so it's unclear how the series' creators fathomed that young readers would be able to get the gist of them. It's almost as though the subliminal benefits of quickly flashing words were deemed more important than taking the time to focus on fewer sounds more thoroughly.
Sesame Street does well in this department by slowly sounding out fewer variations of word choices. Otherwise, the young viewer is apt to become frustrated -- or even confused -- by what's going on in the program. In other words, the intention to educate is clearly behind Between the Lions, but the quantity-not-quality axiom doesn't apply when it comes to teaching young readers about phonetics. Other than this educational qualm, Between the Lions is an entertaining, diverse -- and rather educational -- show for young viewers.
Our Members Say
See all 11 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Educational
- Good role models
GREAT!
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I rate this title on for age 5 and give it
Educational
Educational, but they said stupid in one episode
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I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Boring!
I love books, but this show is too pushy and educational to be enjoyable.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
I like this show! It's cute & clever (love the Gwain's Word segment). However, my son did not really get interested in the show until he was just starting to read; so the CSM comment about the words flashing too quickly might be correct. But now he loves it; he loves reading the words & figuring out what new words can be made by switching the letters around. I'd rather they watch almost anything on PBS(Kids) than some of the other mindless junk that's out there!
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