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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that while their preschoolers may be delighted by this gentle, nurturing show, it may be hard for them to get into watching with their kids. The slow-moving story, the gibberish spoken by Maisy mouse and her animal friends, and the syrupy-sweet, repetitive narration can definitely turn off older viewers.

Families can talk about the simple discoveries Maisy and her friends make and how they solve problems in their adventures. They can also explore the friendship the characters share and the silliness of mice, crocodiles, chickens, and squirrels doing human things.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Sue Edelman

MAISY is a colorful, animated program for very young children based on the popular book series by British author Lucy Cousins. Maisy is a young mouse who is joined in everyday situations by animal friends such as Charley the crocodile, Tallulah the chicken, and Cyril the squirrel.

Oddly, there are no adult characters to be found. The creators designed the show to promote early literacy through comprehension of story structure and appreciation of language. Ironically, however, the animal characters speak a nonsensical, sing-song language of giggles, squeaks, and moans, voiced by the Australian comedy duo the Umbilical Brothers. Only the narrator uses real words to comment on the story. His gentle, encouraging voiceovers provide questions, reminders, explanations, and guidance to child viewers.

One can only assume that the animals' gibberish is meant to be amusing and endearing to kids. To adults, it can be grating, especially when several characters chime in at once, creating a cacophonous din.

While conflict in the stories is minimal -- a bouncing ball gets stuck on the roof, a remote control car runs out of batteries -- Maisy and her friends support one another and work cooperatively to solve their problems, providing great role models for little ones. In one story in which young Maisy is inexplicably the captain of a ferry boat, for example, there is no conflict at all, just various animals taking the ferry back and forth across the river, reinforcing the names of several types of animals and providing a subtle lesson in sequencing.

This type of storyline, accompanied by simple, bright animation and cheery, ska-tinged music, will be engaging only to the youngest of TV viewers.

Kids who enjoy Maisy may also like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and another TV show based on a storybook mouse, Angelina Ballerina.

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