Wallykazam!

Wally Kazam, isn't just for 4 ,year olds, my granddaughter has been watching Wally for months now and she is only 1, she learns how to sound out words and how to spell the 3 letter words, and its a kid show that adults like too. It has helped her to talk so that anyone can understand everything she is saying.

WallyKazzam is a great show filled rich with examples of how and how not to handle sticky situations -noncognitive skills-, while bolstering emergent reading skills. I recent wrote very comprehensive review of the book Dragon Hiccups by Kim Depken on Amazon that some readers of this review might especially helpful. I admit I have not yet discovered how to include a link in my Amazon reviews on the Common Sense media site as of yet. As for the one review (here on Common Sense) which "disagrees" with the Dragon Hiccups episode, I must confess to being rather confused. Her review starts of by listing the many wrong doings of Bob Goblin and concludes by stating how much she and her son love the show and the characters. The "Bob Goblin" character's purpose appears to be to show both the positive and not so positive ways to handle sticky situations. This is helpful for children to see. Also, it is very clear Bob Goblin wants to help Wally and Norville but doesn't know the best way to go about it... Another good lesson for children of all ages. As for part of the same "disagree" review stating the need for parents or caregivers to discuss the content of the show with their preschooler in order to ensure the child gets the wanted "take away" message. Well that is just plain common sense, and (if I remember correctly) the need for parents to be aware of the content presented in media presentations geared towards children is one of the goals of Common Sense Media. Anytime a preschooler engages in any screen-time related activities, they benefit from the insights of a parent or other caregiver. Parents need to be informed and aware of the messages targeting their children, and one of the best ways to accomplish this task is to engage with your child in their screen related activities. This is especially important for young children and when it is the 1st time a child is exposed the material presented. ----- From a literacy prepective WallyKazaam not only contains content which highlights single letter sounds, but several of the episode focus on specific consonant blends such as ch and sh. This is something very few "reading" focused shows take the time to do. As an educator, parent, and grandparent I fully endorse WallyKazaam and find it to be a stunning example of quality children's programming which will encourage young children to develop both their non-cognitive and academic skill sets.

Wally is a pleasant down to earth character who is thoughtful, loving, but also brave and wise. He is a lot of fun and encourages creativity and adventure. The lessons are well received and the characters all treat each other well - even the "evil" bobgoblin. BUT there are NO adults in the whole show. Where are Wally's parents? Then, to top it off, the only adult in the show is Stan the swamp monster who cannot take care of his own problems, the kids have to help him all the time. Basically, it is another run of the mill show that teaches kids that adults are stupid and not needed to make decisions and do not need to be respected. Overall, I am not allowing my kids watch this as it does not teach parental respect, but independence from parents when things go wrong. That is the LAST lesson I want my kids to learn.

I don't allow my kids to watch many shows, I am very picky about what they are exposed to. I love this show and my kids both do to. The songs and characters are adorable and they learn in a fun way. I disagree completely with the reviewer who said it encourages bullying. Not at all. Bob Goblin is a "stinker" as my kids like to call him! He is the "bad guy" of the show without being very bad, just ornery. It's adorable, 5 stars, LOVE it!

I must disagree with docmebd's review. I just rewatched both of the episodes that were mentioned and they did not play out the way this person stated. In the first episode mentioned, Castle Caper, Bobgoblin is informed that he is not the rightful owner of the castle when he is standing on the balcony. Wally tells him, "you are not the king". Bobgoblin does not listen and retreats back into the castle before more explanations can be made. He is not being bullied, he simply doesn't listen (which is a theme with him and can be a very good lesson if parents choose to discuss it with their children). As for the hiccup episode, yes Bobgoblin is trying to be helpful by scaring away Norville's hiccups but after his first attempt of scaring with dandelions he is told that those aren't scary and that they have their own cure. Once again Bobgoblin doesn't listen and continues to try his scare tactics. In the scene in question Bobgoblin does scale the mountain with a marshmallow and yes he does scare Norville BUT Wally explains that it wasn't the marshmellow that scared him it was the fact that he looked like a monster. If you pay attention you will notice it did not even work to cure the hiccups because he hiccups and thaws the flower so why in the world would Bobgoblin be owed a thank you? Do you thank people who scare you? What works is the potion. I think this show is really fun. My 3 yr old loves it and requests to watch it at least 3 times a week. I love all the characters, my sons favorite is Bobgoblin since he is so funny. He runs around with one of his drum sticks and plays WallyKazam! I make it into a learning experience by letting him pick a letter and then he has to go around the house and find things that start with thT letter. I just wish they would make new ones faster!

This is possibly one of the most charming, wholesome, fun, and all-around entertaining kid shows out there. It is absolutely wonderful. I enjoy that they sound out letters and use critical thinking to come up with solutions based on the letter/sound of the day. I love that there's no vulgarity, no inappropriate innuendo, no bodily fluid jokes, potty humor, or any of that other garbage. Not only that, but the songs are so catchy! I find myself singing "My friend the King" when I'm doing dishes, and "Naptime for Borgelorp" when putting my son down for a nap or bedtime. We watch it every day at Noon, and if he gets sleepy and needs to go to sleep before it comes on, I still watch it even if he's asleep. It's that cute.

My household loves Wallykazam, especially my 3 year old and my 6 year old even enjoys it. While the show is great at teaching kids reading, it encourages bullying and not being nice and teaching rudeness and poor communication skills. In Castle Caper (my 3 y/o favorite), Wally creates a castle and a crown for his dragon Norville, however Bobgoblin (who they name the bad guy but who is probably the nicest character in the show) unwittingly and without menace steps to the castle door (which he found before Wally et al) and the crown lands on his head. Wally at this time state "the crown is for the king" and Bobgoblin says I have the crown and found the castle so I must be king. Wally NEVER corrects Bobgoblin then spends the majority of the show trying to break into the castle. At the very end Wally tells Bobgoblin that the castle and crown are supposed to be for Norville, which Bobgoblin basically says ok and leaves. In Dragon Hiccups Bobgoblin spends the entire episode trying to scare the hiccups out of Norville, granted using marshmallows and lettuce and other benign things that he finds scary. Bobgoblin scales the ice volcano and gets covered in snow to show Norville a marshmallow to get rid of his hiccups and he does scare the dragon because he looks like an ice monster, NEVER once does Norville or Wally thank Bobgoblin for his selflessness or braving the ice, instead they basically tell poor Bobgoblin to go away.