Common Sense Media Review
By Molly Jackel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Emotional learning in imaginative world; wacky characters.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Listen
What's It About?
Each week in THE IMAGINE NEIGHBORHOOD, host Scotty Iseri and a cast of zany characters (a T-rex princess, a vampire robot vacuum cleaner, etc.) explore social-emotional topics through inventive stories with lots of music and sound effects. Topics include managing big feelings, being a good friend, understanding equity and inclusion, and problem solving. The lessons come from a research- and evidence-based curriculum (Second Step) used in over 30 percent of U.S. elementary schools.
Is It Any Good?
Imaginative stories, wacky characters, and fun sound effects bring social-emotional topics that are covered in many classrooms into the home (or car). Some episodes of The Imagine Neighborhood are a bit meandering in how they arrive at the lesson and can feel overstuffed, as Iseri will bring in a music-listening lesson right after a story on why to help out around the house or how to be a good friend. But the characters (like the vampire-robot vacuum cleaner) are fun and larger-than-life, which helps bring home the metaphor-driven lessons.
Episode topics offer helpful prompts for adults to start conversations about feelings and people skills with kids. For example, while listening to an episode, a kid might hear that a character wouldn't let a friend play because of how they looked, offering a lead-in to discussion afterward. This podcast won the 2021 American Library Association's Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about a time an adult or child experienced a big emotion. How did you handle it? How does that compare to what you heard in The Imagine Neighborhood?
What problem did the characters face in the episode you listened to? How did it make them feel? How were they able to deal with it? What, if anything, would you have done differently?
How do the characters in The Imagine Neighborhood demonstrate compassion and empathy? What about self-control? Why are these important character strengths?
The Imagine Neighborhood is filled with funny characters. If you could create a make-believe neighborhood, who would the characters be? What kinds of troubles would they face? How would they overcome them?
Podcast Details
- Release date : March 13, 2020
- Genre : Social Emotional Learning
- Run time : 20 minutes
- Website : https://www.imagineneighborhood.org
- Host : Scotty Iseri
- Production Company and Network : Committee for Children
- Pricing structure : Free
- Topics : Fantasy
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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