Between the Lions
By Joly Herman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Educational TV with heart -- and a slight flaw.
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A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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Based on 6 parent reviews
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Not Quite Like Sesame Street...
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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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
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?
TV Details
- Premiere date: April 3, 2000
- Cast: Pam Arciero , Peter Linz , Stephen Scarpulla
- Network: PBS
- Genre: Educational
- Topics: Numbers and Letters
- TV rating: TV-Y
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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