I watched Between the Lions when I was little and I loved it, as did my older sister. It was a lot like Sesame Street, but just about reading and language. My favorite segment was always Cliff Hanger, I loved that it was a pun and that they had a cartoon portion on a show that was mostly puppets. I was a pretty good reader as far as I can remember, but I learned new words and phrases from watching this show. It is very educational and entertaining for kids up to age 8. It teaches kids about the essence of stories, not just how to read. It teaches about plot devices (like Cliff Hanger!) and reading comprehension. Now it's been a long time since I watched this show, but my mom allowed me to watch it and therefore it cannot be as obnoxious as some people say it is (I was not allowed to watch Spongebob for the sole reason that my mother thought it was annoying). I think it's a good quality show and it's nice that it focuses entirely on reading, instead of trying to cram a million lessons into one half-hour episode. Kids should watch this before starting kindergarten to get a nice head start.

They are entitled to their opinions, but I just cannot agree with david_345 and heavenseeker. They simply have no idea what they are talking about. "Between the Lions" is one of the best shows PBS has cooked up in years and years. The humor is fast-paced, there's just enough intelligent silliness for the adults watching with their kids. The puns are great in the fact that, the worse a pun is, the better it is. It teaches intelligent wordplay, irony, and dry humor as well as good old fashioned goofiness. I mentioned Shakespeare; well, he was famous for using really bad groaner puns to develop characters and push along the story lines. I bet he would have loved this show! I would give this show a 10 except for Arty Smartypants; he's just creepy.my favorite line so far: "Is mustard supposed to be crunchy?"

I started watching this show last year during a school break, when I was teaching young kids with special needs. I was hooked, & started taping it for my class. Our class' favorite episode was "Huff & Puff" (I cawn't stop HUFFing und PUFFing!). The show has the gift of using known strategies to help kids read (including, yes, Dr. Ruth Wordheimer) that not only entertains them, but also adults - at least baby boomer adults! Favorite adult jokes are "Walter and Clay Pigeon," "Gawain's Word" (which my little guys LOVED to play in class!), the story parodies, especially the "sequels" to "The Three Little Pigs" & "Chicken Jane. No, Mr. Smarty Pants wasn't my favorite, but I couldn't get his little chant out of my head, either! The kids had no idea why I was howling with laughter at the jokes that whizzed by their head, but then, I couldn't understand why my dad laughed at Bugs Bunny & Underdog when I was their age! And yes, the show DID help reinforce what I was teaching my munchkins in class about reading and learning - and taught ME a few things as well. Now, I teach 5th graders & miss having the opportunity to watch it.

My kids are now 5 and 3 and they both just love this show. They stop whatever they are doing and pay attention to the show. They love Gawain's Word, Chicken Jane, and the musical skits. We always let our kids watch this entertaining and well-written program. Even my husband and I have found tips that we didn't realize before regarding English grammar.