Hey, It's Franklin

If there's one book-series-turned-cartoon I would recommend, it would have to be Franklin.

I can remember collecting the Franklin book series as a child in the mid-nineties- the big jackpot was the infamous Scholastic Bookstore catalog- I'd always buy (or have my parents buy) a set of Franklin books. Seeing the turtle's popularity, I assume the offer for a cartoon soon came on the table, and boy was that show addicting. From the very first moments of the insanely catchy bluegrass theme song, my younger brother and I were hooked. Any show that opens up with a banjo is a keeper, and the lyrics were short and sweet:

Hey, it's Franklin!
Comin' over to play
Growin' a little,
Every day

Franklin cartoon episodes opened up just like the books, with a rhyme describing Franklin's abilities to count to two, and tie his shoe, and usually brought in the conflict for that episode. My favorite book and episode, Franklin's Blanket, dealt with the issue of being too old and too attached to a security blanket- a problem I struggled with until my late teen years. It was relieving as a child to see that I was not the only one who relied on an object for comfort, to the point where I would be anxious and unable to sleep if I didn't have my blanket. Like the books, the cartoon episodes always had a childhood conflict; jealousy of siblings, cheating on tests out of pressure, lying to parents, showing off, things like that were addressed with tact and were very relatable to children, small and large.

Baby Hazel: The Game You'll Hate to Love

We've all seen them. Some of us have played them. 

Flash games- from the early days of Nickelodeon's website, kids have been enthralled by the instantly accessible, quick-to-load internet games, and though modern video game entertainment has become high definition, the niche of flash games has weathered the storm. As a 90s child, I frequented the major cartoon websites to play "clickamajigs" and games based on my favorite shows like Rugrats- so it's no surprise that I was drawn to the Baby Hazel franchise. 

Baby Hazel, shown here in all her glory, is a strange take on role-playing, where the player is not only spectating, but has a direct role in taking care of an internet baby (and her parents and pets, occasionally). The goal of Baby Hazel games is always the simple, and an echo to real-life baby raising: make Baby Hazel happy and keep her happy. Similar to a real toddler, Hazel has a short temper and goes through a routine of fun- if the attending adult can provide it for her. Changing diapers, baths, serving food, anything that you'd do for a real child, you'll do for Hazel. And if you don't (or don't do it fast enough), Hazel will cry and your Happiness Score goes down. 

My favorite in this strangely addictive saga has been- Baby Hazel African Safari. Not only was this game the antithesis of political correctness, it was geologically wrong and full of awkward decisions. Why would Baby Hazel's parents fly all the way to South Africa for camping? Surely they would have gotten the same effect from a road trip to the closest national park- and more importantly, why would they only bring soup and juiceboxes? There are more questions than answers when it comes to Baby Hazel flash games, and personally, I find it more entertaining when I don't know them- there's a sense of mystery. 

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: A Nostalgic, Yet Fresh Cartoon

"Ugga Mugga!"

That's code for "Eskimo Kiss!", and can be heard throughout the Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood show, whenever the tiger tot expresses affection. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood started airing in 2012, 6 years after children's idol Mr. Fred Rogers passed away, leaving his timeless classic Mr. Roger's Neighborhood to PBS Kids. It was from this timeless classic that the inspiration for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood came: in fact, Daniel is the preschool-aged son of Fred Roger's stuffed Daniel Tiger (making him a Junior!). Elements of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood can be seen everywhere in this crisp new cartoon, from the red sweater Daniel wears, the sweet themes of empathy and friendship, to the iconic lyrics in the opening theme song itself:

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Could you be mine,
Would you be mine,
Won't you be my neighbor?

I recently had the joy of stumbling across this show on PBS Kids, as I was searching for appropriate content for my kindergarteners and preschoolers- and I might have enjoyed this throwback even more than the kids.