Babble

On those mornings when my daughter used to wake up at 5:45, I would thank the lord and his little dog Fred that Boohbah came on at six. Sure, it might be better to watch this trippy show for toddlers while wasted on wine coolers, but once you get over the very white screen (made only brighter by the fact that the sun hasn't come up yet), and the dayglo Boohbahs, the show is pretty awesome. What's not to love about little fluffy creatures that dance around, join hands and fly and make the occasional fart sound?

The show is divided into three main segments: dancing and movement, a show-and-tell portion told with storybook characters (Mr. Man, Mrs. Lady, Brother and Sister, etc.) and a "Look What I Can Do" portion where real kids do things like jump or clap or little jigs that your child can imitate. What's fabulous about the show is that each segment appeals to a different age group, yet all parts are equally interesting. Anne Wood, the creator of the TeleTubbies is behind this, so you know there is a method to the madness. Sure, that's not what you're really thinking about at dawn, but who cares? Your kid will love it and it will give you some time to grab that first cup of coffee. — Barbara Rushkoff

This Noggin show is a big hit at our house. The premise is simple: two puppet kids (Jack and Mary) and their dog Mel (who totally taught my kid to say "dog") play musical instruments in their clubhouse. In between scenes from the day's plot (a music genie drops by, they start a marching band, Mel thinks he's a cat), kids music videos are shown. Before you throw up in your mouth a little at the thought of wonky children's music, let me reassure you. This show, which has a refreshingly non-frenetic pace, is a great introduction to music with repeat phrases and encouragement to interact and dance along. Your child will clap hands, sing, and love every single silly note. Jack's puppet band rip off the Kinks, indie rock and jazz in extremely palatable ways. It's not the Ramones, but it's close. — Barbara Rushkoff

In this abysmally named PBS show, twins Sheira and Loli (rag-top puppets with alarmingly large heads, made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop) "manufacture fun" at their magical Dittydoodle Works studio. With the help of some human friends, they impart lessons in friendship via elaborate musical numbers. There's plenty of winking at you, the parent: In the episode "My Froggy the Prince," Doodles, a purple crayon, confides to the frog-prince that "Purple Rain" is his favorite song. — Kristin Gangwer

In this PBS show about cohabitating peacefully in a tree and looking out on the big world in wonder, a sloth and some of his less-than-attractive pals get into "situations" and then work them out as friends — friends who by nature should be eating each other, but friends nonetheless. The star of the show is a sloth on acid. His name is Snook and he always seems stoned. "Heeeyyyyy," he says, like the one guy at the bar who after ordering twenty beers conveniently remembers he forgot, like, his wallet. The characters are all really disturbing. I keep waiting for the monkey named Oko to devour the character called Burdette, who is a little too, how shall I put this, hideous. Madge, the librarian turtle, obviously has a skin condition. The anteater? Fugly. Or maybe it's the hi-def. Anyway, the show is hard to watch. And of course my daughter loves it. — Barbara Rushkoff