The Best TV Shows on PBS Kids

A group of older children do arts and crafts, cooking, science and technology, and games sent in by viewers.

Growing up can be confusing! When Zach and Annie face difficulties in their lives, they go to special place called Plato’s Peak. There, Plato—a talking buffalo!—and his friends are always willing to lend a helping hand.

Peep and the Big Wide World is an animated cartoon that teaches nature and basic science concepts to preschoolers. The main characters include a yellow baby chick named Peep and his friends Quack, a teenaged blue drake, and Chirp, a baby red robin with pink eyelids. The current show, narrated by Joan Cusack is based on a National Film Board of Canada cartoon short of the same name, created in 1988 by Kaj Pindal and narrated by Peter Ustinov, and another short, "The Peep Show", from 1962. The original short comprised three 10-minute films featuring Peep, Quack, and Chirp as they meet a cat, a ladybug, a turtle and a frog who speaks from both sides of his mouth. The show is produced by WGBH in Boston and 9 Story Entertainment in Toronto, Canada. In the US, this show formerly aired on Discovery Kids as part of its commercial-free and sponsor-free "Ready, Set, Learn!" programming block. It now airs nationally in the United States on public television, distributed by American Public Television. In Canada, it airs on TVOntario. DVDs and books are also available for purchase. Peep and the Big Wide World is currently sponsored by the National Science Foundation in conjunction with WGBH-TV as part of an education and outreach program. The principal investigator is Kate Taylor, also of the ZOOM block. The National Science Foundation is the only permanent sponsor of the show. Northrop Grumman, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Toyota funded the show for only season two. The Discovery Kids Foundation funded the show for only season one. In 1999, the show was produced by Clumsy PriStar Television. The VHS copies are produced from Clumsy Pristar's home viewings.

The Cat in the Hat is back -- and this time, he's teaching Sally and her brother, Nick, some awfully nifty things to think about!

Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, sometimes shortened as Fetch!, is a children's television series for children ages 6–12 on PBS during the PBS Kids Go! block of educational programming. It is a game show/reality show that is hosted by an animated anthropomorphic dog named Ruff Ruffman who dispenses challenges to the show's real-life contestants. The series ran for five seasons and 100 episodes from May 29, 2006 to November 4, 2010 on PBS, with 30 contestants in that time. In June 2010, WGBH announced that the series would end due to lack of funding. In June 2008, the series received its first Emmy for Best Original Song for its theme.

An eccentric schoolteacher takes her class on wondrous educational field trips with the help of a magical school bus.

Cyberchase is an American/Canadian television series for children ages 7-13. The series takes place in Cyberspace, a virtual world, and chronicles the adventures of three children, Jackie, Inez, and Matt, as they use math and problem solving skills to save Cyberspace and its leader, Motherboard, from The Hacker, the villain. Cyberchase has received generally positive reviews and won numerous awards. Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana produced the first five seasons, while Thirteen, in association with Title Entertainment, Inc. and WNET.ORG, produced seasons six through eight. The show airs on Public Broadcasting Service and PBS Kids GO! in the United States. All episodes have been released free on the Cyberchase Website. Since July 2010, Cyberchase has been put on hiatus, but was announced that starting in November, Cyberchase will be revived and start airing new episodes with its 9th season.

Martha, a beloved family dog, is accidentally fed alphabet soup — this gives her the power of speech and the chance to speak her mind to anyone that will listen.

Two siblings, Max and Emmy, find an enchanted dragon scale capable of transporting them to a whimsical fantasy land inhabited by colorful anthropomorphic dragons by reciting a rhyme. They befriend four friendly dragons Cassie, Ord, Zak, Wheezie and Quetzal.

Luna the moon guides three friends -- a wombat, a butterfly and a frog -- as they visit new places around the world with their parents' traveling performance troupe.

The life of 4-year-old Daniel Tiger and his friends as they learn fun and practical strategies and skills necessary for growing and learning.

Ghostwriter is an American television program created by Liz Nealon and produced by the Children's Television Workshop and BBC One. It began airing on PBS on October 4, 1992, and the final episode aired on February 13, 1995. The series revolves around a close knit circle of friends from Brooklyn who solve neighborhood crimes and mysteries as a team of young detectives with the help of an invisible ghost named Ghostwriter. Ghostwriter can communicate with the kids only by manipulating whatever text and letters he can find and using them to form words and sentences. The series was filmed on location in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

The adventures of a larger-than-life red dog on Bridwell Island.

Clifford's Puppy Days is a short-lived animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS Kids from 15 September 2003 to 13 October 2004. A spin-off of the original Clifford the Big Red Dog, it is set before the original series, and features the adventures of Clifford during his puppy days before he grew. The series was cancelled in 2004 following low ratings. Reruns aired regularly following the cancellation, though they were halted in 2006. Since then, occasional reruns continue to air. In the UK the show aired on CBeebies.

Sid is an "inquisitive youngster" who uses comedy to tackle questions kids have about basic scientific principles and why things work the way they do.

Join Buddy, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and his adoptive Pteranodon family on a whimsical voyage through prehistoric jungles, swamps, volcanoes and oceans, as they unearth basic concepts in life science, natural history and paleontology.

Barney & Friends is an American children's television series aimed at children from ages 2 to 5. The series, which first aired on April 6, 1992, features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, optimistic attitude.

Nature Cat can’t wait to get outside for a day of backyard nature excursions and bravery! But there’s one problem; he’s still a house cat with no real instincts for nature. That doesn’t stop this passionate and curious feline, who loves learning and experiencing all he can about nature.

The adventures of 4-year-old Chloe with her friends and toys who go on magical adventures in Chloe's closet. Along the way, kids learns lessons about such topics as friends, cooperation and sharing.

Earth science and astronomy take center stage in this animated series. Two neighborhood kids -- Sean and Sydney -- befriend the new kid on the block, Jet Propulsion, who just happens to be an alien from planet Bortron 7. Together they explore the solar system and how it affects the planet, while also learning about friendship and teamwork.