"Sesame Street" is one of the most popular and longest running children's programs ever. The first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969. Since then, over 4,100 shows have been created and run in 120 countries in dozens of different languages. "Sesame Street" is known for having colorful, eccentric puppet characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Bert & Ernie, and a whole cast of human characters as well. "Sesame Street" delivers it show in bite-sized segments, perfect for children to digest. They practice counting, reciting the ABCs and learning about cultures and people from around the world who may be different from what a child normally sees.
"Arthur" is another long-running show on PBS that is based on an unusual animal, the aardvark. Arthur and his family are aardvarks and his friends are rabbits, monkeys and bears and a host of different animals all living together in one happy town. Arthur is a mid-elementary-school-aged male, and deals with a baby sister, friends, parents and other issues kids face growing up. He is easy to understand and kids can see that if Arthur can mange through something difficult, so can they. "Arthur" has been on the air since 1996 and is still popular among viewers ages four to eight.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is one of the most loved, but most hated characters at the same time. Children love watching Barney and his show, singing his songs and acting like a dinosaur. Parents, however, can find his laugh and his mannerisms annoying. No matter, "Barney & Friends" is still one of the top-ranked PBS shows since it began running in 1992. Barney's friends include Baby Bop and BJ, both dinosaurs who magically appear and disappear in the schoolyard with a cast of real children characters. They all tackle issues children face every day, including family problems, bullies, school work and chores. Barney teaches kids manners, the alphabet, numbers and letters and even about different places in the world.