Dora the Explorer
I am so not-cool in the world of children's videos. I hadn't even heard of Blue's Clues until I started working at the Children's Hospital (apparently it's been around for about 10 years). And now I've learned about Wiggles too. But by far the most popular character is Dora the Explorer.
Who is Dora the Explorer? I hunted around a bit and finally found a short summary: Dora is a bilingual Latin-American girl who solves problems in conjunction with her viewers, and also teaches them Spanish. So it's an interactive show for kids in the early-reading stage, perhaps ages 4-8.
But what I think is really cool about Dora is that she is loved by both boys and girls. The usual pattern is that male characters like Harry Potter and Mowgli and Batman are heroes for everyone, while female characters like Mulan are just for girls to admire. No boy would be caught dead saying he wanted to be like Mulan, but girls can identify with Luke Skywalker if they want.
That's why it's so cool to have little boys lighting up with smiles when I bring the video list, saying, "Oh! I want to see DORA!!"
Who is Dora the Explorer? I hunted around a bit and finally found a short summary: Dora is a bilingual Latin-American girl who solves problems in conjunction with her viewers, and also teaches them Spanish. So it's an interactive show for kids in the early-reading stage, perhaps ages 4-8.
But what I think is really cool about Dora is that she is loved by both boys and girls. The usual pattern is that male characters like Harry Potter and Mowgli and Batman are heroes for everyone, while female characters like Mulan are just for girls to admire. No boy would be caught dead saying he wanted to be like Mulan, but girls can identify with Luke Skywalker if they want.
That's why it's so cool to have little boys lighting up with smiles when I bring the video list, saying, "Oh! I want to see DORA!!"
