New 2D animated preschool comedy from 9 Story Media and Brown Bag Films stars 5-year-old Rosie Fuentes learning about the world beyond her family’s walls; the series, which debuts Fall 2022, aims to help young children develop awareness of themselves as part of a broader community.
PBS Kids has announced a brand-new 2D animated comedy series, Rosie’s Rules, from 9 Story Media Group and its award-winning studio, Brown Bag Films. The show, which targets preschoolers (ages 3-6), stars 5-year-old Rosie Fuentes, a Mexican American girl just beginning to learn about the fascinating, baffling, thrilling world beyond her family walls. The series aims to teach children concrete social studies lessons about how a community works, helping kids develop an awareness of themselves as individuals within and part of a broader society. Rosie’s Rules is slated to debut nationwide on PBS Kids in Fall 2022.
“Preschool is that amazing stage when children start noticing the mechanisms of how a community operates, and naturally, they have a lot of questions,” explained PBS Children’s Media and Education senior vice president and general manager, Sara DeWitt. “Rosie is right there with them, figuring things out one ‘rule’ at a time through humor and play.”
Like many children across the country, Rosie is part of a blended, multicultural family. Rosie is Mexican American; her Papá is from Mexico City and her mother from rural Wisconsin. She has a little brother, Iggy, and an older sister, Crystal, who is Mom’s child from her first marriage. The Fuentes family lives together in suburban Texas with their cat (and Rosie’s partner-in-crime), Gatita.
Bilingual in English and Spanish, Rosie’s multicultural identity is a big part of who she is, and Mexican, Southwestern, and Midwestern art, traditions, food, and music figure prominently in the series. Music is part of every episode, as Rosie sings a song to begin each story and ends with a celebration tune summarizing what she’s learned.
Featuring a comprehensive social studies framework, the series encompasses civics and government, geography, economics, and history via engaging, character-based narratives to help children achieve the social studies proficiencies that are important for preschoolers.
Each story builds on a preschooler’s budding understanding of a concept (how the mail works, transportation, family relationships) and extends the learning from there. As Rosie figures things out, the answers – along with other astute discoveries – become Rosie’s Rules. These “rules” range from the silly (“Don’t try to mail your cat to Mexico.”), to the sweet (“There’s nothing better than making your Abuela happy.”) to the practical (“Sometimes, flopping helps you get your feelings out.”). They will also punctuate what Rosie learned in the episode, bridging the curriculum takeaway and the heart of each story.
“We are so excited for kids to meet Rosie,” noted 9 Story Media Group chief creative officer Angela Santomero. “Like many preschoolers, Rosie is just beginning to learn about the world around her. Our hope is that kids will see themselves in the Fuentes family and fall in love with Rosie’s curiosity, determination, creative thinking and humor!”
Rosie’s Rules was created by Emmy Award-winning writer and children’s book author, Jennifer Hamburg, a veteran of the children’s television industry whose credits include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Super Why!, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Cyberchase, and Doc McStuffins.
Executive Producing with Hamburg is TV veteran, Mariana Diaz-Wionczek, PhD, who brings a wealth of children’s TV experience (Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, Santiago of the Seas), and cultural, educational, and linguistic expertise, along with her own life experience growing up in Mexico City. Maria Escobedo (Grey’s Anatomy, Elena of Avalor, and Nina’s World) is on board as story editor.
Launching in tandem with the series will be Rosie’s Rules on pbskids.org and the free PBS Kids Games App. To extend the learning at home, parent resources, including tips and hands-on activities, will be available on PBS KIDS for Parents. For educators, PBS LearningMedia will offer classroom-ready materials, including video excerpts, games, teaching tips and printable activities
Source: PBS KIDS
