Below you will find the title of all the kits that are available. Following each title is a brief description of the book and video. You can also find the reading level of the featured book in each kit by clicking here.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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A

Alejandro's Gift
The “gift” Alejandro gives to various desert animals is that of water. LeVar explores how important water is for all living things. He visits a California oasis and talks with a naturalist about the importance of this water source for the Cahuilla, a Native American tribe of the past, as well as for animals. Viewers visit Niagara Falls and find out how water power can provide electricity.

Amazing Grace
Grace is a little girl who wants to be Peter Pan in the school play. She runs into obstacles, but refuses to give in despite the fact that she is black and a girl. Breaking stereotypes in society and believing in yourself is the theme. Actress Whoopi Goldberg as well as other women share how they succeeded in nontraditional situations such as working as a boiler mechanic and playing hockey.

And Still the Turtle Watched
A turtle carved in rock many years ago by Native Americans watches the river below. In the span of time it observes many ecological changes with a great deal of sadness. LeVar takes viewers on a historical journey from the first settlers in this country to the present, and explores our responsibility to care for the earth. Scientists show how they care for and raise nearly extinct bald eagles and release them into their natural habitat.

Archibald Frisby
Archibald gets his campmates involved in his passion—the love of science — even though he is supposed to be at summer camp for fun. LeVar explores how science is a part of many everyday activities. He takes a ride on a roller coaster and then figures out how it works and how that’s science. Viewers find out how Velcro was designed, how crash test dummies help auto designers, how studying weightlessness impacts on the space program, and how working with a biomechanist helps a high jumper improve her technique.

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B

Barn Dance!
Unable to sleep, a young boy follows the sound of music across the fields and finds an unusual barn dance in progress. LeVar takes viewers to the hilltops of Tennessee for a look at true bluegrass music and dancing. Clogging is featured along with various instruments used by bluegrass musicians. Viewers learn how a fiddle maker creates an instrument from beginning to end.

Best Friends
Kathy feels lonely and afraid when her best friend goes away for the summer and leaves her alone. Pets need love and care, but they can also be someone’s best friend. Viewers learn how seeing-eye dogs are trained to act as eyes for the blind, and they meet a young girl who has spent a year raising a dog who is then trained to help a visually impaired person.

Borreguita and the Coyote
A little lamb becomes very clever to keep a coyote from eating her up. This book introduces viewers to Mexican American culture, which is reflected in music, art, stories and language. LeVar spends time with a family who has made guitars for three generations, visits a mural painter and her students who are working on self portraits, and joins Los Lobos as they share their music and cultural ties.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Bread is for Eating
This feature book explains the process of making bread — from growing the grain to baking it — in a song sung in English and in Spanish. Bread is a staple in every culture, and LeVar talks about how the differences in cultures impact on this common food. A Hopi woman shows how she makes blue cornmeal bread, and we visit an East Indian restaurant.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
A cumulative rhyme relating how a young African boy brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. LeVar talks about rainy day activities including an aerial chase of a thunderstorm and puddle-hopping. Viewers visit the National Center for Atmospheric Research and learn about various aspects of weather and occupations that are dependent upon meteorology.

Bugs
This book includes general information, jokes and descriptions of the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of a variety of common insects. With the assistance of an entomologist, LeVar discovers the uniqueness of a wide variety of bugs and insects at the Cincinnati Zoo’s Insect World. Viewers take a trip to mountains in Mexico to find out where monarch butterflies go when they migrate for the winter.

But, Mama, But...

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C

Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones
Chickens are not the only animals that lay eggs. In this book we learn that many animals lay eggs. This means they are oviparous. A look at all the different kinds of animals that hatch from eggs is the emphasis of this episode. LeVar begins by visiting a hatchery and finding out how chicks hatch. Then he joins a biologist to visit loggerhead turtles in Florida as they lay their eggs in the sand on the beach. After the turtles hatch they make their way back to the ocean.

Come a Tide
A girl provides a lighthearted account of her family’s adventure during the spring floods at her rural home. Floods are only one of the many types of severe weather described in this program. LeVar also talks about blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, hailstorms and lightning. He takes the opportunity to interview meteorologists about tracking severe weather. An eyewitness account of Hurricane Hugo and the courageous people who weathered the storm is an added highlight.

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D

Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus
This is the story of the life cycle and ecosystem of the giant saguaro cactus and the animals it helps to support in the desert. LeVar explains the life and seasons of the desert. Inhabitants including jack rabbits, bobcats, gila monsters, a javelina pig and woodpeckers are a few that this segment features. He explores how cacti adapt to the heat and scarcity of water, and explains the appropriate dress for people in a hot, dry climate. A “snake man” gives a close-up look at rattlesnakes.

Digging Up Dinosaurs
This book introduces readers to many types of dinosaurs whose skeletons and reconstructions are seen in museums, and explains how scientists uncover, preserve, and study fossils. LeVar explores the fascination of dinosaurs who lived and then disappeared millions of years ago. Humor is interspersed with interviews with a ranger and a paleontologist who take LeVar on a fossil tour of Dinosaur National Monument.

Duncan and Dolores
Dolores learns to hold back some of her smothering tendencies in order to win the affection of her new pet cat. LeVar also learns about cats in this segment as he travels to Marine World Africa USA where he meets a Bengal tiger. Viewers see how humans can become cats in a behind-the-scenes tour of the Broadway musical “CATS.”

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F

Five, Six and Thistle Sticks

Fly Away Home
The feature book is a touching story of a homeless boy and his father who move from terminal to terminal in an airport, trying not to be noticed and discovered. The boy expresses frustration about being homeless, yet he has hope for the future. Children whose families have been homeless share how this happened and how it felt. LeVar encourages us to make a difference in our communities. Viewers meet a boy who volunteers at City Harvest, an organization which gathers prepared food for distribution to the homeless, and the girl who began Common Sense, an organization whose members collect pennies and use them to buy items for homeless shelters.

Fox on the Job
Fox tries to earn the money for a new bicycle in several different jobs. He learns that jobs are hard to come by and sometimes he can’t be so lazy. In exploring the world of work, LeVar shares his list of household chores. He also interviews a young man who has started his own business, a dog walker who manages to walk more than one dog at a time, an architect who designs large Lego displays, and a police officer who works on horseback.
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Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?

G

Galimoto
Walking through his village, a young African boy uses his wits to search for scraps of wire to make his very own ‘Galimoto.’ Viewers are shown how something as common and uncomplicated as wire can be used to create complicated and interesting things. LeVar interviews a wire artist that makes sculptures from wire, a circus family who does high wire acts without a net, and he takes the longest tramway in the world — which, by coincidence, moves on a cable wire.

Germs Make Me Sick!
Our world is shared with millions of micro-organisms. In this feature book they explain what germs are, how bacteria and viruses affect the human body, and how the body fights against them. Using a microscope LeVar discovers what germs really look like and talks to lab scientists about germs, and habits that can keep us healthy. A visit to an organic farm illustrates how micro-organisms are important to growing food.

Giants and Cubs

Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport
A New York City boy has some preconceived ideas of life in the West and it makes him very apprehensive about the family’s move out there. LeVar learns more about the West when he joins a biologist who shows him the Arizona desert and tells him about the plant and animal life—and he learns just what Gila monsters are.

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message
The feature book is a prayer of the Iroquois Indians celebrating the precious and rare gift of the natural world — and the resources of the earth. On a fall day, LeVar stops to express appreciation for the gifts of the earth. This show connects to the earth with a visit to a family who grows and harvests cranberries, then on to a pueblo where native artists use clay from the earth to make pottery, and finally to a group of children who are planting trees in their neighborhood. Children sing “Come You Dreamers,” a song about taking care of the earth.

Good Night, Knight

The Good Seed

Gregory, the Terrible Eater
Gregory the goat is a very picky eater, wanting only fruits, vegetables, eggs, and orange juice and refusing the usual goat diet of shoes and tin cans. His parents become very worried and eventually teach him to enjoy a variety of goat foods. LeVar finds out that people as well as animals need a nutritionally balanced diet, when he goes to the San Diego Zoo kitchen to learn more about animal diets, visits Billy and Nanny’s Barnyard Cafe for a snack, and joins three youngsters cooking with a New York hotel chef.

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H

Help

Hill of Fire
Based on a true story of the eruption of Paricutin Volcano in Mexico, a volcano is born in a poor farmer’s corn field. At Volcano National Park in Hawaii, LeVar is only 2,000 feet from a major eruption of Kilauea Volcano. He tells about two kinds of lava and why volcanoes occur. Viewers learn what is inside our earth that causes volcanoes, as LeVar talks to volcanologists who are learning to predict eruptions. LeVar also visits an artist who creates raku pottery.

Hot-Air Henry
A sassy Siamese cat stows away on a hot-air balloon and ends up taking a fur raising flight across the mountains. LeVar experiences a colorful and exciting expedition in a hot-air balloon. He takes viewers to a hot-air ballooning event, then provides a comical look into the past at some flying machines that never made it off the ground, and finally visits the National Space Camp where kids find out what it takes to become an astronaut.

How To Make An Apple Pie And See The World
With the market closed, a cook travels around the world to gather ingredients for making an apple pie. LeVar joins chef Curtis Aikens in his kitchen, which is also his laboratory where he creates new recipes, to get some cooking tips from the chef. Curtis tells LeVar that when he was younger he hid the fact that he was not able to read. Finally at the age of 26, he asked for help to learn. Viewers also find out how chemistry is used every day at the Turkey Hill ice cream factory.

Hug, Hug, Hug!

Humph! Humph! Humph!

Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story
Based on the journey of a California humpback whale, this book follows the journey of “wrong-way” Humphrey as he finds his way back to the sea with the help of some friends. A whale-watching day at sea with a naturalist helps LeVar understand the whales’ natural environment, and practices that have threatened whales. Viewers also find out about three young pilot whales who were rescued, nursed back to health and re-released, and they see news clips of “wrong way” Humphrey’s mis-adventure.

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I

Imogene’s Antlers
Imogene wakes up one morning shocked to find a pair of antlers growing out of her head, and embarks on a comical adventure discovering practical uses for this new condition. LeVar takes a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo to explore why animal looks and shapes are important to how they live. He also discovers the difference between horns and antlers. A bird specialist introduces viewers to unique birds; then string band members, who dress in feathers for the Philadelphia Mummers Parade, show off their costumes and routine.

Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
When Hermit Crab outgrows his old house, he ventures out to find a new one. Finding it becomes particularly humorous when that home is carried on the crab’s back! LeVar builds a house for the flying friends in his backyard while viewers watch the “Lifestyles of the Wild and Tameless” to see where a variety of animals live. Then viewers visit scientists who work in the city to protect and provide roosts for peregrine falcons.

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J

June 29, 1999
While her third grade classmates are sprouting seeds in paper cups, Holly has a more ambitious, innovative science project in mind. LeVar promotes the book’s theme of far-fetched fact or fiction by investigating UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects). Viewers follow a boy and his father who discover strange artifacts, visit a farmer who grows huge pumpkins, and hear a first hand account of a UFO report.

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K

Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express
This is a true story of 15-year-old Kate who bravely rushed out into a storm and saved two men as well as preventing hundreds of other lives from being lost. LeVar explores Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train and sees how trains are maintained at the train yard before boarding the Coast Starlight to travel along the California coastline. Viewers tour the engineer’s cab, find out what an engineer does, and watch film clips of early trains.

Knots on a Counting Rope
A Native American tale about Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses and his grandfather reminiscing about the boy’s birth, his first horse, and his first horse race where he faces his greatest challenge—his blindness. In this segment, the emphasis is on courage and encouraging people to face the things that frighten them. LeVar faces a night alone in the wilderness, and overcomes doubt. Viewers will be inspired by an interview with Bree Walker, a news anchor who has overcome her disability of deformed hands and feet.

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L

Liang and the Magic Paintbrush
Taken from an old Chinese legend, a poor boy who longs to paint is given a magic paintbrush that brings everything he paints to life. LeVar explores how art is integrated into many aspects of the Chinese American culture. He takes a trip to New York City’s Chinatown and visits with an expert of Chinese calligraphy, a stonecarver who makes LeVar a name stamp, and a gourmet Chinese chef. He also takes viewers to the New York Institute of Technology where he is shown how to use computer graphics to create art. Then he participates in a Chinese parade.

Lionel's Antlers

Lionel's Great Escape Trick

Little Big Mouse

Little Nino’s Pizzeria
Tony loves helping his dad make pizza at their family restaurant until one day his dad decides to open a fancy new restaurant and everything changes. Teamwork, especially working together as a family, can be very rewarding. Interviewed in this segment, is a family that works together in the fireworks business. This book also inspires LeVar to make his own pizza. He explains how yeast works, shapes the dough, and tops it, not knowing that additional guests (an entire basketball team) would require him to order out!

The Lost Rock

The Lucky Duck

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M

Martha Speaks
Problems arise when Martha, the family dog, learns to speak after eating alphabet soup. Luke, LeVar’s favorite pooch, steps to the forefront and takes over the show. As a result, viewers get a dog’s eye view of life, and they see clips of old time dog heroes and dogs doing tricks. Then they meet an animal trainer who demonstrates how he trains dogs for TV and movie performances.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch
Looking for some diversion, a bored Rancher Hicks drives to town not knowing that he will miss a very eventful, surprise-filled day back at the ranch. LeVar visits Old Tucson, an authentic western town, and gets a taste of western life as a cowboy when he dons true western garb, complete with spurs, chaps, and an official ten-gallon hat. Viewers meet a talented stunt woman who demonstrates rope tricks and thrilling stunts on horseback.

Mrs. Katz and Tush
A long-lasting friendship develops between Larnel, a young African-American, and Mrs. Katz, a lonely Jewish widow, when Larnel presents Mrs. Katz with a scrawny kitten without a tail. The book supports the theme that friendship can bridge differences in age and culture, and LeVar celebrates the beauty and value of cross-cultural relationships as he visits his very own “bubee” and learns to make some traditional Jewish foods.

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters
An African tale of Mufaro’s two beautiful daughters, one bad tempered, one kind and sweet, who go before the king, who is choosing a wife. Viewers celebrate the culture of Africa in New York City’s Central Park where LeVar learns how African drums are made, then plays some authentic African instruments. Finally he joins in the festival fun with an African dance troupe, Forces of Nature.

Mummies Made in Egypt
This book describes the techniques and the reasons for the use of mummification in ancient Egypt. LeVar explores mummies and learns about the art of conserving Egyptian artifacts at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Then CT scan technology provides an inside look at a mummy thousands of years old, and a forensic expert recreates the head of a mummy using intricate skull dimensions.

My Shadow
This is an illustrated version of the poem in which a child describes her relationship with her shadow. The episode examines the interplay of light and shadows — how they work, where they come from, and how they create such beautiful imagery together. LeVar shows how light and shadow can be used to tell the time, meets a shadow artist who creates shadow puppets, and visits a photographer who tells about her work.

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O

Once There Was A Tree
This feature book beautifully weaves together the important relationship among all living things, and primarily our dependence on trees to provide food, shelter and the air we breathe. LeVar explores the magnificent life cycle of trees in the forest and their importance to humans, animals, and the planet, and he explores how photosynthesis works. He also visits a scientist who climbs trees to study them more closely, and a family who harvests maple syrup.

On the Day You Were Born
The feature book is a sensitive and tender book about the wonder of the birth of a child. LeVar takes viewers on a delicate journey into a hospital maternity ward filled with newborns. A family preparing for a new member shares how they are getting ready for the baby, and, as the time arrives for the birth, we join the mother and father in the delivery room.

Ox-Cart Man
The feature book describes the day-to-day life of an early 19th-century New England family throughout the year. LeVar is inspired by the story to visit Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, a hands-on living museum where he discovers what life was like in the early 1800’s. He learns about training oxen, blacksmithing, bartering, and early printing methods.

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P

Pandora's Box

Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West

Perfect the Pig
Imagine a pig with wings! A tiny pig is granted his wish which leads to an almost perfect life. LeVar discovers Kermit the Frog at the library and they discuss Kermit’s “special friend,” Miss Piggy. Viewers visit a hog farm in Hawaii, learn about funny pig poems called pigericks, and find out the history of piggy banks.

Pigs Aplenty

Piggyback Piggyback

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R

Raccoons and Ripe Corn
Jim Arnosky’s beautifully illustrated books provide the inspiration for LeVar to learn about wildlife watching. They team up for a day of exploration and playing detective. Viewers learn that teeth marks on twigs are a good sign that beavers are nearby. If they look closely on tree trunks, they might see tiny porcupine claw marks. Viewers will get a close look at raccoon paw prints and learn how to tell if they were drinking from the brook or just passing by.

The Ram In The Pepper Patch

Rechenka’s Eggs
An injured goose rescued by Babushka, having broken the painted eggs intended for the Easter Festival in Moskva, lays thirteen marvelously colored eggs to replace them. She then leaves behind one final miracle—in egg form—before returning to her own kind. The author, Patricia Polacco demonstrates the traditional Ukrainian egg-painting art (pysanky), and shares how she got the idea for this story. Viewers will gain a new appreciation for the egg in art as LeVar decorates eggs, and finds objects that are egg-shaped. Viewers also see the practical side during a montage of animal babies emerging from eggs.

Red Hat Green Hat

Ruth Law Thrills A Nation
This true story describes the record-breaking flight of a daring woman pilot, Ruth Law, from Chicago to New York in 1916. LeVar takes viewers on a trip through time from the barnstorming days and flying machines of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to get her pilot’s license, to modern aviation machines and female pilots. Viewers will also see a teenage pilot who takes to the air for the first time, following in the footsteps of the great women who went before her.

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S

Saturday Sancocho
It’s early in the morning as vendors at the neighborhood “Swap and Flea Market” set up. Hints of “swapping” — trading coffee for strawberries — set the stage for Saturday Sancocho written and illustrated by Leyla Torres. LeVar explores the fun of collecting and trading treasures — and how it’s based on the ever-changing nature of value. All the while he is classifying, estimating, bartering, trading, collecting and figuring out trade — and monetary — values. Silent Lotus
Lotus, a young Cambodian girl who cannot hear or speak, is invited to become a dancer in the king’s court. LeVar takes the opportunity to explore the vast and expressive world of non-verbal communication by watching mimes and talking with people who communicate using sign language. He also learns how deafness impacts people’s lives.

Simon’s Book
Doodles come to “monstrous” life in this book, as Simon flees from a monster with the help of one of his drawing pens. LeVar takes viewers into the studio of the author of Simon’s Book, Henrik Drescher, to find out how he came up with the idea for his book and to look at the original illustrations. LeVar then visits the printing plant to watch as a book is printed, pages are cut to size, and the book is bound.

Someplace Else
Mrs. Tilby has decided that her life in a small town is not all she wants, so she sets off on a trip. After visiting many places — including the city, the seashore and the mountains — she buys a camper so she can be “at home” wherever she is. LeVar’s “travel” room is filled with momentos of his many trips. He shares his memories of places he’s been, things he’s done and people he’s met — a New York City rooftop garden and a man who raises homing pigeons; the seashore and a schooner sailing trip; and a Hawaiian volcano and a potter who creates raku pottery.

Space Case
When the thing from outer space visits earth, it is mistaken first for a trick-or-treater. Then it is mistaken for a robot. What would it be like to meet beings from another planet? LeVar sends a special invitation to all the aliens that might be watching—to visit Earth, and shows them some of the Earth’s wonders. Viewers visit Puerto Rico to learn about the biggest radio receiver/telescope on earth where scientists listen to outer space, and California to see an observatory where astronomers use a gigantic telescope to scan the skies.

The Spider and the Lie

Stellaluna
This is the charming story of a baby bat who falls head first into a bird’s nest and is raised in a most peculiar way by a family of birds until she is reunited with her mother. LeVar discovers a mysterious and fascinating world of nocturnal animals. Viewers see bats in their natural habitats and visit with a bat expert. Then at the New York University Sleep Center, viewers learn about the world of slumber and dreams, and follow a young girl as she takes part in a sleep study.

Stop That Chicken

Sunken Treasure
A hurricane off the coast of Florida in 1662 caused the Atocha, a Spanish galleon, to sink. This book describes the many-years-long search for the treasure believed to be on it. An old treasure map leads LeVar on an exciting treasure hunt. He uses every device known to man to find the treasure—including a bloodhound. Then it is on to the most famous shipwreck in history—the Titanic. Viewers meet Dr. Robert Ballard, who tells how he found the Titanic wreckage and the equipment he developed and used to find it.

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T

Tar Beach
A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Everyone has a need for a special place where they can think and daydream. LeVar takes viewers up on the roof to a “tar beach,” an urban oasis in the sky. A pigeon keeper and a rooftop gardener are interviewed and explain why they have chosen their respective hobbies. LeVar tells about the George Washington Bridge that was constructed in 1928. Viewers are taken to new heights as present day bridge workers explain their jobs.

Teachers Pet

The Bicycle Man
In a small village in Japan, two American soldiers do amazing tricks on a borrowed bicycle. LeVar explores the world of wheels and sees how they keep us rolling along—from bicycles and skateboards to scooters, rollerblades, and human-powered vehicles. He talks with a freestyle bike specialist who demonstrates some stunts, and learns about skateboard features from a pro.

The Bionic Bunny Show
Wilbur is an ordinary rabbit, but when he goes to work each morning he becomes TV’s superhero. Viewers go to the taping of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION to see how television shows are made from behind the scenes. LeVar explains about editing and other post production activities.

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash
This is a tale of a school trip to a peaceful farm which turns wild when Jimmy’s pet boa constrictor escapes. LeVar takes viewers to an exotic pet shop where he meets a tarantula and a boa constrictor. He then goes to a livestock show where he learns unique facts about farm animals and watches events including sheep shearing, goat milking, and showing sheep.

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
A Native American story of Little Gopher following his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision of becoming an artist for his people and bringing the colors of the sunset down to the earth. LeVar visits the Pueblo Indian people of Taos, New Mexico where Mother Earth plays a crucial role in their art. He interviews a painter, a family of pottery makers, and a family of dancers. Each explains the traditions behind their art and the Native American culture.

The Lotus Seed
When forced to leave her country, a young Vietnamese girl takes a lotus seed with her as a reminder of her past. This book inspires LeVar to explore traditions and heritage passed down through generations when he meets young people from Vietnam, Yemen, Russia and South Africa who have recently come to the United States. Each retains unique attributes of their own heritage, yet also contributes to a multicultural, harmonious society.

The Milk Makers
It’s fresh and cold, foamy and white, and one of nature’s most nutritious foods—milk! Everyone learns about this delicious liquid as this book explains the process of how cows produce milk and how it is processed before being delivered to stores. LeVar visits California’s dairy country where he receives a lesson on milking a cow by hand, as well as an introduction to the modern way of milking and feeding 600 cows. Viewers get a factory tour and see how cheese is made.

The Paper Crane
A mysterious man enters a restaurant and pays for his dinner with a paper crane that magically comes alive and dances. LeVar celebrates Japanese culture by visiting Gasho of Japan in Central Valley, New York. Surrounded by lush gardens, LeVar dons a kimono and steps into the enchanting world of Japan, exploring the artistry of a Japanese vegetable carver and the art of origami. He takes a side trip to see how paper can be made out of old blue jeans, then joins Soh Daiko, an energetic and colorful group of Japanese drummers and dancers, as they perform the celebratory “festival of the drums.”

The Patchwork Quilt
Using scraps cut from the family’s old clothing, a young girl learns the secret ingredient in her Grandma’s special quilt of memories. This episode leads LeVar to the Boston Children’s Museum, where he discovers kids learning to make their own brightly-colored patchwork quilts. Then he explores how three generations of an Italian American family work together in their food store making some of the foods (mozzarella cheese and meatballs) that are store specialties.

The Piggy in the Puddle
This is a funny story about a little piggy who gets into a heap of trouble over a puddle of mud. LeVar takes viewers behind the scenes to watch how artists bring this book to life through the art of clay animation. From painting and sculpting the characters, to the painstaking process of filming the action frame by frame, the secrets of “claymation” are revealed.

The Secret Shortcut
In the book, two friends, Wendell and Floyd, discover a secret shortcut – in an effort to arrive at school on time -- which leads LeVar, in this math-based show, to explore the use of maps, mazes, and other travel problem solving techniques.

The Wall
A boy and his father come to Washington D.C. to visit the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial to find the name of the boy’s grandfather, who was killed in the conflict. This moving story takes LeVar to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial where viewers meet Maya Lin, the young architect who designed it. Then it is on to look at other special monuments that help us remember our past. Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is a giant tribute to our nation. Completed in 1941, it is the sculpture of four of our leading presidents. Viewers also visit a mural dedicated to Louis Armstrong, a great jazz trumpeter, and meet its creator.

Three by the Sea
Lolly, Spider, and Sam lay on the beach and all agreed it was the perfect time for each of them to tell their very own story. LeVar learns that telling a story or listening to one can unlock the imagination as he watches Chicago City Limits, an improvisational performance group. Kids tell their own stories in the books they make. While walking the beach, LeVar explores the history and adventure of sea chanteys, and talks with winners of a sand sculpture contest.

Three Goats, no waiting

Too Cool

Treats!

Tweet Tweet

Two Coats, One Goat, One Boat

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U

Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop
Sara Jean’s Uncle Jed, the only black barber in the county, overcomes many setbacks including the Great Depression of the 1930’s, as he works to save enough money to open his own barbershop. LeVar finds out about making dreams come true with determination and faith, as he talks with The Persuasions, an a cappella quartet. These friends pursued their dream in spite of being told that a singing group without musical instruments didn’t have a chance for success.

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W

Watch the Stars Come Out
This story is about a little girl and her brother who bravely travel alone across the ocean to join their mama and papa in a strange new land—called America. Viewers visit Ellis Island, the port of entry into America for millions of immigrants who came with hopes and dreams — and see footage of immigrants arriving. A.J. Annello, who works for the company that restored the Statue of Liberty, gives LeVar a tour and tells about why and how Lady Liberty has been restored.

Why the Baboon's Balloon Went Ba-boom

Worksong
Worksong by Gary Paulsen and illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen is a lyrical presentation of people at work. As another workday begins, LeVar heads off to a busy breakfast spot and speculates on all the jobs there are to do. The episode explores a wide variety of jobs — ordinary and unusual — pieces of the puzzle that fit together to make up our world of work.

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Y

You Can't Catch Me

Z

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
The feature book explores how rhyming, melodies and mathematics help combine sounds of different instruments, making music fun — and fun music. Taking a trip to New York City’s Julliard School of Music, LeVar finds out how orchestra members combine their sounds, and work as a team under the leadership of the conductor. Then STOMP, a percussion performance group, demonstrates how it incorporates creativity, expression, rhythm, dance and self-expression in a team effort that’s very active and entertaining.

Zoop Zoop

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