Children and Kids

With season two about to start in a few short months, it’s the perfect time for children to discover Recess Stories. This gentle children's comedy tells the tales that unfold at every child's favorite part of the day: recess. Don't expect belly laughs, but there's an endearing sweetness to these short slice of life videos.

They don't make shows like Yolotales anymore. Watching this retro-inspired children's series took me back to my youth, a time when children's TV educated while informing, and puppets happily chatted with real humans. It feels like a bit of a throwback, but its exploration of modern issues like junk food and the environment helps it seem a bit fresher.

With more tiny tots getting tech savvy, it makes sense that creative minds design web series for this growing audience. Yababu does just that with its short, educational videos. The clips are smart with accessible themes and plenty of color, while the minimalist website is easy for the smallest computer users to navigate.

The creators of Ruffus the Dog weren't going to let a television axing keep their canine puppet down. The Canadian children's series now lives on online with new web exclusive episodes. These are a bit slow to come, but at least we've got the original TV ones posted too to keep us occupied while we wait.

There are many educational series for children, but few that target the very young. BunnyBop! looks to fill the gap with its mix of puppets and play. I feel sorry for the parents who'll inevitably end up watching this along with their little ones, but this is sweet stuff for ankle biters.

If seemed to fly the coop almost before it had begun, but if you missed Birdz the first time around you can catch it now on its YouTube channel. This charming Canadian cartoon brought us the adventures of Eddie Storkowitz, a lovable preteen bird with stars in his eyes and a crush on his teacher. Perhaps those improbable storylines were its undoing, but Birdz is still a lot of fun.

There is chaos afoot at Flying Rhino Junior High, and it’s up to four students to stop it. Billy, Lydia, Marcus, and Ruby must foil the evil schemes of Earl P. Sidebottom, for the sake of all their classmates! I just hope the second series of this cartoon series is added to the channel, as right now we're only getting half the story!

The Dumb Bunnies are completely clueless. They seem to do everything back to front, from sleeping underneath their beds to putting flowers upside down in their vases! Their series is a bit of a one-joke cartoon, but its simplicity and basic animation style should appeal to its young target audience.

Anatole is a cute little mouse living near Paris. By day he is a devoted husband and father to his six children, but by night this gourmand tastes cheese in his local factory. He is praised by his employers, even though they have no clue that their nightly taster is a mouse! Full episodes of this animated series are available through its YouTube channel.

Mythic Warriors was once a fixture on Saturday morning cartoon schedules, but it hasn't aired on television in years. Anyone who's missed it will be thrilled to see they can get their fix on YouTube. Unfortunately the channel only contains season one so far, but hopefully it won't be too long until episodes from the final season join them.