Clifford, Snook and the Gang From Dragon Tales Celebrate Earth Day and Teach PBS KIDS(R) Viewers How to Share the Earth on Friday April 21st

Clifford, Snook and the Gang From Dragon Tales Celebrate Earth Day and Teach PBS KIDS(R) Viewers How to Share the Earth on Friday April 21st

Exclusive World Premiere of New Music Videos from Award-Winning Kids' Rock Band - Milkshake

PBS KIDS GO!(sm) Series and Web Destinations, Backyard Jungle and EekoWorld, Give Early Elementary School Kids Fun Ways to Take Care of the Environment

ARLINGTON, Va., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- PBS KIDS helps children celebrate Earth Day with "PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day," a special two-hour programming event airing Friday, April 21 (check local listings). Hosted by real kids, the block features Earth Day-themed programming from It's a Big Big World, Dragon Tales and Clifford the Big Red Dog, and creative ideas to show kids how they can make a difference in the environment and help care for the Earth by planting a garden, saving energy and conserving water. Kids and parents will also become savvier about simple ways to share the environment through exclusive Earth Day-themed music videos from the award-winning kids' rock band, Milkshake, and online activities at pbskids.org and pbskidsgo.org.

In addition to the themed preschool block, PBS KIDS GO! celebrates Earth Day with themed programming from Arthur, Maya & Miguel, Postcards from Buster and Cyberchase. Throughout the block, early elementary school kids will pick- up fun ways on how they can do their part to take care of the environment by recycling, cleaning up their neighborhoods and more.

"Celebrating Earth Day and inspiring kids to do their part to better our environment aligns with the objectives of PBS KIDS," said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, PBS Brand Management. "Parents trust PBS KIDS as a resource to help their children become good citizens of the world and that includes being responsible stewards of the planet."

PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day also presents the world premiere of three Earth Day-themed music videos from Milkshake, the award-winning kids' rock band fronted by Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl that has captured the ears -- and the hearts -- of kids and parents alike. The music videos, which focus on taking care of the Earth and keeping it clean, were written exclusively for PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day.

Online, pbskids.org and pbskidsgo.org will feature games and activities that focus on conservation and good environmental habits as well as the PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day songs performed by Milkshake. Web-only sites for early elementary school kids, such as EekoWorld (pbskidsgo.org/eekoworld) and Backyard Jungle (pbskidsgo.org/backyardjungle), encourage kids to understand the critical role they can play in taking care of the Earth.

EekoWorld (Environmental Education for Kids Online) invites users to explore, experiment, and collaborate with other users as they learn about conservation and the environment. Backyard Jungle allows users around the world to load photos, drawings, and descriptions about the natural surroundings where they live -- their "backyard" -- helping kids build a better understanding of the global community they live in.

PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day episode descriptions (check local listings)

IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD - Episode 117

"Down in the Dumps": It's spring cleaning time in the World Tree, but when Snook goes to help Madge, he finds that garbage is falling from the sky! He investigates and learns that Bob, Burdette, Smooch and Winslow are also cleaning up -- by dumping their trash out of their houses in the tree. Once Snook explains to his friends that they aren't really "cleaning up" after all, everyone heads to Madge's to help her dispose of the trash and learn that recycling is one way reduce the amount of trash we produce.

"Who moved my sunflower?": It is a hot day in the World Tree and Winslow is taking a nap in his favorite shady spot -- under a big sunflower. But while he is sleeping, the sunflower moves and he is back in the sun. Winslow is sure that someone is playing a trick on him but a visit to Madge reveals the cause -- the face of a sunflower moves to face the sun all by itself! They learn the sun is very powerful and affects plant and animal life in many ways.

CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG - Episode 131A, 210B

"Doggie Garden": It's "Keep Birdwell Beautiful" month, and the kids are doing their part by planting a flower garden. Seeing this, the dogs decide to create a doggie flower garden of their own and Cleo decides that she'd like to grow a garden full of dog toys! She soon learns, however, that working alone for a selfish end is not nearly as rewarding as working together for the whole community.

"Camping it Up": Because she thinks camping is going to be boring, Jetta tries to bring all the comforts of home into the woods. But she soon realizes that there's more than one way to have a good time -- and sometimes the simple way is just perfect.

DRAGON TALES - Episode 326A, 314B

"Green Thumbs": When a baby flower named Lily gets uprooted by the rain, the gang has to figure out how to keep her healthy and happy. They find out that, in addition to soil, Lily needs sun and water to live -- just not too much! The friends find help for Lily and plant her back in the ground where she belongs.

"Down the Drain": Captain Scalawag accidentally pulls the plug in the Dragon Lagoon. Now all the water is gone and the creatures that live there have no place to go. The captain rounds them up into his aquarium where they can stay until the gang can think of ways to refill the lagoon.

IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD - Episode 122 *NEW*

"World Tree Day": It is World Tree Day and Snook has made badges to give to all of the residents who do something nice for the tree. While everyone finds their own ways to care for the tree, Bob is worried because he can't think of anything to do. After a talk with Snook and Oko, Bob writes a song to celebrate the tree and earns a badge from Snook. They all learn it is important to care for the environment around us.

"World Tree Cuisine": It is time to celebrate the World Tree's birthday and Madge and Snook are planning a surprise party for the tree's residents. But when Burdette and Wartz overhear them say they are baking a cake, all of the animals start dropping hints to ensure that the foods they eat are included in the cake. When everyone gathers for the celebration they are excited to find individually flavored cupcakes, learning that different animals have different diets.

Episodes on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings)

MAYA & MIGUEL - Episode 63 *NEW*

"Every Day is Earth Day": For a school Earth Day project, the kids decide to clean up an old lot and plant a community garden. But as the deadline approaches, a rainstorm hits, turning the patch of dirt into a muddy mess. How will Maya get her friends out of the muck this time?

ARTHUR - Episode 125

"D.W. Thinks Big": Once again, Arthur gets to do everything. Mostly he gets to carry the ring in Aunt Lucy's wedding. "Why can't I carry the ring?" D.W. grumbles. "Because you're too little," Arthur reminds her. But D.W. gets her chance when the ring falls in-between the church organ pipes. Suddenly it's a good thing to be little, because only D.W. can save the day! Based on a book of the same title by Marc Brown.

"Arthur Cleans Up": Elwood City's park is in sad shape, and after grumbling about it, the kids find themselves volunteered to clean it up. And even though it's a lot of work, in the end they all decide it feels great to make a difference.

POSTCARDS FROM BUSTER - Episode 110

"Moose on the Loose" (Jackson Hole, Wyoming): Amidst the beauty of Jackson Hole, Buster is determined to track down a moose to show his friends back home. With help from some knowledgeable nature lovers, Buster discovers all that Wyoming offers: fly fishing, bird watching, and maybe even the elusive moose.

CYBERCHASE - Episode 301

"EcoHaven CSE": Someone has stolen the legendary cyberbeast Choocroca from cybersite EcoHaven, and the only clue is the culprit's footprint. Using the principles of "body math," the CyberSquad has to sleuth out who took Choocroca, and rescue the massive beast. The suspects are members of a safari team -- one of them is secretly working for Hacker, who wants to capture the creature and use it to takeover Cyberspace. The CyberSquad must use forensic science to build their case and find both the culprit and the critter before Hacker gets his way.

With a 360-degree approach to learning and reaching children, PBS KIDS leverages the full spectrum of media and technology advancements, as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. PBS KIDS encourages children to interact as respectful citizens in a diverse society. By involving parents, teachers and caregivers as learning partners, PBS KIDS helps to empower children for success in school and in life.

About PBS KIDS

PBS KIDS is committed to providing the highest-quality non-commercial content and learning environment for children across the country. Providing age-appropriate, diverse programming for kids, PBS KIDS' programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. Only PBS KIDS has earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. With additional PBS resources to complement its programming, including PBS KIDS online (http://www.pbskids.org/), PBS KIDS GO! (http://www.pbskidsgo.org/), PBS Parents (http://www.pbsparents.org/), PBS TeacherSource (http://www.pbsteachersource.org/), PBS Ready To Learn services and literacy events across the country, PBS KIDS is providing the tools necessary for positive child development. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 348 public television stations, serving nearly 90 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.

About Milkshake

Headed by vocalist Lisa Mathews and acoustic guitar player Mikel Gehl, the band evolved from its beginnings in the '80s as the new wave band Beyond Words, through the melodic adult rock of the popular Baltimore-based group Love Riot in the '90s, to the natural evolution, after becoming parents, of making great rock music for kids. Beneath Milkshake's kid-friendly lyrics and giddy outlook on the world exists a rock band whose music has grown right along with Lisa's and Mikel's own children. Milkshake's two award-winning CDs, "Happy Songs" and "Bottle of Sunshine," feature the kind of music kids can call their own. For more information and to download music from Milkshake, visit http://www.milkshakemusic.com/.

CONTACTS:
PBS KIDS: Sayles & Winnikoff: Milkshake:
Jill Corderman Alan Winnikoff, Elizabeth Waldman Frazier
703.739.5788 212.679.2982, 415.334.2787
jcorderman@pbs.orgalan@sayleswinnikoff.comwaldmania@comcast.net
Carina Sayles,
609.397.6200,
carina@sayleswinnikoff.com

Source: PBS KIDS

CONTACT: Jill Corderman of PBS KIDS, +1-703-739-5788,
jcorderman@pbs.org; Alan Winnikoff, +1-212-679-2982, alan@sayleswinnikoff.com,
or Carina Sayles, +1-609-397-6200, carina@sayleswinnikoff.com, both of Sayles
& Winnikoff for PBS KIDS; Elizabeth Waldman Frazier, +1-415-334-2787,
waldmania@comcast.net, for Milkshake

Web site: http://www.pbskids.org/
http://www.pbskidsgo.org/
http://www.pbsparents.org/
http://www.pbsteachersource.org/
http://www.milkshakemusic.com/

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