PBS KIDS(R) and PBS KIDS GO!(sm) Explore Halloween's Tricks and Treats

PBS KIDS(R) and PBS KIDS GO!(sm) Explore Halloween's Tricks and Treats

On October 31, New Episodes from MARTHA SPEAKS, SUPER WHY, WORDWORLD and CYBERCHASE Help Kids Learn Some Things Aren't As Scary As They Think

To Prepare for the Long Holiday Season Ahead, SID THE SCIENCE KID Discovers Tricks to Stay Healthy and Enjoy Treats in Moderation

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! invite kids on a Halloween adventure exploring fears on Halloween day and preparing for the holiday season ahead with healthy findings from SID THE SCIENCE KID. On October 31, kids can join their favorite character role models including Martha from the new literacy-based series MARTHA SPEAKS as well as friends from SUPER WHY, WORDWORLD, CYBERCHASE, ARTHUR and MAYA & MIGUEL as they embark on adventures that help them discover that some of the things they think are scary aren't really so scary after all.

In addition, to help guide families through their eating and activity choices and behaviors during the holiday season, from October 20 through October 24, SID THE SCIENCE KID helps kids discover what can happen when you eat too many sweets or don't brush your teeth as well as the importance of washing hands and staying active. Parents can follow along with corresponding activities on pbskids.org and PBS Parents (pbsparents.org) to help their families make smart healthy choices during Halloween and year-round.

"Halloween is a time of excitement and sometimes anxiety for young children - often fueled by sugar and for many, fears," said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP Children's Media, PBS. "Our characters are great role models to guide children as they explore their fears and help them make healthy choices."

Early elementary school kids can extend the fun at pbskidsgo.org/video, where they can watch streaming video of Halloween-themed episodes and clips from ARTHUR, CYBERCHASE, MARTHA SPEAKS, FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN, MAYA & MIGUEL, ANIMALIA, DESIGN SQUAD and more. Preschoolers and their parents can write their own silly stories about Halloween at Dot's Story Factory (pbskids.org/storyfactory) and find Halloween-themed games, crafts, masks, costume ideas, recipes, e-cards and more at pbskids.org/halloween.

PBS Parents (pbsparents.org) will feature healthy Halloween treats that families can make and enjoy together as well as information on keeping kids safe during trick-or-treating, costume ideas and Halloween book recommendations. In addition, parents can find resources for hosting a Halloween party, having a neighborhood costume parade, creating a haunted house and trick-or-treating for charity.

SID THE SCIENCE KID - Health-themed episodes October 20-24 (check local listings):

"A Brush with Teeth" - October 20 (NEW) - Sid wonders, "Do you really have to brush your teeth every single day?" At school, Sid discovers that our mouths are filled with different kinds of teeth that do lots of different jobs -- like chewing our food. So it's really important to keep our teeth healthy by brushing them every day.

"I Want Cake" - October 21 (NEW) - Sid declares that he shall only eat Birthday cake for every meal! Sid and his friends discover that only eating cake would make their bodies feel terrible. Then they explore and learn that the best way to stay healthy is by eating nutritious food.

"The Big Sneeze" - October 22 (NEW) - Sid's parents tell him to wash his hands to keep away germs. But Sid can't see any germs on his hands, so why should he wash them? Sid and his friends learn that germs are so small that you can't see them. And they discover that a great way to stay healthy and keep germs away is by washing their hands with soap and water.

"Must See TV" (NEW) - October 23 - Sid decides to sit and watch television all weekend long. There's just one problem with his plan: sitting around and not moving would make his body feel terrible. At school Sid and his friends learn that exercising is a really fun way to stay healthy. And it makes your body feel great!

"Sid's Health Day" (NEW) - October 24 - Sid wonders, "What is the best way to always stay healthy?" At school, Sid and his friends discover that there are lots of ways to stay healthy: washing hands to avoid germs, eating nutritious foods, brushing teeth and exercising!

HALLOWEEN DAY, October 31 (check local listings)

On PBS KIDS, for preschoolers:

MARTHA SPEAKS - "Martha Gets Spooked / Martha Changes Her Luck" (NEW)

Martha Gets Spooked - Is someone fixing up the haunted house? If not, who ordered those flowers? Was it the ghost of Mrs. Parkington's Great-Aunt Martha? Whoever or whatever it was, Martha has to go in there to protect Helen, before it's too late!

Martha Changes Her Luck - Uh-oh. Martha walked under a ladder - and broke a mirror - so now she thinks she's jinxed. And she's worried her bad luck is rubbing off on everybody else. Helen tries to explain that all the accidents are just coincidence, but things just keep getting worse.

SUPER WHY - "The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Halloween" (NEW)

It's Halloween in Storybrook Village and Pig is so frightened, he won't go trick-or-treating with his friends! The Super Readers pay a storybook visit to Little Ghost, who's a bit of a scaredy cat himself, to teach him there's more to Halloween than meets the eye.

WORDWORLD - "A Kooky Spooky Halloween / Sheep's Halloween Costume" (NEW)

A Kooky Spooky Halloween - The WordFriends get their share of scares the night before Halloween, when Pig sleepwalks and everyone thinks he's a ghost!

Sheep's Halloween Costume - It's Halloween - Sheep's favorite day of the year. Sheep likes nothing more than to dress up, so she always goes out of her way to make herself a special costume. But what will she do when her WordFriends need pieces of her costume for their own costumes?

On PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school children:

CYBERCHASE - "Spheres of Fears" (NEW, premieres October 27 with an encore presentation on October 31)

In his latest and possibly maddest scheme ever, Hacker traps Digit and the kids in one of the dreaded Spheres of Fears, a mini-galaxy of orbs populated by eerie creatures called Creepers, where they must use the properties of circles to reverse Hacker's chaos in the nick of time.

ARTHUR - "What Scared Sue Ellen? / Clarissa is Cracked"

What Scared Sue Ellen? - Sue Ellen isn't afraid of anything until she takes the short cut through the woods. From that point everything appears to scare her. Arthur and the other boys accompany Sue Ellen through the woods to locate her monsters.

Clarissa is Cracked - Grandma Thora gives her favorite doll, Clarissa, to D.W. for a week. D.W. treats the antique doll like her other toys, but loving Clarissa more. Unfortunately, D.W.'s attention proves fatal to Clarissa when the doll breaks. D.W. and her family find a doll doctor to repair Grandma Thora's treasured toy before she's returned.

MAYA & MIGUEL - "La Calavera"

When Maya wants to add some oomph to her presentation about Mexico for school, she consults her Abuela Elena, who allows her to borrow a prized possession: a calavera, or skull made of sugar, that is used in the yearly Day of the Dead celebration.

About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!

In response to the increased number of children facing risks from childhood obesity, PBS KIDS kicked off a children's health initiative to strengthen existing health-related resources and build a cohesive framework for public media to encourage kids and families to make healthier lifestyle choices. The initiative kicked off with the convening of PBS KIDS' Public Media Council on Children's Health in early 2008 and was followed by a virtual summer road trip to health utilizing character role models, resources and content for families and educators. Building long term partnerships with organizations that share a similar mission, such as Produce for Kids, is one of the many examples of PBS KIDS' community-based activities to encourage healthy lifestyles.

PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offers all children - from every walk of life - the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and outreach content. Like its programming counterpart, PBS resources - including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country - leverage the full spectrum of media and technology advancements as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Guiding children towards empowerment for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 356 public television stations, serving more than 65 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.

Source: PBS

CONTACT: Jill Corderman, +1-703-739-5788, jcorderman@pbs.org, or Jake
Landis, +1-703-739-5362, jwlandis@pbs.org, both of PBS KIDS; or Alison Grand
of Grand Communications, +1-212-584-1133, alison@grandcommunications.com, for
PBS

Web Site: http://www.pbs.org/

-------
Profile: intent