Alphablocks
What happens when letters come to life? Magical new series Alphablocks aims to find out in a blend of vivid animation, innovative wordplay and humorous interactive games which introduce four- to six-year-olds to the joy and power of letters and words.
One day, a large cube falls from the sky and breaks into 26 blocks, each with its own letter and distinct personality. Starting with nothing, Alphablocks can make anything they can spell and, with the children’s help, they begin creating their own world.
This series of 26 short animations, combined with a fun online environment, enables children to get creative by joining letters together. Combining great stories, laughter and key literacy skills development through collaborative gameplay between children and their carers, Alphablocks offers the CBeebies audience a magical introduction to the world of letters and words.
FW
A Magic Lantern production
Dirtgirlworld
Dirtgirl grows awesome tomatoes, knows cloud names and drives a big orange tractor. Her world is brought vividly to life in this new series, which makes its larger-than-life characters come alive to inspire four- to six-year-olds.
Dirtgirl invites the young audience to a place where the real and unreal hang out together. Helping out in her backyard are her best friend Scrapboy, a cowpunk who's a whiz with junk; Grubby, with her grub's eye view; Ken the weevil, a super stunt star with an inferiority complex; Roger the rooster and the chicks; Hayman, the monosyllabic scarecrow, and the Green Thumbs, who are real kids in real gardens having unreal fun.
Full of bizarre insects, underground tunnels, vaudevillian trained chickens and performing stunt bugs, Dirtgirlworld is a place where children learn to protect what they love. This music-centric series has an environmental focus, contemporary and exciting music for children, and provides an invitation for people to step outside and have a go.
C12
A Mememe/Decode Entertainment production
I Can Cook
Aiming to get under-sixes into the kitchen and cooking up a storm, I Can Cook serves up a selection of specially tailored simple recipes, top cookery tips and the chance to get a bit messy, in a celebration of a hands-on approach to cooking.
Children will learn how to grow it, cook it and eat it plus discover the magic of the full cycle of food. From the field to the fork, children will learn to connect what’s on their plate every day with the world around them.
Hosted by newcomer Katy Ashworth, I Can Cook is set in a bespoke kitchen studio. A musician, actress and all-round entertainer, Katy will welcome five children into the I Can Cook kitchen to create a recipe of the day, explore where the ingredients come from and how foods are made and learn some simple kitchen and cookery skills.
All the recipes from the series will be available to print out as factsheets at . Children can also develop skills and cookery techniques in the virtual space, before transferring them to the real world in the I Can Cook interactive game.
FW
An Initial, an Endemol Company, production
Let's Celebrate
From Chinese New Year to Christmas, Let's Celebrate takes CBeebies' viewers on a colourful tour of the UK, showing how children experience different religious and cultural festivals.
In each episode Let's Celebrate meets a family or group of children who are getting ready for a festival – be it dressing up, decorating the house, preparing food or exchanging gifts. The programmes then showcase a musical or dramatic performance which tells the story behind the festival before returning to the party or event with the children and their families in celebratory mood.
Children's presenter and performer Patrick Lynch (Razzle Dazzle) introduces the festivals from his "party house", which tingles with excitement – this house and the street outside can't wait to celebrate. Each show ends with an invitation to young viewers at home to join the celebrations as a street party explodes into life.
Festivals featured in the series include: Vaisakhi, Eid-ul-Fitr, Holi, Wesak, Purim, Diwali, Easter, St Patrick's Day, St David's Day, St George's Day, St Andrew's Day and Norouz.
FW
´óÏó´«Ã½ Production
Tinga Tinga Tales
Why does a zebra have stripes? Why does an elephant have a trunk? And why does a flamingo stand on one leg? In a return to traditional story-telling, Tinga Tinga Tales, adapted from African folk stories, explains how children's favourite animals came to be.
These wonderful animal stories are told through music, humour, song and colourful artwork by well-known UK voices, including Lenny Henry, Meera Syal and Miriam Margolyes, among an international cast.
The makers of the much-loved Charlie And Lola travelled to Africa, training and employing more than 50 East Africans and building a studio for this exciting new series. The stories are animated with bright, bold images based on the popular hand painted Tinga Tinga art of Tanzania.
Each episode focuses on the creation of one particular animal including slow-coach tortoises, loveable elephants, grumpy warthogs, grandiose lions, gospel-singing hippos and naughty monkeys. Other stories include: Why Giraffe Has A Long Neck; Why Leopard Has Spots; Why Spider Has A Tiny Waist; Why Lion Roars; Why Frog Croaks; Why Parrot Talks; Why Chameleon Changes Colour and Why Tortoise Has A Broken Shell.
Children can meet their favourite characters from the series, explore the savannah and create their own Tinga Tinga creature at www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/tingatingatales.
SD2
A Tiger Aspect production
