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Between the Lions
PBS Children's Reading Program Struggles for Funding
 Listen to Bob Edwards' interview with Theo Lion.
 Watch video clips from Between the Lions.
Oct. 9, 2002 -- It's an educational television series that uses puppets, animation and music to teach children how to read at the critical ages of four to seven. PBS's award-winning Between the Lions also is trying to reach another key audience: members of Congress.
Theo Lion, one of the show's stars, appeared Tuesday before the House Education Reform Subcommittee to explain the importance of supporting literacy programs. (He was helped by puppeteer Peter Linz.) Also testifying was Judith Stoia, the show's executive producer.
Stoia tells Morning Edition's Bob Edwards that Between the Lions faces a funding shortfall as corporate sponsors cut back amid a slumping economy.
"We're struggling for our future the way lots of programs are," Stoia tells Edwards. "But really this is a model... for what public television should be doing, which is a very educational, entertaining program that could never appear on any other outlet."
Theo explains that fun and entertainment are key components of Between the Lions' formula. "If the show's not entertaining, who's going to watch it, right?" he says. The show is set in a "typical" library, Theo tells Edwards.
"It's typical except for the fact that it's run by a family of lions," Theo says. The show also features several other characters, including Click, a computer mouse that talks, and the Vowels, a group that only sings vowel sounds. "If they want to sing a consonant sound, they're joined by a lounge singer, Johnny Consonanti. Aside from all that stuff, it's basically a typical library," Theo explains.
Stoia says there's a "very narrow window for kids to become proficient at reading... If a child doesn't crack the code by third grade, it's very unlikely that they will become proficient readers. So there's this tiny window of opportunity and that's our target."
The show's producers worked with reading experts to come up with the right combination of tools to reach that target. Teachers say "you have to teach phonics and you also have to teach vocabulary and a love of reading and different genres. You have to do all sorts of things for a child to learn to read, so that's what our program does," Stoia says.
In Depth
 Exploring Literacy, a Morning Edition series.
Other Resources
• The PBS Between the Lions Web site has games, stories, songs, video clips and information for parents and teachers.
• Read about Theo's testimony on promoting literacy before the House Education Reform Subcommittee.
• See videos about reading with children.
• Review suggested reading lists and advice for parents and caregivers.
• See additional links on literacy.
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