Reading Superheroes To The Rescue

Splayed on top of cushy bean-bag chairs positioned in a circle on the floor, several Queens youngsters at the Kew Forest School recently got of a glimpse at what creators hope will be the next “Blue’s Clues.”
The show, “Super WHY!” is “a preschool literacy-based-in-adventure show,” said its creator Angela Santomero, who was also the head writer of mega-hit TV show “Blue’s Clues.”
Its premise is to combine fairy-tale stories with reading instruction. Four main fairy tale characters - Alpha Pig (the littlest pig from The Three Little Pigs), Wonder Red (Little Red Riding Hood), Princess Presto (from The Princess and the Pea), and Whyatt Beanstalk (the younger brother of Jack and the Beanstalk) - transform into the “Super Readers” and literally jump into storybooks to solve problems.
As part of weekly audience previews, more than 30 students at the Queens school sat down with test-readers and researchers for a two-hour session on Wednesday, August 15.
Alice Wilder, who is the head researcher for the new show, helped to create “Blue’s Clues,” and met Santomero at Columbia University’s Teachers College, said that they spotted the Queens school’s website and asked to screen the show.
“When they [the show’s producers] called, I was very excited,” said Bill Mena, the Director of the school’s “Summer at Kew Forest” camp. “It was a no brainer for me to have them come over and meet our kids.”
During the preview, Wilder read one of the show’s episodes, “The Prince and the Pauper,” then peppered kids with questions to test how well they could remember different parts.
“I try to use every ounce of kid in me to sense how the kids think,” she joked about her different narration voices and enthusiastic reading approach.
She later explained that the researchers test for overall comprehension, appeal, attention, and interactivity. “We need to know whether they can match the message with the problem.”
And the kids couldn’t get enough of the animated characters, inching closer and closer to Wilder to get a better view of the “Super WHY!” which is scheduled for its premiere at 9 a.m. Labor Day on the PBS KIDS network.
“My favorite part was seeing the princess do her magic,” preschooler Koreena Dean told Wilder during the question-and-answer session.
Meanwhile Santemora, who was on hand for the preview, watched and scribbled notes as kids listened to the storybook and interacted with their storytellers.
“It’s very gratifying, seeing the kids learn and yelling out letters,” Santemora said, explaining that she developed “Super WHY!” as her Teachers College master’s thesis, but “Blue’s Clues” was picked up first by Nickelodeon.
Based on the kids’ recommendations, different aspects of the show are continuously revised, but only so much can be changed after several episodes are created. Testing will continue even after the show is on the air to make sure that new episodes continue to teach kids reading principles. So far the network as signed up to air 65 episodes, and as of Wednesday, August 15, 45 were done.
If all goes well, “Super WHY!” creators hope that the show will have success similar to “Blue’s Clues,” which aired from 1996 until 2006.