Ada Twist, Scientist

We loved the book about Ada Twist, yet this show is missing so many marks. PROs: Love the producers and the actors, the songs, but the writing is missing major marks. Ada's character is fully developed and precious. The family dynamics in Ada's family are so perfect. Love the family and so glad Ada finally figured out it was her brother's sneakers that smelled so bad -- and solved the problem! I love that they "try, try again" to solve issues in their lives. So important for young kids to see that. Great songs that our kids love to learn and sing.

CONS: Almost every episode Iggy Peck,Architect is busy designing the things that Rosie, the Engineer should be designing. Over and over again. So Rosie's specialty/special skills are rarely, if ever used. That's just plain weird. It happens in almost every episode, Rosie Revere Engineer is also written as a character that is obsessed with magical characters and magical animals rather than the mechanics of how things work which is the classic engineer's thought patterns. Engineers are crazy-smart, so to be continually presented as a character who can't pronounce "big" words even after trying 2 or 3 times. She's pretty smart, so a character flaw like that is better given to a smaller, younger child if it's going to be a repeated pattern. Her solutions to issues also rarely come from an engineering perspective, so I'm continually telling my children that engineers don't think like that. AND that the things Iggy is drawing and creating are more of a job for an engineer than an architect.

Can't speak to the accuracy of the science (it's good enough for me) but I'm going to take the feedback from the scientist who left a review and give the Magic School Bus a try.

This is a great learning show for little kids and I am excited for more episodes!

It makes science fun for kids!

Ada Twist, Scientist is based on the book of the same name by Andrea Beatty. It also features the titular characters of her other books - Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect.

Writing - 2/2. Highly clever and entertaining dialogue and stories. It's not overly saccharine - it's just the perfect amount of sweet and spicy. The show does a good job of conveying science lessons. Asking questions, forming a hypothesis, experimenting, and most importantly - teamwork.

Characters - 2/2. Don't expect lengthy character development arcs, but do expect entertaining, well-written characters that stand out from the crowd. Special mention goes to Ada herself. She's curious, intelligent, and never gives up, like in 12 Angry Birds where she keeps trying to prove her cat's innocence (it makes sense in context, trust me)

Animation - 2/2. Brown Bag Films did a good job of making the illustrations come to life. The way the animation is textured reminds me of Doc McStuffins, but with more realistic hair.

Voice acting - 1/2 the only reason this get a point deducted is Iggy's voice actor. No offense to the actor, but I don't feel like Iggy's voice really fits him. Nonetheless, the child cast are talented.

Music - 2/2 very catchy theme song that's been stuck in my head since I watched the first episode

Overall, 9/10.

Show does not understand science as it relates to some important topics. Not great if you're wanting your kids to learn something valuable. The original Magic School Bus is a better source for kids learning. As it relates to some important topics, however, this show is completely misses the mark. It is frustrating to have a show for your kids that you're hoping they can watch without having to correct critical aspects of the show on a regular basis. It also applies science to areas that are not related to science, like trying to answer philosophical questions and other things that are far outside the applicable purview of the scientific method.

I love that I can enjoy this with my 20-month-old daughter. It was great lessons regarding understanding people who are different (autism), not giving up when things get hard, and following the scientific method to solve problems they come across in every day life. It encourages critical thinking skills rather than jumping to conclusions.

The crafty music and the vibrant colors keep my toddler's attention. I also love that all the characters do not look or act the same. It encourages curiosity, innovation, and determination. Honestly, I hope my baby doesn't get tired of this show because it is one of my favorites.