Liberty's Kids

I remember this show as a kid and how much I enjoyed watching. It is both an educational and entertaining show that teaches kids about the American Revolution. There are very few children's shows on television that are about history, much less those that are as good as this one. Sure, there are good shows that teach kids about many other subjects like math and English, however history is greatly overlooked.

The story is about Sarah, a Loyalist girl from England, James, a colonial journalist working for Ben Franklin, Henri, a little French orphan, and Moses, a freed African who works at the print shop. Together they live and experience the American Revolution firsthand.

However there is one thing I wish this show had done, which was show a little more of what it was like to be a loyalist in America during and post war. Sure there were a few loyalists here and there, but it would have been more interesting if they had shown a little more of the struggles that loyalist families had at that time and how families were torn apart do to the war. That aside, it's still a great history show for kids.

Long story short, this is one of my favorite shows from when I was a kid, and there should be a lot more like this on television today. Particularly shows that can get kids interested and excited about history.

This show taught kids that sometimes there are things worth standing up for and some things you let lay. For freedom, we have to stand up and defend it. In the beginning only a few complained about everything and they are the ones that lost out in the end. My children, one is 9 and the other 7 along with my 4 year old loved it. This show is something they could relate to; it helped them understand more of what their father defends everyday, not the crazy laws we have and the silly things that go on in court. It really teaches them and that makes it worthwhile. I am just sorry that PBS has to bow down. They have since lost lots of viewers over this and with the current programs, I can understand why. We no longer watch PBS.

Liberty's Kids is PBS Kids series that takes place in the Colonal era. James Hiller (voiced by Chris Lundquist), a ophan who meets Englishlady Sarah Philips (voiced by Reo Jones) during The Boston Tea Party. Other characters such as Moses (voiced by D. Kevin Williams) who also rescued Frenchboy Henri (voiced by Kathleen Barr) from the ship. James and Sarah become reporters of The Pennslyvania Gazette whiched owned by Dr. Benjamin Franklin (voiced by TV news legend Walter Cronkite).

They also meet important colonial figures like George Washington through John Adams (voiced by Billy Crystal). The show has other celebrity voices like Woopi Goldberg through Dustin Hoffman.

This is the best show on PBS since "Square One TV/Mathnet" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

I give it 10 out of 10.

I am a 35 year old parent with 4 year old and 2 year old boys. We watched Liberty's Kids every day. We especially loved the repeats because that is how the boys were able to grasp everything and remember it. What happened to it? Where did it go? We miss it very much. It was our favorite show. As a parent I feel that there is very little on television for children to watch and learn in a fun way. Liberty's Kids was interesting, educational, exciting, fun and held my boys attention for the entire 30 minutes. I wish there was a Civil War version of Liberty's Kids. Yes, we are a History loving family, but even if we weren't, we would still love Liberty's Kids. I want it back on television. Please. What do I have to do to get it back on PBS Pittsburgh?

This series beats the heck out of my lecturing to my students. I teach U.S. History to 1877, and we are coming now to the American Revolution. I have shown the Boston Tea Party and the shot heard 'round the world videos to them, and they actually pay attention, rather than talk or fidget or sleep as they are sometimes prone to do when I'm talking. I can't use all the videos, but there are some which may find their way into my class, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It's a painless, entertaining way to present the revolutionary era, and I would recommend these (they're on YouTube) to other teachers when they cover the same era.