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.

Being British I'm terribly offended by this show, it shows us in a bad light and is full of historical inaccuracies. It should be taken off the air and I'm considering filing a class action law suit against PBS and it's sponsors for all of the racism and nervous shock it causes me! No only kidding! I saw this show recently and not only is it an excellent children's TV show but they could do allot worse by allowing high school students to see this -- it should be on the curriculum. I think that a cartoon might hold the attention span of the students longer than a documentary or a history lecture.

Having said all that PBS is taking some risks here with this show. It actually shows the Americans in a good light which what I know about PBS is unusual. I'm sure this as far as they would go, because they would never dare show a cartoon series of the Mexican-American war, Custers last stand, the Alamo, the gold rush or even W.W.II in such a noble way without creating outrage from disgruntled Spanish-speaking Americans, native Americans as well Asian Americans(not to mention law suits).

It seems that we Brits are still fair game in the eyes of PBS. If PBS want's to continue receiving vast amount of cash from it's sponsors and pledge money from willing viewers keep an eye out for "civil war kids" and "slavery kids" some time in the future

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.

Really great program. Withstanding the goofs listed, this film is a very helpful tool in my 8th grade U.S. History class. Due to governmental guidelines, I am teaching children that are not on "grade level", but are expected to pass state exams on material covering this time in history. I would hope that viewers would look at the basic historic events, so wonderfully presented for all age levels, as a learning tool and not look for ulterior motives. What a novel idea that learning historical facts can be entertaining and easy. Too many people are so full of their own intelligence, they don't think of the ones that struggle with academia, and are quick to claim "political incorrectness". If they think that the British are portrayed as our "enemies" in this series, guess what, they were. Key word being "were". The negative comment that I read about this film made me realize why so many of our programs are canceled. I applaud PBS for airing this program and have witnessed the effects that it has on children. I haven't had any students coming in ready to obliterate all British citizens, but I have had many come in with prior knowledge of the Coercive Acts, Boston Tea Party, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and much more information from this time period in our history.