The Storybots never get the answer right the first time. They always make mistakes and learn something unexpected from these wrong turns. Despite disappointment they keep asking everyone they meet until they get the answer they've been searching for. This shows perseverance and models the positive aspects of making mistakes. Additional themes are curiosity and teamwork.
Positive Role Models
a lot
These characters are very positive role models -- they persevere, have fun, work together, and love meeting new friends. Despite lots of errors in their thinking, nothing stops them -- even their grumpy boss doesn't get these bots down!
Educational Value
a lot
Once the Storybots discover the answer to the question, they report the answer back to their boss and then tell the real child the answer. In this way, they are explaining the answer three times in one episode. While this may seem redundant, it is not -- the visuals are different, and often one of the explanations is in song form, thus making it hard to forget the answer to the question. While some answers seem technical, this show does a great job of breaking the difficult explanations (i.e., there are tiny particles of oxygen and nitrogen in the air) into something tangible and easily understood. Other segments teach children about other things, such as the letter "N," the difference between "knight" and "night," the color red, and so on.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Ask the Storybots is an educational series that's fun and charming enough that parents will want to watch along with kids. While the show follows the story of how the Storybots discover the answer to a "big question," the magazine format of the show allows for things such as music videos, letter rhyming, songs, and field trips to different places. Each episode also features a special guest star that families may be familiar with (i.e., Jay Leno, Kevin Smith, Whoopi Goldberg).
Noisy, angry, sometimes scary and even violent (despite the ratings). I find the energy of this to be quite negative and the pursuit of true information is often obfuscated in order to spin out the episode so that real learning is frustrated. And meanwhile the story isn’t so great either. Wish my child didn’t like it so much! Netflix kids content is pretty poor. Not to mention the hazing reference mentioned in another review.
A lot of loud noises, fast talking/singing, and overstimulating. I don't know how this show got such positive reviews. If you want your child to need constant stimulation, regardless of the content, and you want them to be anxious, this is definitely the show for you.
What's the Story?
In ASK THE STORYBOTS, five interesting creatures who live inside a computer are tasked with the job of answering a real kid's big question, such as "What makes night happen?" or "Why is the sky blue?" Together, they explore all areas of the world and ask many creatures along the way for help, before discovering the answer. Once the answer's in, the Storybots report back to their boss, then share their newfound information with the curious kid. Each scene in the show is visually distinct, with characters appearing in 2D and 3D animation, in Claymation, as puppets, and in live action.
The animated show is both educational and entertaining in every scene yet is visually appealing as well as humorous enough to make both children and parents laugh out loud. While the premise of Ask the Storybots is to answer a child's question, the antics that the characters get themselves into are very funny, and each episode always has an educational twist without being obvious. For instance, when trying to find out how airplanes fly, viewers will learn how green screens are used to make it look like superheroes fly, that penguins can't fly, and how the bald eagle represents America, but these facts are cleverly communicated through great comedic writing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the answer to the big question, but parents also can point out the not-so-obvious things that were suggested in Ask the Storybots, such as how hummingbirds sound like they hum and how the sun never really goes away the way it seems to.
Kids: What would you like to ask the Storybots? How do you find answers to your big questions? What else did you learn in the episode that you never knew before?
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