Created by superstar children’s recording artist Laurie Berkner and Little Airplane’s Josh Selig set to debut on Sprout
New Animated Short-Form Preschool Series Features
Laurie Berkner and Her Original Songs; Also Stars Grammy Award®-Nominated Recording Artist Lisa Loeb
NEW YORK, February 26 – Sing It, Laurie!, the new animated musical preschool series co-created by best-selling children’s recording artist Laurie Berkner and Little Airplane Productions’ Josh Selig is coming to 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout. The short-form series will debut exclusively on the network beginning Monday, March 25. Sing It, Laurie! is the first collaboration between Laurie and Little Airplane, the Emmy Award®-winning studio behind Wonder Pets and Small Potatoes.
Starring Laurie’s voice and featuring her original music written for the series, Sing It, Laurie! is about a little girl who uses her music and songs to help her better understand the world. In every episode, Laurie sings a song about a theme such as dressing up, having a party or making artwork. The series also stars Grammy Award®-nominated recording artist Lisa Loeb who performs the roles of twin sisters, Mellie and Nellie. The music for the show was produced at Little Airplane by four-time Emmy Award®-winner Jeffrey Lesser (Wonder Pets) and was designed by Little Airplane’s Art Director, Cassandra Gibbons who also directed many episodes.
The Sing It, Laurie! curriculum focuses on music and was written by Dr. Christine Ricci, who has worked on many preschool television series including Go, Diego, Go and Dora the Explorer.
Partners on the series include Razor & Tie, the largest privately owned independent music label in North America, and Tsumanga Studios, a games developer and publisher based in Scotland.
“Writing for Sing It, Laurie! has been a real exploration for me,” said Laurie Berkner. “I feel so lucky to have been able to work closely with Josh Selig, whose work I have long admired, and all the other wonderfully creative people at Little Airplane Productions. Sprout is just the right place for these songs that are so beautifully expressed by Little Airplane in the colorful and playful animation. I can’t wait for us to share them with everyone!”
“It has been such a pleasure working with my friend Laurie Berkner and all of our amazing partners on Sing It, Laurie!” said Selig. “We all agree that Sprout’s spirit, energy and commitment to helping young children grow and learn make it the ideal home for our new show.”
“We couldn’t be happier to have such an amazing children’s recording artist joining our network,” said Andrew Beecham, senior vice president of programming, Sprout. “Laurie is a preschool powerhouse known for her instantly catchy, relatable children’s songs and innovative style. Coupled with the beautiful animation provided by Little Airplane Productions, Sing It, Laurie! is sure to be a hit with our Sprout viewers.”
In addition to Sing It, Laurie!, Sprout will be introducing a variety of music videos into its afternoon block between the hours of noon and 4:00 p.m. ET, featuring other popular children’s artists such as The Wiggles. Also in conjunction with the debut of musical afternoons on Sprout, a music microsite will be launching on SproutOnline.com where preschoolers and their families can watch full-length videos on a special video player, and play games such as Sing It, Laurie! Musical Adventures and Chica’s Costume Concert. Additional videos featuring some of Laurie’s most popular songs will also be available online.
For additional information on Sprout programs or schedules, or to play games, download free coloring pages or find great activities for kids, visit SproutOnline.com.
About Little Airplane Productions
Founded by Josh Selig in 1999, Little Airplane Productions created and produced “The Wonder Pets!” for Nick Jr. (winner of the 2009 Japan Prize for Best Television Series), “Oobi!” for NOGGIN and “3rd & Bird” and “Small Potatoes” for the BBC’s CBeebies & Disney Junior. Josh wrote and directed the film “Meet The Small Potatoes” that will premiere on Disney Junior in the US in February, 2013. He has received ten Emmy Awards for his writing on “Sesame Street” and one Emmy Award for Music Composition (“Wonder Pets!”) For more information about Little Airplane Productions please visit www.littleairplane.com
About Laurie Berkner
Award-winning children’s recording artist Laurie Berkner is widely recognized as a groundbreaker in the progressive children’s music movement. Laurie was the first recording artist to appear in a music video on Nick Jr., and was regularly featured on the network’s series “Jack’s Big Music Show.” Dubbed “the queen of children’s music” by People Magazine, her best-selling CDs and DVDs appeal to young and old alike. Time Magazine declared “Berkner inhabits a kid’s curious perspective in her lyrics and pens folk-pop melodies that bear repeated – very repeated – listenings.” The Los Angeles Times asserted “Laurie Berkner does what Fred Rogers did: respect, validate and reassure young children.” For more information about Laurie, visit www.laurieberkner.com
About Sprout®
Sprout is the first 24-hour preschool destination available on TV, on demand and online for children ages 2-5 and their parents and caregivers. Available in over 50 million homes, the 24-hour digital channel is the only network that follows the day of a preschooler from breakfast to bedtime with its distinctive, interactive programming and original hosted daypart blocks that parents and kids share together. Viewers are encouraged to submit artwork, birthday wishes, videos and more through SproutOnline.com, which has received over five million viewer interactions to-date. Sprout’s VOD offering is the #1 on demand service for younger children with over one billion views. Sprout is a top-rated kids’ network with consecutive monthly year-over-year double-digit percentage growth for 2012.
The network’s program lineup of gold-standard, curriculum-based preschool series includes originals like The Chica Show, Noodle and Doodle, and Pajanimals (co-produced with The Jim Henson Company), as well as Sesame Street®, Barney & Friends™, The Wiggles®, Caillou®, Thomas & Friends™, LazyTown™, and more. Sprout is a partnership among NBCUniversal, PBS and Apax Funds.
Media Contact
Alan Winnikoff
212-725-5200 x111
alan@sayleswinnikoff.com
