'LITTLE EINSTEINS' New show is charming TV for kids

This preschooler program includes masterpiece artwork in the story.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
What parent, given the option, wouldn't want their little one to grow up with the Einstein edge? And obviously (or so it would seem) watching a program with such a suggestive title as "Little Einsteins" might give that young brain an advantageous boost.
While the title of this latest preschooler program on Disney oversells itself (no 30-minute TV program can make any kid an academic wizard), it does nevertheless provide charming television and enjoyable music.
In today's premiere episode, Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: Morning Mood" underscores the plot, which nominally is about recovering a music baton a mother eagle takes from Leo, one of the Little Einstein pals. Leo loves to conduct, and each of his pals has a different performing arts passion -- dance, play instruments and sing. The eagle uses the baton to build her nest, and the four friends, aboard their rocket ship, depart on a mission to retrieve the baton.
A little interactivity
In a stab at interactivity, the children buckle up on the rocket and start patting their laps. "Pat with us," the children command, asking viewers to pat faster and faster to provide the energy needed to launch the rocket.
It's a bit of a Tinkerbell moment, but once in the air, the rocket zooms by Mount St. Helens, giving the Little Einsteins the opportunity to talk about volcanoes, crescendo and diminuendo (as the rumbling gets louder and softer) and the California redwood forests. (It all makes sense when you watch.)
They also tie in Edward Hicks' famous "The Peaceable Kingdom," making this maybe the only preschooler program that includes masterpiece artwork in the storyline.
As fine arts programs get slashed in schools across the nation, it's wonderful to see that preschooler television is embracing lessons in music and art. A careful listener will hear everything from flute to cello to timpani solos during this episode as well as full orchestrations of Grieg's well-known piece and get the opportunity to see classic art. Let's hope "Little Einsteins" serves as a steppingstone for preschoolers' lessons in art and not their first and only stop on their journey.
X"Little Einsteins" (30 minutes) premieres at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on the Disney Channel, and regularly airs at 8 a.m. daily, Disney Channel. 30 minutes.