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A batch of new puppets, some dynamic young adults, adorable computer-animated critters, a miniature vintage car with personality and a long-running staple of educational TV are plunking TLC and Discovery Kids Network smack dab in the middle of the quality preschool programming territory occupied by Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and PBS.
"Ready Set Learn!," their new weekday block of commercial-free programming for young children, kicks off at 6 a.m. today with a known quantity -- Scholastic's highly regarded animated encyclopedia of discovery, "The Magic School Bus" -- followed by four new series.
Introducing each half-hour show is an eight-minute segment featuring "Ready Set Learn!" host Paz, a little penguin kid based on Irish writer Mary Murphy's children's books. Representing 5-year- olds as they discover their world, Paz is seen as both a cuddly puppet and an animated character.
All the new shows are colorful, watchable and scrupulously created with the principles of child development firmly in mind. Several feature characters who talk directly...