• June 2, 2003

Scholastic Entertainment's new animated children's series, The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel, will become the core of Scholastic's multimedia initiative that will air on PBS Kids in the fall of 2004. Scholastic Entertainment has developed the series and its overall initiative after winning the largest single grant ever given by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop a children's multimedia project. Funding for the initiative totals $14 million.

The series is based on a concept by Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Entertainment. It's designed to entertain and educate children, to promote cultural diversity and encourage English language acquisition, particularly among Hispanics. The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel will be available on PBS with a second audio track in Spanish via SAP. "Because research shows that the disparities between Latino students and others begin as early as kindergarten and remain through age 17, we believe the goals and the timing of The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel are critical," said Forte. It's a daily strip that will comprise a full 65 half hours of animated programming. The series will be an educational situation comedy for six- to eight-year-olds and will be designed to engage adults as well as children. The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel, a daily strip, will comprise a full 65 half hours of animated programming. The completely original series will be an educational situation comedy for six- to eight-year-olds and will be designed to engage adults as well as children. The series will chronicle the adventures of 10-year-old Latino twins, Maya and Miguel Santos, as they figure out how to leave their stamp on the vibrant world around them. Featuring their family, relatives and diverse neighborhood friends, The Misadventures of Maya and Miguel will reflect back to viewers the cultural mosaic that our country's neighborhoods have become. The comedy revolves around Maya's well-intended meddling in her family's and friend's lives, ultimately leading her to create new quandaries to fix. While every episode will take humorous twists and turns, the underlying message is the importance of doing good for the family and community, and the philosophy that shared happiness is greater than personal gain

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