Explore, Rescue, Protect!

Anyone with kids under ten will be familiar with this phrase: it’s the ‘strapline’ (yes, I said strapline) from “Octonauts”, a CBeebies programme about a team of underwater adventurers whose mission is to, er, well, Explore, Rescue and Protect!

I’ve been watching kids’ programmes for enough years now to be thoroughly sick of many of them, and I openly object to others, but I have a certain affection for the Octonauts. In fact, I happily tolerated three episodes when I took my four year old son and his friend to the Arts Picturehouse, where “Octonauts” was being screened as part of the Cambridge Family Film Festival. The boys were thrilled to see their underwater heroes on the big screen.

The boys (and myself!) have seen each of those three episodes more times than I care to remember, but we have not fallen out of love with the Octonauts yet. Indeed, “Octonauts” still gets my vote for the following reasons:

• There is humour for both young and old
• Teamwork and social responsibility are valued, WITHOUT being moralistic
• UK regional accents are featured alongside international accents
• There’s not a hint of sugary sweetness
• My kids now have a fantastic knowledge of marine ecology.

The series is based on original books published by Meomi which I thoroughly endorse; the term ‘richly imaginative’ really does apply here, with great storylines and characters, and detailed illustrations which contribute greatly to enjoyment of the book, for both children and adults.

No doubt my children will one day ‘grow out’ of “Octonauts”, but for me that will be a sad day.