Bea’s Block is a new animated pre-school comedy series from the makers of Sesame Street that models kindness through friendship and empathy. The characters are designed as animated wooden blocks who zip, stack, and hop, guaranteeing smiles throughout each episode.

Our lead character, Bea Mantilla, is a compassionate and curious five-year-old Mexican American girl who is figuring out what it takes to be a good friend. She can often be found in her backyard treehouse, along with her two best friends, Ty and Lexi, brainstorming ways to help others. This leads them on wacky “kindness adventures” around the diverse and inclusive neighborhood of Blocktown.

Whether it’s creating a “Blocketball” skills camp to help a friend learn how to play, searching for a lost chameleon to return to its owner, or hosting a surprise table tennis tournament, Bea and her friends transmit an irresistible energy that catapults our audience into stories that are fun and surprising. Join the Blocktown characters as they explore emotions such as sadness, disappointment, and excitement, all while learning ways to be kind and how to be good friends.

Music is important to Bea’s Block as each episode has multiple diverse musical moments that propel the story forward and drive home key beats. Whether it’s the Kindness Adventure ditty that Bea and her friends sing before they help others, the episode-specific songs that highlight different ways people can be kind, or the super infectious Bea’s Block theme song, kids will smile and dance while they learn and grow.

Promoting Kindness

Kindness is a learned behavior that develops when children see what it means to be kind and when kindness is modeled around them. It’s thinking about how others feel and engaging in helpful, caring behaviors, such as asking, “are you okay?” And it’s also about being reflective and showing gratitude to those who are kind to you. Bea’s Block depicts friends being kind to each other through everyday moments, observations, and the type of positive interactions that can help children develop important lifelong character skills, such as empathy, compassion, and respect.

Friendship

Friend relationships are a great way to promote kindness. Friendship skills, such as taking turns, trading, sharing, and playing fairly are important parts of being kind. Navigating friendships gives children opportunities to communicate, compromise, and create independence. Bea and her friends model making friends and maintaining friendships. Though the characters in this series come from different cultural backgrounds and have unique interests and personality traits—differences which could spark conflict—they are able to build caring friendships based on common interests and understanding and respecting one another’s needs. 

Labeling & Identifying Emotions

Through viewing “kindness adventures,” children are encouraged to identify and label their own emotions and recognize the feelings of others. The series gives children the vocabulary to express their own feelings and helps them develop insight into strong emotions such as disappointment, nervousness, and excitement.