This talking animal series for kids ages 0-8 focuses on Elinor and her friends Ari, a funny and imaginative bat, and Olive, a perceptive and warm elephant who go on big adventures in Animal Town in sunny Natural Forest, Calif., with all kinds of interesting, funny, and quirky characters, each with something to teach us about respecting others, the importance of diversity, caring for the environment, and working together to solve problems. In each episode, Elinor models the foundational practices of science inquiry and engineering design -- including her amazing powers of observation and willingness to ask questions and investigate. When she encounters something she doesn't understand, like why birds have feathers or how tiny ants build massive anthills, she just can't let it go until she figures it out. And in discovering the answers, Elinor often learns something about nature's ingenious inventions and how they can connect to ideas in our designed world, and what it takes to live in ...