Have you ever had the feeling that you've reached the end of your streaming service? That even in this modern age you've streamed all there is to stream and now you, and your marathon-viewer kiddos, are out of options? Never fear! We've gathered the best kids shows on Amazon Prime to watch as a family (or, if you're feeling especially harried, stick your kid in front of for a little while so you can get some work done because God knows it's the only way sometimes).
With shows that appeal to children of all ages, we've included a mix of pure entertainment and educational programming. In addition to some of your favorites from PBSKids and Nickelodeon, you'll also find some Amazon Original series only available through the service.
As I put together this list, my kids hovered over my shoulder and offered commentary. "Oh! That's a funny show! you should tell people to watch that one!" or "That's a great show to teach kids math!" or "When I was a little kid I was scared of that show–you should tell parents to make sure they watch with their kids so they're not scared" (we've included all ratings for that very reason). So rest assured that everything on here has been thoroughly parent and kid approved.
Odd Squad
When strange things happen — zeroes disappearing all around the city, characters escaping their books, people splitting (safely) in half – the Odd Squad is on the case. This team of kid sleuths and scientists (whose names all start with the letter O) can solve the mystery... with math!
Rated TV-Y
Spongebob Squarepants
I guess the best way to describe this cartoon is to say its main character lives in a pineapple under the sea – SpongeBob SquarePants. Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!
Rated TV-Y
The Stinky & Dirty Show
Your car-and-truck-obsessed kiddo will love best friends Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty the backhoe loader. They may be a bit gritty, but these two heroes can solve all kinds of tough problems and make their way through zany adventures together.
Rated TV-Y
Bubble Guppies
In an underwater pre-school, mermaid-like kids learn about all kinds of things — math, science, literacy, exercise, and friendships — through music and fun.
Your kids will love the interactive portions of the show, where their favorite characters break the fourth wall and ask them to play along!
Rated TV-Y
Baby Einstein
Geared specifically toward the very youngest viewers, Baby Einstein combines bright colors, shapes, and simple hand-puppets with classical music to expose burgeoning geniuses to the building blocks of larger concepts early on.
Rated TV-Y
Creative Galaxy
With so many shows focused on STEM and literacy education, it's nice to have a show like Creative Galaxy which is all about the arts! Little alien Arty and his sidekick, Epiphany, travel through the galaxy spreading joy and solving problems with art!
Rated TV-Y
Peg + Cat
The musical, mathematical Peg and her amaaaaaazing cat (named Cat) team up to solve problems and go on educational adventures in this sweet little series produced by the Fred Rogers Company. Come for the cute characters, stay for the ukulele riffs.
Rated TV-Y
Dora the Explorer
Dora and her little monkey Boots wander through their idyllic world exploring, discovering, and solving problems. Watch our for the tricky Swiper, and laugh every single time your kid gets really enthusiastic as they scream "SWIPER NO SWIPING!" (Laugh ruefully as Swiper's trademark response of "Aw man...!" becomes a part of your daily vocabulary.)
Rated TV-Y
Wild Kratts
Chris and Martin Kratt and their crack team of scientists travel the world learning about animals and their habitats. With the help of their creature power suits, which gives the brothers special abilities, they help keep their animal friends living free and in the wild.
Rated TV-Y
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
Daniel Tiger and the friends and family live in a wonderful neighborhood of make-believe, where they learn and play together. An emphasis on emotional literacy and development helps preschoolers learn to use their words and manage their feelings in a healthy way.
Rated TV-Y
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
A reboot of the '50s and '60s classic, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle takes place in the supremely silly (and surprisingly musical) Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, where "moose and squvirrel" must foil the dastardly (but generally inept) schemes of as secret agents Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.
Rated TV-Y
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
Based on the beloved series of books by Laura Numeroff, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie is about mouse and his human, Oliver, and their friends Moose, Cat, Dog, Pig, and others. When one thing leads to another, you never know what will happen next!
Rated TV-Y
Clifford's Puppy Days
Before Clifford was the big red dog we all know and love, he was the smallest puppy Emily Elizabeth had ever seen. But just because your little doesn't mean you can't have a lot of fun!
Rated TV-Y
Dinosaur Train
From The Jim Henson Company, Dinosaur Train takes dino siblings Shiny, Tiny, Don, and Buddy through time on a magical train to learn all about different kinds of dinosaurs.
Rated TV-Y
Wishenpoof
Bianca has the magical ability to grant wishes, and uses this power to spread joy to everyone around her. Wishenpoof is full of positive messages about persistence, patience, kindness, and friendship.
Rated TV-Y
Bug Diaries
Fly, Worm, and Spider are best buds who like to explore nature. Kids will love to see what really goes on in this tiny world just under their noses!
Rated TV-Y
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Long ago, the Earth, Air, Fire, and Water nations lived in harmony, protected by the Avatar: the one who could control all four of the elements. When he vanished, the world fell into chaos. But now he's back in the form of 12 year of Ang to fulfill his destiny to bring balance back to the realm. This critically acclaimed cult classic is a favorite among all age groups, and is a perfect family show.
Rated TV-Y7
Wallace & Gromit
Eccentric inventor Wallace and his long-suffering but loyal dog Gromit get into all kinds of quirky adventures as they attempt to make great leaps of discovery... and eat as much cheese as possible. A classic for a reason, Wallace & Gromit won a Peabody Award in 1995.
Not rated.
WordGirl
Sometimes you just don't have the words... but not if you're Becky Botsford, a fifth-grader who is secretly the superhero WordGirl, who uses her superior lexicon to thwart ne'er-do-wells! Also she has a sidekick named Captain Huggy Face which is just fantastic.
Rated TV-Y7
Nature Cat
In the great wild suburbs of Chicago, Fred is just an ordinary house cat. But when his owners let him roam in the backyard while they're at work, he transforms into the one and only Nature Cat: the feline with a deep love of the Great Outdoors... but absolutely no knowledge of it. Kids learn about the natural world right along with Fred.
Rated TV-Y
Peep and the Big Wide World
Peep, Chirp, and Quack are a hilarious trio of buddies whose little world holds all kinds of big adventures. The scientific ideas and lessons featured in each episode are followed up with simple, at-home experiments conducted by real children following the cartoon.
Rated TV-Y
Zoboomafoo
At Animal Junction, the Kratt Brothers and Zoboomafoo (sometimes a talking lemur puppet and sometimes an actual lemur) teach kids about an array of animals and their environments through songs, jokes, and special animal guests.
Rated TV-Y
Pingu
Pingu is an adorable (sometimes salty) little penguin who lives in Antarctica with his mom, dad, and sister Pinga. Originally created for Swiss television, the characters speak in a gibberish language, but through great stop-motion animation, their feelings (and their homey adventures) are always crystal clear.
Rated TV-G
Lost in Oz
In this modern retelling of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and Toto team of up with West (as in the Witch of) and a Munchkin named Ojo to save the Emerald City and find their way back to Kansas.
Rated TV-Y7
Sid the Science Kid
Sid is an aspiring stand-up comedian whose observational humor is a great jumping off point for learning all about science in his Montessori-style school.
Rated TV-Y
Peppa Pig
Have fun as your child speaks in a vaguely British accent for the next year or so (it happens, people) watching Peppa and her friends.
Rated TV-Y
Tumble Leaf
This Amazon original series follows Fig the blue fox through the whimsical world of Tumble Leaf, where there's always something to do, see, and learn.
Rated TV-Y
Happy viewing, everybody!
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