Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Log in Start free

Grampy's Guppies

In this episode

This episode is one video with 2 short stories. Each story gets its own review and score.

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 2

Balanced

Exact score locked

Watch on

PBS Kids

Save

Grampy's Guppies

See the exact scores

The review is yours to read. Create a free account to reveal the exact SlowScreen score and every pillar score.

Create free account

This program is stimulating. It actively demands attention and can feel intense. For the recommended age, this may be on the more intense side. The pacing is fast. Images follow each other quickly, leaving little time to pause and take in what is happening. The sound is clearly present and regularly draws attention. The visuals are well-balanced, with a clear overall view.

One clear storyline runs from start to finish: a game day at Grampy's where the cousins play a fishing game called Grampy's Guppies. Events build in a recognizable order, from learning the rules to the moment Cousin finally lands a guppy, so a child can follow what is happening and why. New information arrives in small, repeated pieces, like the guppy call and the fishing rhyme, which keeps it easy to absorb. Actions lead to predictable results, casting the pole leads to catching a guppy, so cause and effect stay clear throughout.

This episode is emotionally warm and safe. Characters constantly support one another, with Grampy guiding through gentle questions and the cousins cheering each other on ('You can do it, Donkey!'). Donkey's frustration about waiting for a turn is the strongest feeling on screen, and it stays mild and is met with understanding rather than drama. Every wobble is followed by reassurance and a calm resolution, and feelings shift gradually rather than flipping from one extreme to another.

Problem-solving is visible and child-sized. Cousin works through a real method, choosing a guppy, pulling back the pole and letting it fly, trying again after each miss until it works. Donkey faces a personal problem, impatience, and thinks it through with Grampy's questions until landing on a plan to cheer Cousin on instead of fuming. The characters drive these solutions themselves, and the reasoning, that something is hard because it is new, is spelled out in a way a young child can grasp.

The language is mostly clear and concrete, built around short sentences and plenty of helpful repetition like the fishing rhyme and the guppy call. Much of the talk does real work, explaining rules, giving encouragement, or naming feelings such as frustration and improvement. The small caveat is the stream of invented words, like 'yee-hawesome' and 'donkeroo,' which add character but can blur meaning for the youngest listeners, and the talk comes fairly thick and fast. On the whole the words are used consistently and correctly.

The episode lives in a make-believe world of talking donkeys and a fishing game where you might reel in a radio or a window, so the activities themselves do not map directly onto a child's daily life. What does carry over is the social heart of the story: taking turns, waiting your turn and encouraging someone who is struggling are situations any young child meets at home or at playgroup. The lesson that learning new things is hard, and that patience and cheering help, is genuinely usable offline. Still, the fantasy framing limits how much of what is shown a child can copy directly.

More information

This episode centres on a small family of animal puppets, with a grandfather hosting a game day for his two grandkids, Donkey Hodie and her cousin Hody. Visible diversity is mostly about age, with an older caregiver alongside the younger ones, but there is little variation in background, body type, or living situation, and everyone is the same familiar kind of character in one cosy home. Where it does better is in how the characters behave: feelings like frustration, patience, and encouragement move freely between them, and the cousin who keeps failing at fishing is cheered on rather than judged. Roles and emotions are not locked to character type, even if the overall range of figures on screen stays narrow.

Donkey Hodie and her family gather for a game day and play a made-up fishing game called Grampy's Guppies, where the everyday challenge is taking turns and learning something new. The world is built from talking puppet characters in a bright, imagined setting, but the situations and feelings, frustration at waiting, patience, and cheering a friend on, are ones any toddler recognizes. No villain appears anywhere; the only tension comes from the situation itself, and it resolves through encouragement. The light imagination paired with grounded social and emotional lessons fits a child of this age comfortably.

There is enough here to keep a watching adult comfortable in the room. The story carries a clear lesson about patience and learning something new at your own pace, the craft is strong, and the puppets and sets feel made with care. The humor mostly aims at the child, with only the occasional pun landing for a grown-up, and a couple of chants and calls do repeat. On the whole it is pleasant company rather than something an adult would seek out alone.

Themes

Taking turns

The guppy game is built on taking turns, and the central tension is Donkey waiting and waiting for his turn.

Patience

Donkey learns to wait while Cousin takes a long time to catch his first guppy.

Perseverance

Cousin keeps casting the pole through many misses until he finally catches a guppy.

Trying new things

Cousin is playing the fishing game for the first time, and Donkey recalls how new clap-flap-tap once felt.

Emotional regulation

Recurring

Donkey notices feeling frustrated and decides to cheer Cousin on instead.

Family

Grampy hosts game day for his grandkids Donkey and Cousin.

Play

Recurring

The episode revolves around games like clap-flap-tap and Grampy's Guppies.

Activities

Playing games

The episode centers on Grampy's game day, including clap-flap-tap and Grampy's Guppies.

Fishing

Players cast fishing poles to catch guppies, complete with a casting rhyme.

Singing

A song about taking your time is performed to reassure Cousin.

Emotions

Frustration

Donkey calls waiting for his turn 'so frustrating.'

Determination

Cousin keeps trying to catch a guppy after every miss.

Joy

Characters celebrate with 'yee-haw' and the guppy call when a guppy is caught.

Excitement

The cousins chant excitedly 'Game day at Grampy's!' on the way over.

Pride

Donkey proudly does the guppy call after catching one on his first turn.

Empathy

Donkey realizes Cousin needs time to learn, just as he once did with clap-flap-tap.

Behaviour

Taking turns

Players take turns casting the fishing pole, and you only get another turn after catching a guppy.

Encouraging

The group repeatedly cheers Cousin with 'You can do it!' and 'We believe in you.'

Trial and error

Cousin misses again and again, catching a radio and windows, before landing a guppy.

Self regulation

Donkey calms his frustration after talking it through with Grampy.

Expressing feelings

Donkey says out loud 'it's so frustrating' and Grampy listens and helps.

Following instructions

Cousin uses the rhyme 'choose a guppy with your eye, pull back the pole, then let it fly.'

Helping

Grampy and Donkey share fishing tips so Cousin can learn the technique.

Singing

A 'Take Your Time' song is performed midway through the episode.

Social lessons

Taking turns

The game and the whole conflict revolve around fairly taking turns.

Emotional support

Cousin is cheered on warmly every time he tries.

Patience

Donkey learns to wait calmly for his turn instead of rushing the game.

Intergenerational bonding

Grampy shares his game and gentle wisdom with his grandkids.

Learning from mistakes

Cousin improves through repeated tries and Donkey learns from his own impatience.

Supporting a friend

Donkey chooses to cheer Cousin on rather than getting frustrated with him.

Donkey Hodie and Cousin Hodie head to Grampy's house for game day and play 'Grampy's Guppies,' a fishing game where you take turns catching guppies. Cousin is new and keeps missing, reeling in a radio and windows instead, while Donkey grows frustrated waiting for his turn. Grampy helps Donkey see that learning something new takes time, and Donkey starts cheering Cousin on instead. Cousin finally catches a guppy, and the cousins keep happily playing together.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

The Yodel Birds Are Coming

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her friends Bob Dog, Duck Duck and Purple Panda wait for the yodel birds to fly past their hills. They discover the birds never sing here because they are too tired from the long journey, so the friends decide to build a rest nest where the birds can stop. The two building teams keep rushing and their tower falls down, until they learn to slow down and sort the blocks by size. The nest is finished, the yodel birds rest, and they finally yodel before continuing their trip.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

A Lot of Hot!

recommended age co-watching from 2

On a sweltering day in the puppet town of Someplace Else, Donkey Hodie decides to cool everyone down by opening a lemonade stand with her friend Duck Duck. Duck Duck wants to follow a careful step-by-step plan, but Donkey rushes ahead her own way, grabs an enormous lemon, and ends up with no lemonade and a wrecked stand. Duck Duck is hurt that Donkey did not listen, so Donkey finds her, apologizes, and admits the plan would have worked. Together they follow the plan, make the lemonade, and cool down the whole town.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

The Royal Sandcastle Builders

recommended age co-watching from 2

At a sunny beach, King Friday sets out to build a royal sandcastle but keeps getting frustrated when it does not work. Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda join him as the Royal Sandcastle Builders and discover that each of them calms down a different way, by running in small circles, by playing the bongos, or by doing a slow stretch. Once they have managed their frustration, they work out that adding water makes the sand hold together. They finish a castle that looks just like King Friday's real one.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Bobski Bounce

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie is set on completing the Bobski Bounce challenge: bouncing on a ball ten times in a row to earn a place on the 'big board.' With her friend Bob Dog cheering her on, she tries again and again and falls every time. Bob Dog shares how he learned to balance a bone on his nose by keeping his head still and focusing on a tree, and Donkey realizes her own head has been moving. She focuses on a fixed point, bounces ten times in a row, and the friends celebrate with a song about learning from mistakes.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Cheesy Con

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda plan an exciting day at CheesyCon, a cheese celebration, but Donkey sprains her hoof and a doctor advises her to rest at home. Determined to be a helpful friend, Panda stays with her and brings the event to her instead, with a cheese sing-along, a puppet play, and a pretend visit from Captain Cheese. Along the way he tries and abandons ideas that do not work, like carrying her, before landing on one that does. The episode ends with Donkey calling Panda the most helpful hero as the two sing a cheese song together.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Stanley's One-Dragon Show

recommended age co-watching from 2

Stanley the dragon prepares a one-dragon show in the park and insists on performing every act by himself. When the orchestra, the magic trick, and a dramatic chicken scene each go wrong, his friend Donkey Hodie and others, Harriet and DuckDuck, coach him through them step by step. Stanley discovers that some problems need help and finishes the full show to a puppet audience's applause. He thanks each friend by name before the closing credits.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Acornball

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda are eager to play Game Show Gator's new game, but the Penguin Referee keeps telling them it is not ready yet. To make the wait fun, Donkey Hodie invents a game called Acorn Ball, tossing acorns into a bucket, and the friends keep adding new rules like an excited dance, a Stinky Cheese Rock sniff, and a yodel. By the time the new game is finally ready, everyone is enjoying Acorn Ball so much that Game Show Gator joins in too.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Super Duper Magic Fun Box

recommended age co-watching from 2

Best friends Donkey Hodie and Panda receive a Super Duper Magic Fun Box from Uncle Panda that produces a bouncing ball, a music baton, and a coconut robot at the push of a button. They discover they don't enjoy the same things, with Donkey loving the baton while Panda finds it too loud, and Panda loving the robot that frightens Donkey. Believing this means they can no longer be best friends, they are saddened until Grampy helps them, through a song, see that friends can disagree if they talk and listen. They reconcile, agree that liking each other matters most, and end by sharing Squishy Lemon Hugs.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

The Potato Stand

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Purple Panda set up a potato stand in the puppet world of Someplace Else to share Donkey's home-grown potatoes with the neighbours. They try a potato call, a song and a disco dance, but every neighbour already has potatoes and complains about the long job of washing, drying and sorting them. The friends change their plan and use Grampy's potato washer-dryer-sorter-dumper machine to do that chore for everyone instead. The neighbours are grateful, and Donkey ends the day feeling potato proud, just like Grampy.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Clyde's Surprise Playdate

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie learns that his friend Clyde the Cloud has never had a playdate, so he floats up into the sky to give him one. The two discover they are very different, a cloud who drifts and rains and a donkey who runs and plays, and their first tries at catch and spinning do not work. A song about differences and a flashback to Donkey's first playdate with Purple Panda help them see that being unalike can lead to new games. They end up inventing floating tag, bird-call games and Ring Around the Rainbow, and plan another playdate for the next day.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Yodel Bird Sitting

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie is babysitting a baby yodel bird in the puppet world of Someplace Else. When it is time for the baby's nap, he refuses to settle, so Donkey Hodie and her friends Purple Panda and Duck Duck each try the tricks that helped them sleep as little ones: quiet peekaboo, a slow nap dance and a nap book. Nothing works until they decide to think about what the baby himself needs, soothing him with rocking, a gentle breeze and a yodel lullaby. The baby finally falls asleep, and the tired friends admit they feel like napping too.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Superhero Squabble

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her best friend Panda play superheroes and invent a mission to protect a mailbox from a made-up 'mailbox snacker'. They disagree about whose pretend power is better, and the argument grows until they declare maybe they should not be friends anymore. Each one takes a deep breath to calm down, sings about whether their friendship is over, and works up the courage to apologize. They make up, agree that friends can argue and still be best friends, and team up to finish their superhero game.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Cousin Hodie's Rainy Day

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and her visiting cousin plan a day of outdoor games, but rain cancels everything and the cousin feels let down. Donkey Hodie introduces a 'rainstorm brainstorm' and together they find rainy-day fun: splashing in puddles, smelling flowers, sharing a snack with Purple Panda, and reading a story with Grampy about a magical rainbow tree. When the rain keeps them from seeing the real rainbow, the friends make their own friend rainbow out of friends in every color. The rain finally stops, the rainbow tree bursts into color, and the cousins celebrate their day together.

Donkey Hodie

Donkey Hodie

Grampy's Guppies

recommended age co-watching from 2

Donkey Hodie and Cousin Hodie head to Grampy's house for game day and play 'Grampy's Guppies,' a fishing game where you take turns catching guppies. Cousin is new and keeps missing, reeling in a radio and windows instead, while Donkey grows frustrated waiting for his turn. Grampy helps Donkey see that learning something new takes time, and Donkey starts cheering Cousin on instead. Cousin finally catches a guppy, and the cousins keep happily playing together.

Related media

Other series that fit this age group

Bing

Bing

recommended age co-watching from 2

Bing is a young rabbit exploring everyday moments with his caregiver Flop, at home, the park and outdoors. The tone is calm and reassuring, aimed at toddlers, with gentle emotional and social lessons.

Carl the Collector

Carl the Collector

recommended age co-watching from 4

Carl the Collector follows a young raccoon who loves collecting and sorting, exploring everyday life with his animal friends in Fuzzy Town. Warm and calm, it offers young children gentle social and emotional learning.

Ready Eddie GO!

Ready Eddie GO!

recommended age co-watching from 2

Ready Eddie GO! follows a young boy guided step by step through new everyday experiences like swimming, camping and starting school. The tone is calm and reassuring for preschoolers learning to handle new situations and feelings.

Barney's World

Barney's World

recommended age co-watching from 2

Barney's World follows a purple dinosaur and young friends turning an everyday city park into imaginative pretend adventures. The tone is warm and gentle for toddlers, with a focus on feelings and getting along.

Explore more

From this series Donkey Hodie

By age 2 years

By platform PBS Kids

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Create your account

We use functional cookies and Google Analytics to improve our site. Learn more