What is it:
Shawn the Train is a series of videos for young children about a childlike train who learns about colors, letters, shapes, etc.
Who is it for:
The subject matter means the videos are for kids still learning colors, letters, shapes, etc., so roughly 3 to 5 years old.
What Kids Like:
The 3d animation is clean and appealing. The train is voiced by a young child, making it a bit more relatable than, for example, Thomas the Tank Engine.
What Parents Like:
The tone is very gentle and the pacing is very slow – a nice alternative to the frenetic kids shows on Netflix, Amazon, etc.
What the Critics Think:
This series seems to be mostly under the radar, despite having been around since 2011. I haven’t found any reviews of it.
Concerns/Flaws:
Some of the videos are aimed at very young children, children who may be too young to be watching videos at all. Of course, that’s at the discretion of the parent. The ads on Youtube can get annoying. A few of the videos have some poor voice acting (but I don’t think kids care so much about that).
Who Made it/History:
Shawn the Train is made by Coilbook, which has expanded a lot in the past decade. I’ve not been able to find any info about them
Where Can I Get it:
All the Shawn the Train and related videos are on Youtube
Ad-free versions of some of the videos are at Battery Pop