Siloam Springs, Ark. – September 11, 2026 -- Author Spencer Patterson has released a new children's picture book, "The Good Pliosaur," that uses a prehistoric underwater rescue to teach young readers about compassion and overcoming prejudice.

Illustrated by Sam Calden, the story is set in an ocean world where long-necked plesiosaurs and short-necked pliosaurs have distrusted each other for generations, despite no longer being at war. The narrative follows Brett, a plesiosaur who believes his species is superior to pliosaurs.

Siloam Springs, Ark. – September 11, 2026 -- Author Spencer Patterson has released a new children's picture book, "The Good Pliosaur," that uses a prehistoric underwater rescue to teach young readers about compassion and overcoming prejudice.

Illustrated by Sam Calden, the story is set in an ocean world where long-necked plesiosaurs and short-necked pliosaurs have distrusted each other for generations, despite no longer being at war. The narrative follows Brett, a plesiosaur who believes his species is superior to pliosaurs.

Cologne – September 09, 2026 -- "Die große Maus-Show" celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special edition airing Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 8:15 p.m. on Das Erste.

Host Esther Sedlaczek leads the anniversary broadcast under the theme "Kids Ask, Adults Marvel," featuring a lineup of quiz questions, experiments, and celebrity guests. The show began two decades ago under the title "Frag doch mal die Maus" as a one-off special before becoming a fixture of Saturday night programming on Das Erste.

Munich – September 08, 2026 -- A new 50-minute episode of the German children's program "Checker EXTRA" explores how artificial intelligence is changing everyday life, airing Tuesday, September 15, at 8:05 p.m. on KiKA. The show, titled "Wie KI unser Leben verändert" (How AI Is Changing Our Life), will also stream on kika.de, the KiKA app, and the ARD Mediathek, where it remains available for five years.

Cologne – September 7, 2026 -- Roughly 170,000 children in North Rhine-Westphalia are starting school this year, and German broadcaster WDR is rolling out a package of free educational content through its long-running children's brand "Die Maus" to help them adjust.

Erfurt, Germany -- September 01, 2026 -- Families looking for new children's programming this fall can find a fresh batch of shows from Germany's public children's channel KiKA, starting with a 50th-anniversary re-release of "Die Biene Maja" now streaming on kika.de. The lineup for September 2026 also includes the new preschool series "Karlchen" launching September 2, the desert adventure film "Prinzen der Wüste" arriving September 6, a live AI-education event called "Check die KI" on September 15, and new episodes of "Rabbit Academy - Die Häschenschule" from September 16.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- August 28, 2026 -- Ten of the best young songwriters competing on Germany's "Dein Song" spent last week filming at a new songwriting camp in Frankfurt am Main, part of the ZDF and KiKA competition's 19th season. The camp followed a casting round held in Wiesbaden in late July 2026. Contestants reworked their compositions and performed a semi-final round for the judging panel. The 16-part documentary series and finale are set to air in February 2027 on KiKA, kika.de, the KiKA app, ZDF streaming and the ZDFtivi app.