Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Puzzles and Picnics

Adorable red-haired youngster Maggie, her fastidious oinker buddy Hamilton, and her unconventional and lovable pet Ferocious Beast enjoy fun, down-to-earth adventures in Nowhere Land in this six-episode animated program from the popular series based on the children's books by mother and son team Betty and Michael “Mickey” Paraskevas. In “Picnic Time,” the trio is put off when a troupe of ants repeatedly tries to take over their delicious lunch (meticulously prepared by Hamilton), but they ultimately come up with a gracious plan to satiate the pests. Maggie and Beast must rescue Hamilton when he is trapped inside his main ingredient for a pumpkin “brûlée-soufflé-flambé” in “Recipe for Trouble,” while “A Visit to Cake Town” proves to be yummy, but hard on the tummy, when the group--including Swiss-cheese-hole-dwelling mouse friend Rudy--gets sick from sampling all the desserts. Also including “The Big Carrot” and “The Big Hat,” the standout episode here is “The Lemonade Stand,” in which the threesome's nickel drink booth (which, naturally, they drink themselves) takes a back seat to the Beast's hilariously overwhelming desire to have a cool band-aid like Maggie's (Beast tries to scrape himself up, whines, and is SO proud when he finally gets one!). Sure to spur the imaginations of young viewers, this compilation from the Nick Jr.-aired series is highly recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)