There’s no rhyme or reason to what shows my daughter decides she wants to watch. If she sees a colorful, flashy image on the Netflix kids home screen, chances are she’ll point to it and demand that I turn it on (she’s 3, and in a very bossy toddler phase at the moment).
So when she pointed to a purple rectangle on the screen, I didn’t have high hopes. The show, called The Creature Cases centers on a fox and cat working together as detectives. Just another kids’ show with cute animal characters solving mysteries, right? Well, maybe the saying should be ‘never judge a show by its poster,’ because I soon saw how The Creature Cases would teach my daughter all about geography.
What Is The Creature Cases About?
The show follows Kit Casey (she’s a kit fox) and Sam Snow (he’s a snow leopard). The pair work for and organization called CLADE—The Covert League of Animal Detective Experts. They are dispatched to different “biomes” all over the world to help animals in need—for instance, a hermit crab who has lost its shell or a salamander who finds that the pond where she lays her eggs is not filling up with rain water.
These bit-sized story lines are an age-appropriate introduction to geography. The show is intended for 4 to 7-year-olds, and each episode (which is split into two stories) is about 28 minutes long.
How Does The Creature Cases Teach Kids About Geography?
Every time the pair take on a new case, their jet plane, R.O.N announces where in the world they’ve landed. In one episode for instance, R.O.N. robotically intones “Now arriving at destination biome, North American wetlands.”
There are jungle, swamp, desert, and island ecosystems all featured on the show, all populated by geographically accurate animal species. For instance, one episode takes place in the Florida Everglades, the only place on the planet where crocodiles and alligators live together.
Not only do kids learn where certain animals come from—chinchillas don’t hail from Pet Smart, but the deserts of South America, who knew—but it also gives them a wider view of the world without pummelling them with too much information.
My daughter learned about continents, and different types of environments where all sorts of strange and fascinating animals might live. You won’t necessarily hear names of countries or other specific locations like certain deserts or islands—but that’s fine. This is just an introduction for younger kids, that’s meant to inform and entertain, not prepare them for a test.
Why Parents Will Approve of The Creature Cases
As it is, The Creature Cases is a near-perfect balance between cute animal-based entertainment and education. It’s so entertaining in fact, that there was a months-long stretch where it was the only thing my daughter requested to watch.
But from a parent’s perspective, it’s also a show I actually want her to watch, if she’s going to watch TV at all. I noticed she started saying she lives in the “North American biome,” and going up to her grandparents to announce that crocodiles live in swamps. Added bonus: The episode about tarantulas completely erased any fear she ever had about spiders.
I’m confident that when she’s ready to learn more specifics about the planet, she’ll be excited to is watch the more mature nature-based content out there, like the Planet Earth series or the AppleTV+ show Jane that we can watch together.
In the meantime, The Creature Cases gives her a solid foundation—reinforced by conversations we have at home—for learning about the world she lives in and all it’s incredible creatures.
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