Preparing for the long walk, Tiger dons his special red exploring coat. Then they’re off to the swimming pool to conquer the cool water and wave machine. Next, it’s on to the park for a problematic picnic where they must deal with trampled sandwiches, a bothersome wasp and invading ants. Will they ever get to taste Pig’s specially baked chocolate cake? And just how are they going to rescue Tiger’s boat from the lily pads in the pond? More adventure awaits Kipper and Pig when they go searching for Arnold who is lost in the woods. Was that al ion they heard in the undergrowth? You won’t want to miss a minute of these wonderful tales featuring all your favorite characters from the popular children’s books and television show. Let’s go on an adventure with Kipper! Approx. Run Time: 60 minutes Pools, Parks & Picnics Kipper, a lovable, animated dog with a British accent, is on par with perennial preschool favorites Little Bear and Clifford, humble characters involved in ordinary play while reinforcing messages of cooperation, courtesy, and kindness. Drawn in simple lines with floppy ears, Kipper is the creation of England's Mick Inkpen, a prolific children's author (of Threadbear and Wibbly Pig fame) whose books have inspired a Nick Jr. television series. Pools, Parks and Picnics is a collection of seven episodes from the series, with straightforward names like "The Long Walk," "The Swimming Pool," and "The Picnic. " The gentle tales are comfortably paced, accompanied by a soft instrumental soundtrack. In "The Gizmo," a bubble blower and a toy boat provide hours of entertainment for Kipper and his pal, Tiger, during an otherwise quiet day. In "Cakes and Tails," Pig agrees to share his triple chocolate cake with Kipper, until a game of hide-and-seek ends in a plateful of crumbs. A magnifying glass offers an up-close look at the wonders of nature in one episode; in another, a water fountain provides cool relief on a hot summer day. There are no crises and no moral dilemmas here. Rather, the sweet antics of childhood are mixed with the fun of friendship and the simplicity of play. Will the characters' British voiceovers play to young American audiences? Youngsters unfamiliar with the King's English may find the accents a bit distracting at first, yet, more likely, delightfully intriguing. (Ages 2 to 5) -Lynn Gibson Tiger Tales If he weren't an entirely different species, Kipper might be mistaken for a cousin of Pooh: both are cuddly English chaps, both cavort around the wilds among other friendly creatures with none-too-original names (Pig and Tiger versus Piglet and Tigger), and both aren't exactly off the charts in the cleverness department. That doesn't make this series, based on the books by Mick Inkpen, feel derivative or seem any less adorable, though. Tiger Tales, so named because terrier Tiger is a major fixture in each of seven episodes, trades other cartoons' complex artifice for sweetness-soothing, rather than overstimulating its 2- to 5-year-old audience. Each setting reinforces the gentleness theme: "Camping Trip" takes place in a forest populated by friendly bunnies; "Tiger's Rocket" makes a launch pad out of a still, sunny backyard; "Skate" finds Kipper's crowd whirling and twirling (and sometimes wiping out) through the deserted streets of a charming English village; "Arnold's Drum" rat-a-tat-tats its way along a hilly trail to a picnic area; "The Holiday" happens seaside, where a friendly sea lion frolics, and under umbrellas; "Buried Treasure" turns a sprawling park, complete with duck pond and playground, into a scavenger-hunt site; and even "The River Trip," which finds Tiger, Jake, and Kipper rowing round and round in a canoe on a river that's "wiggly like a snake," seems serene, with its soft blue waters and grassy green banks. Tiger Tales is an hour-long dose of nondrippy mellowness-a perfect choice for parents of rabble-rousing preschoolers. -Tammy La Gorce.