A Word From The Creator of Mandy's Menagerie:

We are currently developing the Mandy's Menagerie television show, geared for young audiences ages 2 to 6. The ultimate goal of our show is to accompany children into the world of music as participants rather than observers, empowering them to go as far as they choose into this unique and compelling art form.

More specifically, Mandy's Menagerie the Show will help young viewers express themselves and communicate through the art of songwriting. Music as a storytelling device will be the primary focus of the show, sensitizing children to songwriting as a powerful form of expression.

Music is a discipline that educates the whole child.

As a music educator for the past twenty years, I have seen time and again how the study and making of music develops and hones reflection and analysis skills, and teaches the value of originality and the power of collaboration. I have experienced music's singular ability to stimulate the perceptual abilities of children, as well as encourage and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, cognitive, artistic, and social growth.

More specifically, I have found that it has been the exploration of how to write a song, expressing ideas and feelings in this unique way, which has most powerfully captured and inspired the attention and imagination of my students.

Something born out of love and creative impulse from my child's mind has become deeply influenced by my career as a music educator. As both a classroom and private music teacher of students ranging in age from 2 to adults, my focus has always been on exploring and understanding music through the making of music: as composers, singers, instrumentalists and songwriters. It is through the lens of the composer that I believe children learn music best.

Miranda Hentoff
New York City

Mandy's Menagerie is a broad-spectrum, multi-media children's property. At its core are original songs sung in the voice of each character, uniquely expressing who they are.

The target audience for Mandy's Menagerie is ages 2 to 6. The informing ideas behind the songs are empowering children with a positive self image, embracing diversity, respecting the environment and its creatures, forming friendships and validating children's feelings by helping them to communicate them. Mandy's Menagerie provides entertainment that parents and children can enjoy together and use as a stage for discussing values.

Lost in Africa, Mandy and her dog, Woofer, form close bonds with a Menagerie of animals.
A magic necklace, which allows Mandy to talk with the animals, opens her up to a whole new relationship with animals and their environment. The principal cast includes Mandy, an 8 year old girl from New York, her dog Woofer, Keenan, an African boy (and the only other human), Meeka the Lion, Sophie the Giraffe and Edgar the Elephant. Each character represents a human trait that is recognizable in all of us.

The dynamic between these characters' personality types is what drives their stories. Each of the animals is an orphan and Mandy, Woofer and Keenan become the nucleus of their found family. In addition to the six core characters, the Menagerie continues to grow as they make new friends.