by Mother of two

For those who don’t know, Kipper is the main character in the animated series “Kipper the Dog.”  In the U.S., Kipper aired between 1998 and 2001 on the Nick Jr.  The animated series was based on the popular award winning children’s book series from the late 90’s by Mick Inkpen titled, “Kipper.”

The series centers on Kipper (a polite English Beagle), his friends Tiger (a Scottish Terrier), Pig (an actual pig) and Arnold, Pig’s younger cousin in their many adventures.  The animation is very plain and simple so it doesn’t overwhelm a child, while the stories always center on the concepts of sharing and being helpful to others while having fun at the same time.  All the characters speak with an English accent (very distinct and charming voices) that combined with their childlike playfulness make for good storytelling.

We first discovered Kipper through Netflix while searching for an appropriate children’s show.  “Kipper the Dog” stood out as a perfect choice because the stories where age appropriate and the characters were very endearing and polite (very ideal role model for young children). Our Little Lum became instantly attached to Kipper after only a few episodes.  So much so that he began calling all dogs a “KIPPER.” Even his toy dog that he previously could identify as “Scout” became “Kipper.”  Everywhere we went he would point out, “Mommy, it’s a Kipper!”

My husband finally gave in and purchased an 8 inch stuffed Kipper from England for $20.  It was funny receiving a yellow envelope from England with a custom declaration of “Kipper the Dog”.  We treat him delicately since he is practically irreplaceable.  But Little Lum absolutely LOVES him.  He plays with all his stuffed animals in the daytime, but when bedtime rolled around only Kipper would be brought to bed.

Recently, Hit Entertainment, released a 4 DVD combo, Kipper Quad, which includes, Friendship Tails, Kipper Helps Out, Imagine That!, and Water Play.  For children under 3 years old, I definitely recommended it.  It’s actually a great deal because I have seen the each of the four DVD go for as much as $9.00 each so you’ll be saving quite a bit if you buy the combo set.

We purchased our Kipper Quad from Barnes and Noble for $9 with free shipping.

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• Children Video
• Toy