Melody

Melody (Angharad Rhodes), Mum (Laura Bacon) and Fudge

Children's TV can be pretty hit and miss. A recent hit with Arya and with us as parents is Cbeebies Melody, in which the title character - a partially sighted girl - is given music to listen to by her mother and describes what it makes her imagine. Sometimes this links directly to the theme of the music ('The Flight of the Bumblebee' accompanies a story about a bee,) but plenty have little relation to anything but the musical effect of the piece (for example, 'Danse Macabre' evokes the story of Little Red Riding Hood.)

The animated Melody.

The imagined adventures are depicted via simple animation, usually featuring an animated Melody and her cat, Fudge; a stuffed toy in life but animate in her imagination, of course. The music chosen is a pretty eclectic grab bag, ranging from baroque to modern. The series thus introduces children to a wide array of music, as well as gently prompting their understanding of disability.