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Monkey businessThe man in the yellow hat, Curious George and new pal Jumpy Squirrel get some fresh air.

Curious George Saw the movie? Read the books? Of course you have. Now, everyone’s favorite inquisitive monkey is making his way to the small screen (with the man in the yellow hat in tow). The first of the new animated episodes (which have a live-action learning component at the end) reprises a most beloved story: George desperately wants to fly a kite—and boy, does he get his wish. Afterward, there’s a clip with footage of realkids making a flyer. PBS Kids. Premieres Sept 4, check local listings.

Ellen’s Acres Meet five-year-old Ellen, the hardworking daughter of cut-rate motel owners. She’s a girl with a huge imagination who leads a rich fantasy life while doing her daily chores. Instead of just taking out the trash, she fends off bandits with one hand as she drives her stagecoach to safety with the other. It’s nice to see a girl as the lead character, especially in a cartoon as engaging as this one. Cartoon Network. Premieres in November, check local listings.

Handy Manny A faster-paced, Spanish-laced answer to Bob the Builder, this preschool series is bound to have little ones buzzing. Here, it’s the tools that talk (and sing) rather than the machines, but the concept will seem delightfully familiar to pint-size construction nuts. Older viewers may be drawn in by the fact that Manny is voiced by teen heartthrob Wilmer Valderrama. Playhouse Disney on the Disney Channel. Premieres Sept 16 at 10am; then Mon–Fri at 9am, and Sat and Sun at 10am.

Ages 6 to 11

The Replacements This fun, watchable cartoon takes a page from Disney’s The Incredibles. Sister- and-brother team Riley and Todd have a special remote control that gives them the power to “replace” people they don’t like—they’ve already ditched their parents and acquired a supercool spy mom and an Elvisesque stuntman dad. In the pilot, they trade in the sweet, bumbling old coach of their bumbling baseball team—with surprising results (for kid viewers, if not for parents). Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons) and Grey Delisle (The Fairly Odd Parents) provide the comfortingly familiarvoices of Riley and Todd. Disney Channel. Premieres Sept 8 at 9pm.

The Upside Down Show Here’s a show that doesn’t pretend to be edifying in any way. Upside Down is about two Australian guys just being goofy. In the premiere episode, the guys and their pet fly figure out how to have a picnic, with many a yuk along the way. They set up for a half-hour’s worth of laughs by asking viewers to use a pretend remote to transport them in and out of a teacup. It’s a snappy antidote to Dora the Explorer–style interactivity, something that viewers of this show will have outgrown. Kids who love this are prime candidates for the gift of a Three Stooges DVD this holiday season. Noggin. Premieres Oct 2 at 11am.

Yin Yang Yo! This cartoon would be fairly standard kitchen-sink stuff if not for the brother-and-sister duo—both of whom are, happily, pro-feminist. Siblings Yin and Yang study karate with a dissolute bulldog sensei, learn some magic, and fight off an evil martial-arts master trying to rid the world of their kinder, gentler fighting philosophy. Will girls buy it? Worse things could happen. It’s a little hyper, but its heart is in the right place. Disney. Premieres Sept 4. Airs weeknights at 7:30pm, with a new episode every Mon.

Viva Piñata This CGI-toon will be launching a two-prongedassault on your TV, first as a new series on Fox and later as a videogame for theXbox 360. The Pixaresque offering puts a papier-mâché menagerie in everyday “people” situations,following a well-tested cartoon formula. In the first episode, the smart-ass piñatasgear up for a trophy contest—but will equine superstar Hudson Horstachio takehome the gold? Suspense aside, the show’s day-glo design and tongue-in-cheekhumor will appeal to parents and young ironists alike. Fox. Premieres Sept 9at 9:30am.