Dragon Tales

The series focused on the exploits of two siblings, Emmy and Max, in possession of an enchanted dragon scale capable of transporting them to Dragon Land, a whimsical fantasy world inhabited by colorful anthropomorphic dragons upon their recitation of a rhyme. Befriended by four friendly talking dragons with distinctive personalities, Ord, Cassie, Zak, and Wheezie, they frequently travel to Dragon Land and help their friends in fulfilling particular quests, assisting them in their daily problems, and learning important morals through their experiences with the educational whimsy of Dragon Land.

Designed to educate preschoolers mildly in Hispanic culture (because of the Spanish origins of a portion of the central characters), a new character named Enrique debuted during the shows final season, providing the series with a third protagonist. Surrounded by a variety of unique characters and faced with numerous differing situations, Emmy and Max commonly embark on adventures with their dragon friends, conquering fears or achieving goals in spite of any obstacles preventing them from doing so.

As a series broadcast on PBS, the program had an educational focus, combining lessons of a pro-social nature with those of more general educational value. Educational topics covered included identifying shapes, learning words and letters in both English and Spanish, counting and basic math. Social topics were also covered, such as good sportsmanship, the importance of being a good friend, overcoming obstacles such as jealousy or fears and getting along with siblings. Many of the show's interstitial song segments, known as "Dragon Tunes," also covered such topics, such as "Make It Fun", which encouraged viewers to not complain about having to do seemingly mundane chores such as washing dishes or helping parents with cooking meals, but instead find ways to make them fun. Another, "Hum," encouraged those who had a fear of the dark or trying new things to hum a gentle tune to comfort them. Stated goals of the program's educational philosophy included the encouragement of pursuing new experiences, finding ways to approach and learn from challenges and that learning can come through trying and not succeeding. Despite two of the show's human leads, Emmy and Enrique, being six years old, the show's described target audience was children closer to the age of four.

Another key theme of the program was the encouragement of honest and candid expressions of emotion. In "Cassie, the Green-Eyed Dragon," Cassie felt jealous of her little brother, Finn, when he gets everyone's attention when she takes him to school for "circle time." Discussing the matter with her best friend, Emmy, and her teacher, Quetzal, helps her to understand that jealousy is a natural feeling that everyone experiences sometimes, but that there are ways that she can appreciate her brother, while still feeling appreciated herself. In "Feliz Cumpleaños, Enrique," Enrique feels sad and homesick for his homeland of Colombia when his birthday celebrations in Dragon Land aren't like the traditions of those back in his old home. He talks with Quetzal, who encourages him to cry, even though he had been told that crying was something a boy at his age wasn't supposed to do. After doing so, he feels better and is able to enjoy his party celebrations.

As with Sesame Street, which was also produced by the Children's Television Workshop (later Sesame Workshop since 2000), the program's creators encouraged "co-viewing," the practice of parents or other caregivers watching the program along with their children and engaging in activities such as discussion, singing and dancing, and pretend play. The program's official website offered a number of activities and lesson plans to aid in these efforts.