PBS Kids Orders TV Adaptation Of Jacqueline Woodson’s ‘The Day You Begin’

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: PBS Kids has ordered The Day You Begin, an animated special from Atomic Cartoons. The program is based on Jacqueline Woodson’s bestselling picture book and is now in production at Atomic’s Vancouver studio.

The 45-minute special follows four kindergarteners, Angelina, Rigoberto, One and Andrew on their first day of school. The episode is told from each child’s perspective to create an interconnecting narrative in which they all have different experiences in the same classroom and throughout the day at school, learning what makes them unique and what connects them to others. “The magic and excitement of the first day of school and how children start to define themselves within a community is the perfect topic for a family special on PBS Kids,” said Adriano Schmid, VP, PBS Kids Content at PBS. “We’re such fans of Jacqueline Woodson and ‘The Day You Begin’ book, and we’re thrilled to embark on this production with our partners at Atomic.” Woodson is known for books such as young adult novel Miracle Boys, which was adapted back in 2005 for Noggin, and others such as  Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way.

She and screenwriter Dana Chan (Alma’s Way, Santiago of the Seas, Dora the Explorer) co-wrote the script for The Day You Begin.

Cummings and Jennifer Twiner McCarron serve as executive producers for Atomic and its parent company Thunderbird Entertainment, alongside Woodson, Maria Pepin and Matthew Berkowitz.