''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum'' is an animated

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

that premiered on November 11, 2019, on PBS Kids. The series is based on the children's book series written by

Brad Meltzer Brad Meltzer (born April 1, 1970) is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author. His novels touch on the political thriller, legal thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, while he has also written superher ...

, named ''Ordinary People Change the World''. The series involves Xavier Riddle with his sister Yadina, and their friends Brad and Berby, at the Secret Museum, and help from historical heroes, who are depicted in the series as children.

Premise

The series follows the adventures of Xavier Riddle, his sister Yadina Riddle (alongside her stuffed turtle Dr. Zoom) and their friend Brad. In each episode, a problem or difficulty is encountered. They go to the Secret Museum to

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

to the past to observe, interact, and learn from the historical heroes. They then return to the present and use their experience to solve the problem.

Characters

Main

* Xavier Riddle (voiced by Aidan Vissers) - The titular character and the leader of his group with his sister Yadina and their friend Brad. He appears to be an excitable kid who is eager to go back in time and meet various historical figures. He is described as a kid who loves everything (especially art and basketball), but lives for adventures. * Yadina Riddle (voiced by Zoe Hatz) - Xavier's younger sister. She seems to be eager to explore the secret museum and learn about various historical figures. She carries a stuffed turtle around with her named Dr. Zoom. She is quite talented, whether it be with books or with balls. Although Yadina is very extroverted (not a wallflower at all), she is only six years old. This means that she can be very honest with just about anyone, and sometimes even blunt. For example, Yadina dislikes meanness of any kind, and if anyone is not being friendly to another, Yadina will let them know exactly what she thinks of their behavior. When faced with conflict, Yadina is an expert at making others understand a situation from someone else's perspective, which ultimately requires empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation. She also has a habit of making bad puns, which she fruitlessly tries to explain to both her brother Xavier and her buddy Brad. * Brad Scott Meltzer (voiced by Wyatt White) - Xavier's best friend. He tends to be the most nervous and neurotic of Xavier's group and suffers from several allergies. He is sometimes hesitant to go on adventures since travelling back in time makes him dizzy. Brad is quite partial to butterflies, as well as action heroes and is a relatively good artist who enjoys drawing

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

stories. He is described as having "delusions of averageness", and is apprehensive over everything. His friends, Xavier and Yadina, encourage him to live a little and to try new things. He suffers from

impostor syndrome Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud. Desp ...

. Brad is Jewish, as revealed in the episode ''I am Tomioka Tessai'', when he shows his friends a dreidel. His last name is only revealed on the website. He is an avatar of the author of the book series Brad Meltzer, whom he also resembles.

Supporting

* Berby, a small, egg-shaped flying robot who resides at the Secret Museum and functions as part of the time machine by transporting Xavier, Yadina, Dr. Zoom, and Brad back and forth in time. Berby communicates by making robotic beeping sounds, and is good friends with the kids and Dr. Zoom. She also functions as the museum's

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, ensuring all of the exhibits are taken care of and in the right places. Berby also appears in all the shorts after all of the episodes, either winning another "race around the world" against Xavier, playing hide & seek with Dr. Zoom & Yadina, co-starring with Brad in one of his "Bradman" comics, or going on random travels with Dr. Zoom. It is revealed in "I Am Madam President" that Berby is a female robot.

Production

Brad Meltzer wrote the book ''Ordinary People Change the World'' and began a series based on the book named the Ordinary People series in 2014 with ''I Am Abraham Lincoln'', ''I Am Amelia Earhart'', ''I Am Rosa Parks'', and ''I Am Albert Einstein''. The series is produced by 9 Story Media Group's animation division, Brown Bag Films. 9 Story's Chief Creative Officer Angela Santomero states that ''Xavier Riddle'' lets kids know they have "the curiosity and adventurous spirit to change the world". Meltzer added to that statement: "When my own kids watch this series, I get to see them realize that there’s extraordinary within the ordinary."

Episodes

Each episode of ''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum'' runs for half an hour. They consist of two 11-minute stories based on famous historical heroes around the world in the past. However, airings on streaming services such as Globoplay in Brazil split the episodes into segments, with each 11-minute story isolated. There may be an interstitial segment between the two main stories, in which Berby, and either Xavier, Yadina, Brad, or Dr. Zoom, are shown doing something fun together.

Season 1 (2019-22)

Shorts (2022)

These shorts were released exclusively on the PBS Kids video app.

''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Movie: I Am Madam President''

A TV special titled ''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Movie: I Am Madam President'' aired on March 16, 2020. In the special, Yadina, who dreams of becoming president one day, realizes all the presidents were men. She questions if she can still be president, even though it is something no girl has done yet. The trio visit the Secret Museum, where a five-part star is shown to them. They travel to different periods in time, where they meet women who are attempting to do something that has never been done before. Yadina learns from them on what is needed to do something that has never been done before, as she attempts to complete the star. She meets

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

, Amelia Earhart,

Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent. Tabei wrote seven books, organized e ...

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts ...

and herself as an adult. Amelia Earhart is the only historical figure to be featured in this movie and an episode.

Broadcast

The series premiered on PBS Kids in United States on November 12, 2019. It premiered on

TVOKids TVOkids (short for TVOntariokids and stylized as tvokids) is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by TVOntario (TVO) in Canada. It was launched on April 1, 1994 and runs from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The brand also operat ...

in Canada on December 10, 2019. It airs on Super3, a Catalan-language children's channel in Spain.

Reception

Critical response

Joyce Slaton of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave ''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum'' a mixed review. She stated that "the show makes many historical inaccuracies, which makes it odd for a TV show that wants to make history come back alive for kids." She also stated that "the show's tendency to play too fast and loose with the historical facts is confusing, and that 'Go for it!' is an unlikely motto for Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 and didn't complete her solo Atlantic flight as a grade school student, as Xavier depicts." George Washington Carver did have a secret garden as a child, in which he learned important lessons that impacted his career in botany. But, as Slaton states, "it's a real stretch to imagine him having to defend plants from renegade soccer players in 19th century

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

," and that "the show seems to overlook his importance as an activist for ex-slaves and champion of

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

, instead boiling his messages down to 'take care of plants and you'll take care of the earth.'"

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

Attribution: * * * *

External links

Official website
*
''Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum''
at