GBH Kids and Pipeline Studios win Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award for ‘Work It Out Wombats!’

 BALTIMORE — Producer GBH Kids and Pipeline Studios are the 2024 recipient of the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award for “Work It Out Wombats!” The award was announced today by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, held Jan. 19–22 in Baltimore.

The Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award is given to the producer of the most distinguished digital media for an early learning audience produced in the United States during the preceding year. Award and honor media recipients will receive their awards at the ALA Annual Conference, held June 27–July 2, 2024 in San Diego.

“Work It Out Wombats!” stars three energetic and creative siblings who live with their grandmother in the Treeborhood—a huge treehouse neighborhood. With an educational focus on computational thinking, the show introduces children to creative ways of problem solving and completing tasks using a toolkit of skills from computer science.

“The show was well researched and wonderfully produced to teach pre-coding skills to children in a fun, diverse and engaging way,” said Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award Committee Chair María Vega.

One Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Honor title was named:

“Jamming on the Job,” produced by PBS North Carolina for PBS Kids.

“Jamming on the Job” is a music-inspired podcast for kids ages 4-8 and their caregivers that explores a wide variety of career paths in the world of work. Episodes highlight foundational skills relevant to each vocation, such as empathy, social problem-solving, responsibility, flexible thinking, impulse control and persistence.

The members of the 2024 Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award Committee are: Chair María Vega, Broward County Library, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Lauren Brandstetter, Kenton County Public Library, Covington, Kentucky; Emily Haage, Scott County Library System, Eldridge, Iowa; Beth McGuire, Harrold School Library, Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Julie Ralston, Kent District Library, Grandville, Michigan; Ruth Shaw, Alvin Sherman Library, Davie, Florida; Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library; Mandy Werrin, Sacramento Public Library, California; and Anna C. White, Baltimore County Public Library.

For more information on the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.

About the Association for Library Service to Children

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC members are committed to engaging communities to build healthy, successful futures for all children. To learn more about ALSC, visit their website at www.ala.org/alsc.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

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