KCET takes ‘Storytime’ to Skid Row to win the minds of homeless kids

Storytime has stepped out of its usual studio setting this week, with a segment filmed at the L.A. Mission, where actor Steve Guttenberg reads “Slither McCreep and His Brother Joe” to homeless children.

The story, by Tony Johnston with illustrations by Victoria Cheff, is about two snake siblings who are having a hard time sharing their toys.

Back at the studio, Glynn Turman of “A Different World” reads “The Boy and the Ghost” by Robert D. SanSouci, with illustrations by J. Brian Pinkney. This retelling of a traditional Southern folk tale is about a poor boy who goes on a journey in search of a fortune. The boy meets an old man who tells the boy to go to a house because the ghost who haunts it has a treasure. When the boy encounters the ghost, he offers it some of his hambone soup. The ghost, duly impressed, gives the boy the treasure, which he then shares with his family.

Ping Wu (“Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”) reads “Ming Lo Moves the Mountain,” written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. This Asian-themed story is about a man and woman who live near an annoying mountain. A wise man recommends they move the mountain. After several failed attempts, the old man suggests they do a dance involving taking apart their house and moving several feet backward and reassembling their house. When it is built up again, they believe they have moved the mountain.

Each segment features original music keyed to the theme of the story.

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” Storytime “ airs Sunday on KCET at 7-7:30 p.m. and repeats Friday 11:30 a.m.-noon, 4-4:30 p.m.; Sunday at 9-9:30 a.m. For ages 2 to 8.

MORE FAMILY SHOWS

Doug (Sunday 10-10:30 a.m. and Saturday 8-8:30 a.m. Nickelodeon) learns that helping a friend is more important than winning, as he and his buddies join a soapbox race. For ages 4 to 12.

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Disney’s Making Their Mark (Sunday 8:30-9 p.m.) profiles seniors who are still going strong, including a retiree who recruits volunteers to work with children needing special help in school and one who is a kid’s summer camp director in Vermont. For ages 10 and up .

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The 1936 version of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans (Tuesday 10-11:35 p.m. Disney) features Randolph Scott as Hawkeye in the adventure set during the 1757 French and Indian War. For ages 13 and up .

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Young viewers can catch a glimpse of Berlin’s magnetic trains which ride silently on a cushion of air, causing no pollution on Invention (6-6:30 p.m. and 9-9:30 p.m. Discovery). Also: creating synthesized music from old songs, with digital sampling. For ages 10 and up .

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“The Tale of the Pinball Wizard” on Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Saturday 9:30-10 p.m. Nickelodeon) isn’t the Who’s tale of Tommy, but a yarn about Ross, a latchkey child who spends all of his time playing pinball at the mall. The arcade manager trusts Ross to stay in the arcade alone but with a warning to not play “The Mystery Machine.” But Ross plays the game, loses track of time and soon finds he’s not only locked in the mall alone but must battle larger-than-life pinball characters and even bigger challenges to escape. For ages 9 and up.