Have you ever wished that you could pause life long enough to figure out the answers to your problems? Well, 6-year-old Alma Rivera does that every day in Alma’s Way! Alma is a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl living a fast-paced life in the Bronx alongside her family, friends, and neighbors.

Alma’s Way is an engaging animated series for kids ages 4 to 6 focused on critical thinking and helping young viewers to discover their own unique voice and find solutions to challenges. The audience comes along with Alma as she learns to think for herself, make decisions, and understand other people’s points of view—while making lots of messy and hilarious mistakes all along the way.

Inspired by Manzano’s own childhood, ALMA’S WAY centers on 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud, confident Puerto Rican girl who lives in the Bronx with her family among a diverse group of close-knit friends and community members. Infused with Manzano’s humor and grounded in a social and emotional curriculum, the series will give children ages 4-6 the tools to find their own answers, express what they think and feel, and recognize and respect the unique perspective of others. 

Each episode showcases different aspects of Latino cultures through language, food, music, and customs. All viewers will see how other families are both alike and different from their own. Music is the “backbeat” of the series and includes traditional Puerto Rican styles like Plena, Bomba, and salsa along with other Latino genres such as Cuban son and Colombian cumbia. The original theme song, written and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Bill Sherman, is performed by Flaco Navaja and Summer Rose Castillo, who plays Alma. The series music is composed by Asher Lenz, Stephen Skratt, and Fabiola M. Mendez. The series will be available for viewers in both English and Spanish on all PBS KIDS platforms.

ALMA’S WAY will debut on PBS stations and begin streaming free on PBS KIDS October 4. Launching in tandem with the show, digital content for kids, parents and teachers will further the messages and goals of ALMA’S WAY. Series-inspired games will be available in English and Spanish on pbskids.org and on the free PBS KIDS Games App. Spanish and English language parent resources, including tips and hands-on activities to extend the learning at home, will be available on the PBS KIDS for Parents site, and PBS LearningMedia will offer tools for teachers, including video excerpts, games, teaching tips, and printable activities.