Last Christmastime, I was trying to entertain a thoroughly bored five-year-old while one of my co-workers at The Home Depot sold her mother some flooring. The child, used to getting her way, pointed to a colorful wallpaper book that was out of her reach and demanded that I retrieve it for her. Not to be bossed around by the petulant youngster, I asked her what the magic word was. "Abre," she responded with a smug look on her face. I was slightly puzzled by this obviously Caucasian child's use of the Spanish word for "open". Her mother, already clued in by the girl's aggravated behavior, responded to my quizzical look by mouthing the word, "Dora." Fortunately, I knew that Dora was the main character in the popular Nick Jr. television show, "Dora the Explorer." Gone are the days of "Open Sesame" and "A La Peanut Butter Sandwiches." As of July 7th, 2003, "Dora the Explorer" was the most popular show on cable or broadcast television among preschoolers.
             "Dora" follows in the footsteps of the formidable "Blue's Clues," which found that it could improve on the much-loved "Sesame Street" in a number of ways. For example, "Blue's Clues" found that preschoolers responded better when they told one story over 22 minutes than when they used "Sesame Street's" short advert-like segments. Since "Dora" and "Blue's" were both created by program-makers at Nickelodeon, "Dora" is free to use much of "Blue's" format and improve upon it. Like "Blue's," "Dora" is presented with a challenge in each episode, and the main character speaks directly to the audience, making the show highly interactive. At the end of each question, Dora pauses, but it is not a normal pause; it's a preschooler's pause, several beats longer than an adu...