SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : ‘Storytime’ returns with new pages to turn for the kids listening up

Storytime (weekdays, 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. KCET; Thursdays, 9 a.m. KOCE), which enters its fourth season in Los Angeles this week, “serves a wonderful purpose,” says actor Martin Mull, one of the new season’s celebrity readers. “The more we can encourage reading, as ‘Storytime’ does, the better off we are.” Brett Butler, who is the season’s first page turner, agrees. “So many kids are in front of their televisions and this show may make a child pick up a book. It may also encourage parents to read to their children. Reading is the most important skill a kid can acquire. It’s their ticket to anywhere.” The season premiere offers Butler reading “When The Fly Flew In” by Lisa Westberg Peters and “Nathaniel Willy, Scared Silly,” by Alexi Natchev. For ages 2 to 7.

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Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews pursue the American dream in the Big Apple of the ‘20s in the 1967 musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (Sunday, 12:30 p.m. Family Channel). Co-star Carol Channing was nominated for an Oscar. For ages 8 and up.

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The local public affairs show City View (Sundays, 5 p.m. KABC) takes a look at teen dating violence. For ages 13 and up.

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Family values are the topic in On Values: Talking With Peggy Noonan (Sunday, 9 p.m. KOCE). Noonan’s guests include Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, social historian and vice president of the Institute for American Values, who talks about the impact of divorce on children today; novelist Anne Lamott, who discusses the struggles of being a single mother, and author Stanley Crouch, who discusses the cultural forces that influence American families. For parents.

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The cuddly Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear (weekdays through Jan. 26, noon Nickelodeon) airs daily for two weeks beginning Monday. Based on Sendak’s best-selling books, the animated series follows the adventures of Little Bear, his ever-present pals and the parents he always comes home to. For ages 2 to 6.

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If you ever thought an ant farm wasn’t quite realistic enough, check out World of Wonder (Tuesday 9:30 p.m., repeats the following Sunday 6:30 p.m. Discovery), which offers a cutting-edge journey through actual underground ant kingdoms. The show also profiles inventor Niklaus Tesla. For ages 8 and up.