Common Sense Media Review
By Emily Ashby
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet series celebrates friendship, creativity, teamwork.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Butterbean's Cafe
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 74 parent reviews
What's the Story?
In a quaint land called Puddlebrook is a cozy neighborhood café called BUTTERBEAN'S CAFÉ, run by a group of fairy friends and Butterbean (voiced by Margaret Ying Drake), the proprietor. She and her little sister, Cricket (Gabriella Pizzolo), and pals Poppy (Kirrilee Berger), Dazzle (Olivia Grace Manning), and Jasper (Koda Gursoy) cook up tasty treats to brighten their customers' days while fending off the efforts of their scheming business rival, Mrs. Marmalady (Alysia Reiner), who's forever plotting to upend Butterbean's success.
Is It Any Good?
Set in a miniature world of fairies and tiny woodland creatures, this sweet series models kindness, friendship, and industriousness for kids. Butterbean and her friends work together in the café, realizing the rewards of setting and achieving goals and being creative in the kitchen. Teamwork pays off in the delectable snacks they make and in the company they keep with friendly patrons and others they help through their love of preparing and serving food.
Kids will love the darling characters and their inviting surroundings, and parents will like how Butterbean's Café presents the tasks of communal cooking and serving others as joyful and fulfilling. Resident villain Mrs. Marmalady is in stark contrast to the vibrant café crew, but that's by design and helps viewers separate her naughty behavior and bad choices from the other characters' better ones. While it often oversimplifies the process of preparing foods like cookies and pancakes, there are some menu items that kids can replicate at home with minimal supervision, encouraging them to step into the kitchen and create as well.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the ways in which Butterbean and her friends work together toward common goals. How do they divide large tasks? In what ways do they show that different opinions and ideas are welcome? Is the leader always the same from one story to the next? What qualities stand out in the leader(s)?
Who among the characters demonstrates character strengths like hard work, dedication, and perseverance? How do these strengths help the group as a whole? In contrast, what traits do you see in Mrs. Marmalady, and how do they inspire her to act toward Butterbean and her friends?
Kids: Does Butterbean's Café inspire you to try creating in the kitchen? What are some of your favorite foods? How do certain foods (and sharing them with people you love) make you feel? Do you like to try new foods? What role does food have in our celebrations and special events?
TV Details
- Premiere date: November 12, 2018
- Cast: Alysia Reiner , Kirrilee Berger , Margaret Ying Drake
- Network: Nick Jr.
- Genre: Kids' Animation
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More , Friendship
- Character Strengths: Teamwork
- TV rating: TV-Y
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: June 12, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
What to Watch Next
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate