Camp out with Nick as ‘Salute Your Shorts’ returns as weekend series

The next best thing to summer camp is Nickelodeon’s new series Salute Your Shorts, which has all the fun of camp with absolutely no mosquitoes or early-morning wake-up calls. Based on the book by Tom Hill and Steve Slavkin, and continuing where last year’s Nickelodeon special left off, the show uses a diverse group of actors and fast-paced camera work to play the happy campers at the mythical Camp Anawanna.

“Salute Your Shorts,” Saturdays 5:30-6 p.m.; Sundays 11:30 a.m.-noon Nickelodeon. For 8- to 13-year-olds.

MORE KIDS’ SHOWS

July 4 has come and gone, but Uncle Sam Magoo (today noon-1 p.m. the Disney Channel) tells another version of the history of our country, as interpreted by the animated Mr. Magoo. For 6- to 12-year-olds.

An animated Festival of Folk Heroes (today 7-8:30 p.m. the Disney Channel) salutes legendary American characters such as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. For all ages.

The animated Bill Cosby in Aesop’s Fables (today 8:30-9 p.m. the Disney Channel) features TV’s top dad, who narrates some of history’s most oft-told tales. For all ages.

An “Old-Fashioned Family Fun Week” of films (Monday-Friday noon-2 p.m. KTTV) is a perfect solution for those summer-vacation blues. Family Band, set in the 1800s, stars Goldie Hawn in a tale of an 11-member band; The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes finds a very young Kurt Russell turning exceptionally smart; Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo features the Volkswagen with a personality of its own; The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is set in the Wild West, and Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, is about the folk hero. For all ages.

Not your ordinary version of the famous fairy tale, the musical Hey, Cinderella (Tuesday 8:05-9 p.m. the Disney Channel) features a guest appearance by Kermit the Frog, who drives Cinderella’s coach to the ball. For 3- to 12-year-olds.

Max von Sydow provides the narration in the animated We All Have Tales: East of the Sun, West of the Moon, (Wednesday 9:30-10 a.m. and 4-4:30 p.m. Showtime), a Scandinavian folk tale about a white bear and a little girl. For all ages.

In Suzy’s War (Saturday 6-6:30 a.m. KNBC), a young girl fights back against the violence of her ghetto neighborhood. For 8- to 12-year-olds.

The world’s smartest collie is at it again in Lassie: Neeka (Saturday 2-4 p.m. Nickelodeon), in which she travels to Alaska and befriends a young Indian boy. For 7- to 13-year-olds.

The film classic Treasure Island (Saturday 6-8 p.m. KTLA) tells a good version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure novel. For all ages.

art: kids goofing around ins salute your shorts