The story about a new kid on the savannah is spreading, but everyone's account is a bit different. With Mama's help, they learn that it is not just what you hear, but what you do with what you hear. It is Mama's birthday and Max, Bo and Karla want to give her the perfect present. They decide to make her a movie celebrating the parts of the world she has visited.
When an accident forces Mama and the kids to scrap their film festival, they turn their misfortune into an opportunity. Bo's busily doing a project on his own, but Max wants to play. When Bo expresses his desire to be by himself for a while, Max is hurt. Mama shows them that sometimes, friends just need a little time.
After a long hike to watch a wildebeest migration, Bo believes the group must be lost on the way home. Mama shows Bo, as well as Karla and Max, the many ways in which animals are able to find their way home. Max smells something that Bo and Karla cannot. This leads to a discussion about animal noses and smelling abilities.
A rainy day on the savannah produces long faces, until Mama helps pass the time by introducing the gang to a place that is really rainy, the South American rainforest. Jacques, Mama's film-making friend, comes to visit. The kids are excited to meet him, until they see that he is a walrus. Mama and Jacques show the kids that they shouldn't be so quick to judge.
When the kids decide to put on a show, Mama shows them a movie of other animals at play. Karla and Bo disagree over an animal they have seen. Bo claims it was a giraffe, and Karla is sure that it was a zebra. Mama shows them that if they could listen to each other, they might see that the answer lies in what both of them have seen.
After hearing a story about a magician, Max is determined to find a magic wand of his own. He tries to make a ripe marula fruit drop out of a nearby tree. When it doesn't happen, Mama shows him that while wishing is a good place to start, getting something done requires action. Max, Karla and Bo are discussing their families when they realize that Max's friend Benny's family is different from their own. Mama shows the kids that there are many kinds of families in the animal kingdom, but that all families care for each other.
The kids can't get to sleep, and Mama shows them that the most important thing about bedtime is having a routine - and a good lullaby, of course. A game of Follow the Leader nearly goes awry when Max, Bo and Karla find they're unable to follow each other on certain terrain. Mama shows a movie about the specialized hands and feet of different animals.
When Bo, Max and Karla spy what looks like a couple of slow-moving rock monsters, they panic and tell Mama. She's pleased to tell them those aren't rocks - they're her friend Glynnis and son Glenn, over from the Galapagos Islands for a visit. Max is bored. Nobody's around, not even Karla and Bo. Mama assures him that there are potential friends all around - all he has to do is look closer.
Playing on the savannah, Bo and Max stumble over a new friend, a tortoise named Tallulah. When they come on a little too strong, however, Tallulah retreats into her shell. Bo and Max ask Mama to help bring Tallulah back out of her shell. The kids have difficulty solving a riddle, which reminds Mama of the time she traveled to Australia and found a very special animal.
Karla and her friend, a peregrine falcon named Perry, are playing, and Karla begins to envy Perry's impressive flight skills. She wants to fly, spurring Mama to play several films showing which animals do and don't fly. Bo, Karla and Max are playing their favorite pretend game, Savannah Superheroes, and they're on the lookout for new members. When a rhino beetle named Ron shows up, they learn that even the smallest of us can be powerful.
Everyone on the savannah comes to Mama's big Kwanzaa celebration, which leads to a discussion about the seemingly endless variety of animal families and their names. Kip, Flip, and Chip the monkey brothers have a new cousin, Pip. No one, especially not Bo, can believe that they were ever as small as Pip, but Mama has movies that prove otherwise.
Max's friend Benny the bird is sleeping over with him, Bo and Karla. They are excited, until unfamiliar sounds start wafting in. Benny is scared, but Mama, with the help of some fun movies, helps Benny to understand the sounds that are making him scared. When Max, Bo and Karla find an egg, they enlist Mama's help in finding out what kind of animal is inside.
Karla makes a new friend, Winnie the wildebeest, and is sad to discover that she and her mother will be leaving. Mama explains why animals migrate, and assures Karla that Winnie will be back this way before she knows it. Bo, who's been boasting about his leaping ability, has an embarrassing accident. Mama shows Bo that all animals make mistakes - it's one of the ways we learn.
Mama shows Karla that eating properly can be exciting, as well as showing her the vast range of things that animals eat. Bo, Karla and Max are having a discussion about who the true king or queen of the savannah might be. Mama takes the kids on a nature walk to show them that everyone is royalty to somebody.