Boston’s Public Broadcast Service affiliate WGBH has commissioned 16 new episodes of kids toon Martha Speaks, serviced by Montreal’s Oasis Animation and distributed by DHX Media.

Martha Speaks, targeting kids ages four to seven, is a WGBH Boston and Halifax-based DHX Media co-production based on the educational book series by Susan Meddaugh.

The fifth-season order, is the third collaboration between Oasis and WGBH, the regional public broadcaster that supplies programming to the US pubcaster network. They have worked together previously on two seasons of Arthur.

Meanwhile Oasis has commenced production on a second season of Ben’s City (Perusse Cite is its French title), which took the best animation series award at Quebec’s Les Prix Gemeaux last September.

The 10 new episodes of Ben’s City will be broadcast on Radio-Canada and ARTV in 2013.

The show’s first season is being released on DVD by Oasis and Radio-Canada.

From Playback online