Disney Read-Along

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Disney Read-Alongs are a series of illustrated books for children with accompanying recordings of the books being read. The first Read-Alongs, book-and-record sets, were released in 1965 by Disneyland Records (now Walt Disney Records); several hundred titles have been produced.

The books were typically adaptations of popular Disney movies, cartoons, and other stories, running 24 pages. A narrator (or in some titles, a character from the story in first-person) read the story, and dialogue and songs from the original source were included. The sound of Tinkerbell's chimes was the signal for the reader to turn the page. The books always contained the tag line "SEE the pictures, HEAR the record, READ the book." The first editions typically had this introduction:

  • "This is a Disneyland original Little Long-Playing Record, and I am your story reader. I am now going to begin to read the story of [insert title here]. You can read along with me in your book. You will know it's time to turn the page when Tinker Bell rings her little bells like this: (sound of 'chimes' ringing). Let's begin now."

Meanwhile, the second editions (released beginning in 1977), and new titles released thereafter, typically had this introduction (since the second editions were also released on cassette), and still do to this day:

  • "This is the story of [insert title here]. You can read along with me in your book. You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this: (sound of [chimes WAV files|chimes] ringing). Let's begin now."

(Note: Both editions of Peter and the Wolf did not include a chimes ring and thus that part of the introduction was skipped.)

Some titles also had different signals for turning the page, but most were presented in this manner. Also the way the story was presented differed from the first and second editions. In the former, the story was presented in its entirety on side 1 (on some shorter ones, the story was read twice), with one or two songs related to the story on side 2. In the latter, the story was spread out across both sides of the record with the related song(s) playing after the story was finished.

In the late 1970s, Disney started releasing Read-Along titles on cassette in addition to the versions on records. The cassette versions usually had the story in its entirety, plus the songs (if applicable) on both sides making it unnecessary to turn the cassette over to listen to the rest of the story. As such, the sides were not designated. The cassette versions were based on the second editions.

  • "That was the end of the story. If you would like to hear it again, turn the tape over." (1977-88)
  • "That was the end of the story. If you would like to hear it again, just turn the tape over." (1988-97)

Disney also produced titles based on non-Disney properties, such as the Star Wars films; these were released under the Buena Vista name (one exception was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was released under the Disney name). They also produced titles based on the Peanuts characters which were told in the form of a Peanuts comic strip, and which had a specialized introduction:

  • "Hi. I'm Charlie Brown. You can read along in your book as you listen to the story. You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this: (sound of chimes ringing). And now we present [Peanuts-related title]."

There were also books based on Sega titles, which had this specialized introduction:

  • "This is the Sega golden book and tape called [insert title here]. It was written by [insert author here]. And the pictures were done by [insert illustrator here]. You can read along with me in your book. You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this: (sound of chimes ringing). Let's begin now."

Currently, Walt Disney Records releases Read-Along book sets in cassette, CD, and DVD versions.

[edit] Titles

Some of the titles released on vinyl include:


Early cassette titles include:

51-80DC are unknown

92-149DC are unknown

172-179DC are unknown

185-200DC are unknown

  • 201DC: The Saggy Baggy Elephant (Little Golden Books)
  • 202DC: The Tawny Scrawny Lion (Little Golden Book)
  • 203DC: The Poky Little Puppy (Little Golden Books)
  • 204DC: Rumpelstiltskin (Little Golden Books)
  • 205DC: Scuffy the Tugboat (Little Golden Books)
  • 206DC: Thumbelina (Little Golden Books)
  • 207DC: Little Boy with a Big Horn (Little Golden Books)
  • 208DC: Puss in Boots (Little Golden Books)
  • 209DC: Chicken Little (Little Golden Books)
  • 210DC: The Large and Growly Bear (Little Golden Books)
  • 211DC: Tootle (Little Golden Books)
  • 212DC: The Color Kitten (Little Golden Books)
  • 213DC: The Happy Man and his Dump Truck (Little Golden Books)
  • 214DC: The Taxi that Huirried (Little Golden Books)
  • 215DC: Smokey the Bear (Little Golden Books)
  • 216DC: The Little Engine that Could (Little Golden Books)
  • 217DC: The Pussycat Tiger (Little Golden Books)
  • 218DC: David and Goliath (Little Golden Books)
  • 219DC: Noah's Ark (Little Golden Books)
  • 220DC: The Lively Little Rabbit (Little Golden Books)
  • 221DC: Circus Time (Little Golden Books)
  • 222DC: Seven Little Postmen (Little Golden Books)
  • 224DC: The Little Fat Policeman (Little Golden Books)
  • 225DC: Just for You (Little Critter)
  • 226DC: Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad (Little Critter)

227-229DC are unknown

238-250DC are unknown

258-259DC are unknown

263-269DC are unknown

  • 270DC: Get Along Gang and the Missing Caboose
  • 271DC: Get Along Gang and the Bad Loser
  • 272DC: Get Along Gang and the Big Bully
  • 273DC: Get Along Gang and the New Neighbor

274-279DC are unknown

  • 280DC: Rainbow Brite Saves Spring (Rainbow Brite)
  • 281DC: Rainbow Brite and the Brook Meadow Deer (Rainbow Brite)
  • 282DC: Rainbow Brite and the Big Color Mix-up (Rainbow Brite)
  • 283DC: Happy Birthday, Buddy Blue (Rainbow Brite)
  • 284DC: The Chipmunk Adventure (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
  • 285DC: The Chipmunks Join the Circus (Alvin and the Chipmunks)
  • 286DC: Alf Drops In (ALF)
  • 287DC: Alf Goes Wild (ALF)
  • 288DC: Alf Plays Detective (ALF)
  • 289DC: Super Alf (ALF)
  • 290DC: Castle in the Clouds (Gumby)
  • 291DC: Wild West Adventure (Gumby)

Book and Cassette Tapes-B sets from the late 1980's to early 1990's

531-700B are unknown

  • 701B: Attack of the Sand Monster (Voltron)
  • 702B: Lotor's Secret Weapon (Voltron)
  • 703B: The Masked Robeast (Voltron)
  • 704B: Trapped on the Jungle Planet (Voltron)
  • 705B: The Adventure Begins (Photon)
  • 706B: The Tunnels of Danger (Photon)

1990-2000 read-along book-and-cassette titles include:

2000-present read-along book-and-CD titles include:

[edit] External links