Bookaboo

Bookaboo
Bookaboo logo
Genre	Children's
Created by	Lucy Goodman
Written by	Lucy Goodman, Alex Williams (writer)
Directed by	Lucy Goodman & Ian Emes
Narrated by	Various
Composer(s)	Mark Dyson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	55
Production
Executive producer(s)	Emma Tennant & Martyn Freeman
Producer(s)	Lucy Goodman
Editor(s)	Matthew Tabern
Location(s)	London
Cinematography	Trevor Forrest (series 1) Dom Kersey (series 2)
Running time	11 minutes
Production company(s)	Happy Films
Distributor	FremantleMedia
Broadcast
Original channel	CITV, ITV Network
Picture format	16:9 HD
Original run	UK: 2 March 2009 – 4 June 2010 Canada: February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11) – present
External links
Website

Bookaboo is a British children's television series produced by Lucy Goodman of Happy Films and co-directed by Ian Emes. The show features puppets, celebrities, picture books, songs and animation. Lucy Goodman created the show after researching the current global decline in parental reading in the home. Bookaboo is carefully crafted to inspire more children and grown ups to have fun sharing books together. Bookaboo is broadcast on CITV in the United Kingdom, ABC2 in Australia, and CBC in Canada.

Format

"A story a day or I just can't play!" says world famous, drum playing rock puppy, Bookaboo as he flounces off stage.

The rest of the band (Growler on Bass Guitar, Paws on Keyboards) find Bookaboo on the Bookabus, ignoring all stage calls and engaged in the most extraordinary stage avoidance schemes (comedy sketches & songs). Despite their best efforts the band fail to persuade the rock pup back to the stadium. Luckily, a celebrity fan arrives with a picture book filled 'Bookabag' and settles down to share it. Bookaboo is mesmerised and enthralled by the story. It appears to cure his little 'problem'. As the book finishes, Bookaboo gets his rhythm (he calls it his 'Bojo') back. With the celebrity fan cheering him on from the wings, Bookaboo delights the crowds with a stellar canine drum solo. As the episode draws to an end, an electrified stage sign behind Bookaboo lets the grown up audience know: "1000 books per episode are donated to children who need them most"

Featured Books

Books featured in the show are carefully selected from approximately 500 that are submitted each series by top publishers across the UK. Selection criteria are simple – books must be truly enjoyable to share aloud for both children and adults.

Producer Goodman looks for quality of writing and illustration together with variety across the books featured in the series. Funny books, silly books, slightly scary books, books that rhyme and books that challenge difficult issues. All books selected are intended to appeal to boys and girls.

Goodman also looks to offer celebrities books they will enjoy sharing and that they feel some 'fit' with, for example:

• Meat Loaf shares a truly adventurous book called 'The Lamb Who Came For Dinner'
• Al Murray shares a funny book about farting called 'Pooh! Is that you Bertie?'
• A very pregnant Melanie C shared a beautiful book about unconditional love called 'No Matter What'

Books are available in all good book stores and stickered with Bookaboo's 'Share A Book Today' campaign sticker.

Celebrities

A wide variety of celebrities are invited to take part in the show to encourage grown ups from the broadest areas of society to share books with children. Celebrities have included Rock stars (Meat Loaf), pop stars (Melanie C., Alesha Dixon) and Grime star Lethal Bizzle. Sportsmen and women have also supported Bookaboo's campaign to get more grown ups sharing books, including ex-England Arsenal F.C. goalkeeper (David Seaman), four time gold medal Olympic athlete (Dame Kelly Holmes) and boxing champion Ricky Hatton. Actors and Actresses (Tamsin Egerton, Keith Allen), Presenters (Robson Green, Lorraine Kelly, Fern Britton) and comedians (Omid Djalili, Al Murray, Julian Clary) have all shared a book with Bookaboo. Celebrities are both young and old such as EastEnders young star Maisie Smith (nine years old) and Bernard Cribbins (82 years).

All celebrities become in effect, Storytime Ambassadors for Bookaboo's "Share A Book Today" campaign and have taken part as a result of their desire to help more children and grown ups share books together.

Bookaboo Share A Book Today Campaign

By 2011, 26,000 books had been donated to disadvantaged children across the UK on behalf of Bookaboo and the publishers and celebrities taking part.

In 2009, Bookaboo partnered with Booktrust and The Book People to enable 13,000 books to be distributed to under six-year-old children in care.

In 2011, Bookaboo partnered with The Pre School Learning Alliance and a further 13,000 books are being distributed to nurseries in areas of disadvantage in the UK. Many children attending these nurseries do not have any books in the home and will be able to borrow the donated books as well as enjoying them in the nursery. The books are also to be used in adult literacy classes held in some nurseries, enabling more parents to be able to share books with their children.

1000 books per episode will continue to be donated to children who need them most on behalf of Bookaboo.

Bookaboo Mission

After conducting considerable research into the benefits of sharing books at home and the cause of the current decline, Lucy Goodman created the following mission and then crafted a show around it.

• Use television to promote book sharing at home by grown ups of all ages (grandparents, parents, family friends, siblings etc).
• Reverse old fashioned perceptions of only women reading and inspire fathers to share books with their children.
• Reverse non-reading patterns of behaviour in ‘hard to reach’ families (namely C2DE social demographic).
• Remove preconceptions around books being only for bedtime. Books are for anytime!
• Give all grown-ups the confidence to discover how emotionally rewarding sharing a book with young children can be.

Characters

The Story behind the band

All current members of Bookaboo's band met in the dog rescue centre as orphaned puppies. Their talent for music was uncovered by the centre owner and as a result they entered and won canine talent contest 'Pup Idol'. The puppy band set out to tour the globe on their tourbus, a converted library truck called the Bookabus and play to packed out stadiums around the world. The band constantly feature on the front page in a number of popular canine music and celebrity magazines such as 'Rolling Bone' 'Gerowl' and 'Woof'. They have also won a number of music awards including the Golden Bone award and the Little Puppy Pound Life Time Achievement award.

This band is permanently on tour. The band don't have homes, the road and the Bookabus has become their home and the three pups are friends for life. Four further band members will eventually join the band to be revealed in later series.

Bookaboo

Bookaboo is a world famous rock puppy and legendary canine drummer. But Bookaboo has a little problem. Bookaboo loses his 'bojo' (his rhythm) and can not play unless he's been able to share a book with someone, hence his famous line "A Story a day or I just can't play".

Marcus Clarke is the puppeteer. The Bookaboo puppet was designed by Paul Andrejco and was built by Puppet Heap in Hoboken, NJ.^[1]

Growler

Growler is an American hound and talented bass guitarist. Whilst cooped up in an English dog pound (there's a backstory to this), he was fed a cumberland sausage and since then can't stop eating them. Growler has a particularly low voice and oddly pitched howl and growl. A backstory to be released reveals why he got called Growler.

Growler was introduced in Series 2 UK. He was designed and built by Puppet Heap and is puppeteered by Paul Andrecjo.

Paws

Paws is a talented and extremely dexterous Dachshund keyboard player. To date we have seen Paws play keyboards and get retro with a keytar solo. But Paws can turn his canine digits to a number of instruments has been begging Management to add a saxophone number to the set list.

Paws was designed and built by Puppet Heap and is puppeteered in the UK by Brian Herring.

Music

The titles music, all of the songs and the majority of the incidental music is written, composed and mostly played by Mark Dyson. Mark Dyson and Lucy Goodman met at the age of 17 and have worked together on a variety of children's programmes ever since.

Bookaboo's drum solo is performed by Alex Toff who also puppeteered Bookaboo's arms for his drum solo. Alex Toff whilst dressed up in a lycra chromakey green body fitting suit, described the job as 'the weirdest session he'd ever done'.

Songs to date include:

• 'Bookaboos Book Blues' – Bookaboo sings the Blues
• 'Sausages' – Growler rocks about his love of sausages
• 'Hey You Make Some Noise' – Anthem includes the line "if you rock with the pups then you're part of the band"
• 'Life on the Road'- ballad

Merchandising

A pop-up book complete with sound chip called 'Pup Idol' is published by Walker Books in the UK and Australia. Two stories about their life on the road, "Puppies in the Pound" and "Dogs in Disguise" are published by Walker Books in the UK and Australia together with two activity books. DVD's of the show are available in the UK (Abbey Media) and Australia (Fremantle).

Bookaboo Goes Global

Bookaboo is available to overseas broadcasters both as an acquisition (26 x 11 mins) and/or as a format enabling each territory to profile their own celebrities, authors and illustrators and help children achieve literacy in their own country.

Bookaboo has already sold to ABC2 Australia and is being distributed by Fremantle Media Enterprises.

Bookaboo is also produced in English and French by CBC/Radio-Canada for broadcast in Canada.

Background

In 2008 ITV announced their commission of a part live-action and part animated series to promote child and adult literacy in the UK, in support of the National Year of Reading 2008.^[2] Bookaboo was commissioned by Emma Tennant, Controller of CITV and ITV3. The series, created and produced by Lucy Goodman will be directed by Lucy Goodman and Ian Emes for Happy Films. Tennant also acts as the executive producer for ITV.

The 13 part CITV series launched on Monday 2 March 2009 on the CITV channel and originally aired three times a day, broadcast every weekday at 12:15, 15:20 and 17:45. The central character is a drum playing rock puppy called Bookaboo, who is inspired by picture books, so much so says "I just can't play without a story a day!".

In each 11-minute episode, one of Bookaboo's celebrity fans goes back stage to the rock puppy's tour bus, the 'Bookabus', to see if they can tempt him back to stage by sharing a picture book with him.^[3]

In January 2009 ITV announced the list of celebrities who will be sharing a story with Bookaboo.^[4]

Alongside the series there will an online Bookaboo Book Club, live events and in store promotions.

The show won the Preschool Live Action BAFTA for the 2009 British Academy Children's Awards.^[5][6][7]

A second series began airing from 1 November 2010, airing on both the CITV digital channel and ITV.^[8] It also introduces Bookaboo's bandmates, Growler and Paws.^[9]

Stories and celebrity readers

Series 1 (2009)^[10]

Book[11]	Author/Illustrator	Guest	Occupation	Plot[12]
The Lamb Who Came for Dinner	Steve Smallman and Joelle Dreidemy	Meat Loaf	Singer	An innocent lamb shows up at the house of a hungry wolf.
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown	Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton	Amanda Holden	Actress and Britain's Got Talent judge	The Silly Queen wants Emily Brown's toy rabbit whose name is not Bunnywunny, but Stanley.
Pooh! Is That You Bertie?	David Roberts	Al Murray	Comedian	Bertie keeps farting in front of his mother, father, grandma, sister, and in the cafe.
No Matter What	Debi Gliori	Mel C	Singer	Big and Small talk about their love.
The Cow That Laid An Egg	Andy Cutbill and illustrated by Russel Ayto	Kym Marsh	Actress, currently in Coronation Street	Marjorie lays an egg. The farmer tells the farmer's wife to ring the local press. The other cows say they think that Marjorie didn't lay the egg, the chickens did.
More Pants	Giles Andreae and illustrated by Nick Sharratt	Alesha Dixon	Singer	A rhyming story in which a variety of people and animals show their pants.
Splat the Cat	Rob Scotton	Ben Shepherd	Presenter	Splat nervously starts school.
A Mummy for Owen	Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by John Butler	Fern Britton	Presenter	Owen and his family get split up by waves, will they get back together?
Norma Snows	Paula Metcalf	Kelly Holmes	Olympic Gold Medallist	Norma has just been born and she starts school.
The Hairy Toe	Daniel Postgate	Julian Clary	Comedian	Old Woman finds a Hairy Toe which, she later learns, belongs to a monster.
Class Two at the Zoo	Julia Jarman and illustrated by Lynne Chapman	Robson Green	Actor	Class 2 see lots of animals at the zoo, but not the anaconda.
The Night Pirates	Peter Harris and illustrated by Deborah Allwright	Michael Rosen	Author	A Boy discovers girl pirates borrowing the front of his house and goes along for an adventure with them.
Whatever	William Bee	David Seaman	Footballer	A boy is shown exciting things but always replies "...whatever".

Series 2 (2010)^[13]

Book[14]	Author/Illustrator	Guest	Occupation	Plot[15]
Burger Boy	Alan Durant and Mei Matsuoka	Johnny Vegas	Comedian	Boy turns into burger after a burger overdose.
Don't Wake The Bear, Hare!	Steve Smallman and Caroline Pedler	Myleene Klass	Singer, Model and Actress	Animals try to throw a party without waking a bear.
Wolf's Magnificent Master Plan	Melanie Williamson	Adam Garcia	Actor and Dancer	Toothless Wolf tricks lambs into helping with moneymaking scheme to get replacement teeth, allowing the wolf to eat the lambs.
A Visitor For Bear	Bonny Becker and Kady Macdonald Denton	Samia Smith	Actress	Bear doesn't allow visitors in his place, until some time after a mouse stops by.
The Wolf's Story - What Really Happened To Little Red Riding Hood	Toby Forward and Izhar Cohe	Keith Allen	Actor	The Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood explains the events of the classic story from how he saw it all.
Grill Pan Eddy	Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross	Lethal Bizzle	Rap artist	Mouse causes trouble for family. Family try to stop him, but end up adopting him as a pet.
Mom And Dad Glue	Kes Gray and Lee Wildsmith	Lorraine Kelly	Presenter	Boy's parents are breaking up, so boy tries to get some parent glue to resolve the issue.
The Bears in the Bed & The Great Big Storm	Paul Bright and Jane Chapman	Bernard Cribbins	Actor	Bears have trouble sleeping on a stormy night due to presence of what is thought to be a monster.
Dogs Don't Do Ballet	Anna Kemp and Sara Oglivie	Tamsin Egerton	Actress	Girl's pet dog is a talented ballerina, but everyone other than the girl doubts about dogs doing ballet.
The Spider and The Fly	Tony DiTerlizzi	Emilia Fox	Actress	Fly visits Spider's place, yet resists Spider's temptations, until eventually...
Kisses Are Yuk!	Julia Jarman and E. Waters	Omid Djalili	Comedian	Boy expresses his disdain for kisses.
Stinky!: Or How the Beautiful Smelly Warthog Found a Friend	Ian Whybrow and Lynne Chapman	Maisie Smith	Actress	Smelly Warthog has trouble making friends due to his foul odor.
Tortoise vs Hare: The Rematch	Preston Rutt and Ben Redlich	Ricky Hatton	Boxer	The Tortoise and The Hare have another race as a rematch from the one before.

Series 3 (2013) (Canada)^[16]

Book[17]	Author/Illustrator	Guest	Occupation	Plot[18]
Warduff and the Corn Cob Caper	Mat Head	Jason Priestley	Actor	Farm animals are under threat of attack so a cat is called in to help
The Great Snortle Hunt	Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley	Adam Beach	Actor	Animals dare each other to infiltrate the house of a scary-sounding creature called the Snortle
Walter and the No Need to Worry Suit	Rachel Bright	Sheila McCarthy	Actress	Walter worries a lot so his friends make him a suit intended to protect him from his worries
Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice	Chris Wormell	Gordon Pinsent	Actor	Scruffy Bear protects Six White Mice from other animals while escorting them through a forest
The Worst Princess	Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie	Kate Nash	singer, actress	Knight saves a princess who turns out to be badly behaved
Ping and Pong are Best Friends...Mostly	Tim Hopgood	James Keylon	Clown	Ping and Pong are friends, yet Pong is better at doing things than Ping
Good Little Wolf	Nadia Shireen	Dave Gorman	Comedian	Wolf is good and well behaved, but things go wrong when he meets a big, bad wolf
Drumheller Dinosaur Dance	Robert Heidbreder, Bill Salvin and Esperance Melo	Fefe Dobson	Musician	Dinosaur skeletons come to life at night and dance
Aliens Love Underpants	Claire Freeman and Ben Cort	Julie Payette	Astronaut	Aliens invade Earth to steal underpants from Earthlings
The Great Sheep Shenanigans	Peter Bently and Mei Matsuoka	Seán Cullen	Comedian
Leave Me Alone	Kes Gray and Lee Wildish	Georges Laraque	Hockey player	Boy is being bullied by a giant so animals stick up for him
The Subway Mouse	Barbara Reid	Jian Ghomeshi	Broadcaster, Writer, Musician	Mouse has courage to go to a place outside the subway in which he resides
The Talent Show		Amy Jo Johnson	Actress, Singer	Animals put together a musical act to enter a talent show, but don't let a bird join them until they discover the bird's singing talent
Toads on Toast	Linda Bailey	Jacob Hoggard	Singer	Fox attempts to cook toads but one of the toads puts him off with a toad-free recipe
Whiffy Wilson, The Wolf Who Wouldn't Wash	Caryl Hart, Leonie Lord	Zaib Shaikh		Whiffy Wilson is a wolf who doesn't wash, but gets taught by a friend that he should
Scaredy Squirrel	Mélanie Watt	Peter Mansbridge	News Anchor	Scaredy Squirrel never leaves his tree and lives by the same routine every day but one day he falls from his tree and ventures into the unknown
Grandma Bendy	Izy Penguin	Tara Spencer-Nairn	Actress	Grandma Bendy has bendy arms and legs, and recalls the story of how she turned from thief to hero
Mr King's Things		Joannie Rochette		Mr King keeps replacing his existing things with new ones, but is then taught how he can find new uses for his old things
A Bedtime for Bear		Melinda Shankar		Bear is trying to get to sleep, while at the same time having a guest
Stanley's Party		Nico Archambault		Stanley, a dog, is left at home by owners so occupies himself and eventually invites other dogs over for a party
My Think-a-ma-jink		Jeff Stinco	Musician	Boy gets given a toy which runs on his imagination
The Busy Beaver		Cathy Jones		Beaver is busy yet careless and doesn't realize how careless he is until he gets injured
The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear	David Bruins and Hilary Leung	Anthony Calvillo	Football player	Three good friends learn to appreciate their differences
Larf		Bret Hart	Wrestler	Larf hears word of their being another creature of his species
Cookiebot		Hugh Dillon	Musician	Boy builds a robot to allow him to reach for the cookie jar

School special (2013)

Book[19]	Author/Illustrator	Guest	Occupation	Plot[20]
Pigeon Poo	Elizabeth Baguley and Mark Chambers	Des Hegarty	Teacher	Pigeon poos on everyone and everything in town while flying

Christmas special (2013)

Book[21]	Author/Illustrator	Guest	Occupation	Plot[22]
Grumpy Badger's Christmas	Paul Bright and Jane Chapman	Jim Carter	Actor, Downton Abbey
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam	Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton	Simon Gregson	Actor, Coronation Street
Dustbin Dad	Peter Bently and Russell Ayto	Warwick Davis	Actor

Awards and nominations

The first series won the Children's BAFTA Award for 'Best Pre-School Live Action' programme in 2009. The second series received the same award title in 2011.

In 2009, Lucy Goodman and Ian Emes received an RTS nomination. Bookaboo has since gone onto win the 2010 Broadcast Award for Best Children's Programme and the 2010 International Prix Jeunesse award in Munich.

In 2012, Bookaboo was awarded a British Animation Award in the mixed media category and was finalist in Children's Choice category.

References

External links

• Official Website
• Bookaboo at itv.com/citv
• Bookashop – Featuring books featured in the series