WordWorld is an American animated children's television series based on the books and the wooden puzzles of the same name. The series was created by Don Moody, Jacqueline Moody, Peter Schneider and Gary Friedman, it was produced by The Learning Box and WTTW National for PBS Kids.
| WordWorld | |
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| Developed by |
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| Directed by | Olexa Hewryk |
| Narrated by | H.D. Quinn |
| Theme music composer | Billy Straus |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 45 (90 segments) (list of episodes) |
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| Running time | 28 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | PBS Kids |
| Release | September 3, 2007 – January 17, 2011 |
WordWorld aired on PBS Kids from September 3, 2007 to January 17, 2011, with PBS later airing reruns on the national 24-hour PBS Kids channel from January 16, 2017 to October 2, 2022. The series consisted of 3 seasons and 45 episodes (90 segments total).
Premise
editIn the series, when letters are combined to spell words, they morph into the shape of the corresponding object. The animal characters and many objects are made of letters, and are respectively called WordFriends and WordThings. The main setting is a planet that has two landmasses in the shape of Ws for WordWorld; despite its name, WordFriends and WordThings also exist in outer space. In each episode, the characters have a cartoonish adventure, and ultimately must "build a word" using synthetic phonics to solve a problem. Some episodes focus on concepts such as rhymes, compound words, and plural formation with -s.
WordWorld is designed to teach children how to spell. In non-English speaking countries, it is designed to teach children English as a second language.
Cast
edit- H.D. Quinn as the Narrator, Dog, Fly, Duck, Ant, and Cow
- Lenore Zann as Kangaroo, Owl, and Tiger
- George Bailey as Pig, Bug, and Monkey
- Daryl Ekroth as Frog, Monster, and Fox
- Mirm Kriegel as Elephant and Bear
- Veronica Taylor as Sheep, Bee, Cat, Spider, and Bird
- Marc Thompson as Robot, Shark, and Turtle
- Meredith Zeitlin as Fish and Whale
Episodes
editSeries overview
edit| Season | Segments | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 52 | 26 | September 3, 2007 | December 1, 2008 | |
| 2 | 28 | 14 | February 13, 2009 | December 28, 2009 | |
| 3 | 10 | 5 | October 4, 2010 | January 17, 2011 | |
Season 1 (2007–08)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Build a Word | Music video | Original air date | |||||
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| 1 | 1 | "Runaway O" | Box Cake | Dancing Dog | September 3, 2007 | |||||
| "Happy Birthday, Dog!" | ||||||||||
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When Sheep and Bear open Cat's box of "O's," one rolls away, sending them on a madcap chase to catch it before Cat wakes up. It's Dog's birthday and all of his friends are planning a surprise party. However, when the cake flips around and breaks the letters, everyone panics. Frog must get to the party safely without Dog finding out. | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "There's an Ant in Every Giant" | Ant Pot | Dancing Dog | September 4, 2007 | |||||
| "Chef Sheep" | ||||||||||
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Tiny ant is tired of being the smallest Word Friend in Word World. When Ant adds "GI" to his name, Ant becomes a "giant" and soon learns that being small isn't so bad after all. During his "cooking show", Chef Pig gets a pot stuck on his face while eating ice cream out of it. Now there is no pot to cook in and no chef to do the cooking. Luckily for Pig, an ever-helpful Sheep is there to take over for him. But first, Sheep must learn to have confidence in herself before Sheep can save the day. | ||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Rocket to the Moon" | Rocket Bird | Dancing Dog | September 5, 2007 | |||||
| "The Birds" | ||||||||||
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Frog thinks that in order to build a big rocket Frog needs big, uppercase letters. But when Frog gets stranded on the moon with the Little Piggies, Frog learns that lowercase letters are just as useful as uppercase ones. Sheep, Bear and Frog go out bird watching and get more than they bargained for–they find an egg. Sheep does her zany best to care for the energetic egg until the baby bird is born and is reunited with his mother. | ||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Mystery of the Disappearing Pie" | Bear Truck | Dancing Dog | September 6, 2007 | |||||
| "Duck's Family Reunion" | ||||||||||
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Pig baked a pie while waiting for Bear, then, it goes missing and awry. Detective Sheep is ready to help her WordFriends follow the letter clues and solve the mystery of the disappearing pie. Because they have similar-sounding names, Duck mistakes a truck for a long-lost relative. His best friend Frog is a bit ruffled at the epidemic of silliness going around, but ends up saving the day for Duck and his word 'family' when the truck gets stuck in the muck. | ||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Sh-Sh-Shark!" | Shoe Ball | Dancing Dog | September 13, 2007 | |||||
| "Dog Wants to Play Ball" | ||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Pies, Pies, Pies!" | Pies Log | Dancing Dog | September 14, 2007 | |||||
| "Waterlogged" | ||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Dog's Camping Adventure" | Tent Vine | Ride the Slide | September 17, 2007 | |||||
| "V is for Vacation" | ||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Snug as a Bug" | Rug Nightlight | Ride the Slide | September 18, 2007 | |||||
| "Nightlight" | ||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Duck's First Sleepover Party" | Bed Hat | Ride the Slide | October 29, 2007 | |||||
| "One Hat Fits All" | ||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Dancing Dog" | Drum Corn, Pie, Cake | Circus Sheep | November 19, 2007 | |||||
| "Pig's Big Moonlight Feast" | ||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Boppin' with the Bug Band" | Bell Pit | Circus Sheep | November 26, 2007 | |||||
| "Shuffleword" | ||||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "W Drought" | Water Crown | Take the Stage | January 31, 2008 | |||||
| "Princess Sheep" | ||||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Radio Read-a-Thon" | Book Robots | Take the Stage | February 15, 2008 | |||||
| "Robots to the Rescue!" | ||||||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Pl-Pl-Plane" | Plane Sail, Pail, Nail | Take the Stage | March 3, 2008 | |||||
| "Mail Mix Up" | ||||||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Pig's Present" | Jet Clock | Monster Maker | March 21, 2008 | |||||
| "Tick Tock Space Clock" | ||||||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Castles in the Sea" | Castle Coat | Monster Maker | April 7, 2008 | |||||
| "Get Your Coat" | ||||||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Superhero Sheep" | Slide Ship | Monster Maker | April 8, 2008 | |||||
| "Pirate Ship" | ||||||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Playing Spies" | Pool Sub | It's Time to Rhyme | May 5, 2008 | |||||
| "Wee Little Whale" | ||||||||||
| 19 | 19 | "The Race to Mystery Island" | Boat Star | It's Time to Rhyme | May 6, 2008 | |||||
| "A Star is Born" | ||||||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Back on Track" | Track Candle | It's Time to Rhyme | May 23, 2008 | |||||
| "The Rainbow Birthday Cake" | ||||||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Bit by Bit" | Banana Rope | Pig's Perfect Pizza | June 23, 2008 | |||||
| "Ride 'em, Cowbear!" | ||||||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Play Ball!" | Ball Map | Pig's Perfect Pizza | June 24, 2008 | |||||
| "M is for Map" | ||||||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Flying Ant" | Kite Stage | Pig's Perfect Pizza | July 7, 2008 | |||||
| "The Dancing Duck Bonanza" | ||||||||||
| 24 | 24 | "The Lost Letter L" | Log Cookie | Ride the Slide | August 18, 2008 | |||||
| "Catch that C!" | ||||||||||
| 25 | 25 | "A Kooky Spooky Halloween" | Bag Dust | Monster Maker | October 6, 2008 [DVD 1]. | |||||
| "Sheep's Halloween Costume" | ||||||||||
| 26 | 26 | "The Christmas Star" | Star Ball | It's Time to Rhyme | December 1, 2008 | |||||
| "A Christmas Present for Dog" | ||||||||||
- ^ These Episodes were first released in A Kooky Spooky Halloween DVD on August 25, 2008
Season 2 (2009)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Build a Word | Music Video | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "My Fuzzy Valentine" | Heart Bug | Fruit Cha-Cha | February 13, 2009 |
| "Love, Bug" | |||||
| 28 | 2 | "Duck Saves Spider's Web" | Web Box | Fruit Cha-Cha | March 31, 2009 |
| "Caterpillar Gets A Home" | |||||
| 29 | 3 | "Bugs to the Rescue!" | Balloon Bike | Fruit Cha-Cha | April 13, 2009 |
| "Sheep's First Bike Ride" | |||||
| 30 | 4 | "Duck's Hiccups" | Glass Ants | Fruit Cha-Cha | May 11, 2009 |
| "Achoo!" | |||||
| 31 | 5 | "Get Well Soon Soup" | Bed Milk | Get Up and Move | May 12, 2009 |
| "Mmm-Mmm-Milk!" | |||||
| 32 | 6 | "Get Set for ET" | Jet Piano | Get Up and Move | June 15, 2009 |
| "Duck Plays the Piano" | |||||
| 33 | 7 | "Shark's First Day of School" | Flag Pillow | Get Up and Move | July 13, 2009 |
| "Shark's First Loose Tooth" | |||||
| 34 | 8 | "Duck at Bat" | Bat (happened twice) Roof | Get Up and Move | July 14, 2009 |
| "You Can Never Have Too Many OO's" | |||||
| 35 | 9 | "The Best Nest" | Nest Truck (repeat of season 1 episode) | Take the Stage | September 7, 2009 |
| "Duck's Family Reunion" | |||||
| 36 | 10 | "Bed Bugs" | Bed Rug (repeat of season 1 episode) | It's Time to Rhyme | September 8, 2009 |
| "Snug as a Bug" | |||||
| 37 | 11 | "Totally Terrific Duck" | Tie Star (repeat of season 1 episode) | Fruit Cha-Cha | October 12, 2009 |
| "A Star is Born" | |||||
| 38 | 12 | "Dog's Having a Party" | Horn Ball (repeat of season 1 episode) | Ride the Slide | November 9, 2009 |
| "Dog Wants to Play Ball" | |||||
| 39 | 13 | "Welcome Home, Duck" | Rock Log (repeat of season 1 episode) | Get Up and Move | November 10, 2009 |
| "The Lost Letter L" | |||||
| 40 | 14 | "Bear's Bed Sled" | Sled Shoe (repeat of season 1 episode) | Take the Stage | December 28, 2009 |
| "Sh-Sh-Shark!" | |||||
Season 3 (2010–11)
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Build a Word | Music video | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "A String's the Thing" | String Jar | Ride the Slide | October 4, 2010 |
| "J-J-Jelly" | |||||
| 42 | 2 | "Hide and Seek" | Lake Kite | Get Up and Move | October 5, 2010 |
| "Kite Flight" | |||||
| 43 | 3 | "The Really Red Ruby" | Rock Fire | Pig's Perfect Pizza | November 1, 2010 |
| "Firefighters to the Rescue" | |||||
| 44 | 4 | "Think in the Rink" | Rink X-Ray | Fruit Cha-Cha | November 2, 2010 |
| "X Marks the Spot" | |||||
| 45 | 5 | "Race to the Spaceship" | Spaceship Sandbox | Get Up and Move | January 17, 2011 |
| "Sandbox Surprise" | |||||
Reception
editCritical
editEmily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 5 out of 5 stars; saying that, “This show is perfectly suited for preschoolers' learning level, and it will entertain them as it reinforces their knowledge of letters, sounds, and simple words. With its imaginative design and with the various font styles used to create the letter-based objects, the WordWorld package is delightful enough to draw in parents almost as readily as kids.”[1]
Awards
edit2009 Emmy Award Winner Outstanding Children's Animated Program Outstanding Writing in Animation[2]
2008 Emmy Award Winner Outstanding Achievement in Main Title[2]
Three 2007 Parents’ Choice Awards: Gold Welcome to WordWorld DVD Rocket to the Moon/The Birds DVD WordWorld Television Series[2]
Creative Child Magazine – Creative Toys Awards 2008 Preferred Choice Award: Barn Bucket Set 2008 Seal of Excellence Award: Pull-Apart Plush[2]
2004 Preferred Choice Award: Pull Apart Plush[2]
2008 Toy Wishes Magazine All-Star Award WordPuzzle with Sound: Duck's Beach Party[2]
Interactive Media Awards 2007 Best in Class: PBS Kids WordWorld Website[2]