Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Bookaboo

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Genre
  
Children's

Narrated by
  
Various

Created by
  
Lucy Goodman

Composer(s)
  
Mark Dyson

Written by
  
Lucy Goodman, Alex Williams (writer)

Directed by
  
Lucy Goodman & Ian Emes

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 and Amazon Video in the United Kingdom, ABC2 in Australia, and Amazon Video in the United States.

Contents

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"

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 an truly adventurous book, called The Lamb Who Came For Dinner
  • David Roberts shares an funny book about farting, called Pooh! Is That You Bertie?
  • A very pregnant Melanie C shared an 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 pop stars (Melanie C., Meat Loaf, Alesha Dixon) and Grime star Lethal Bizzle. Sportsmen and women have also supported Bookaboo's campaign to get more grown ups sharing books, including former manager for England (Steve McClaren), former Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott) and talk show host Conan O'Brien.

    Actors and Actresses (Tamsin Egerton, Marc Wootton, Simon Lowe), Presenters (Hugh Dennis, Tiff Needell, Harry Hill) and comedians (Sinbad, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen K Amos) 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 (eighty two 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 United Kingdom, 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. 1,000 books per episode will continue to be donated to children who need them most on behalf of Bookaboo.

    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.

    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 United Kingdom. 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 an keytar solo. But Paws can turn his canine digits to a number of instruments has been begging Management to add an saxophone number to the set list. Paws was designed and built by Puppet Heap, and is puppeteered in the United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom and Australia together with two activity books. DVD's of the show are available in the United Kingdom (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 November 2008, ITV announced their commission of a part live action, and part animated series, to promote child and adult literacy in the United Kingdom, in support of the National Year of Reading 2008. 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 thirteen 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 eleven 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.

    In January 2009 ITV announced the list of celebrities who will be sharing a story with Bookaboo. 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. A second series began airing from 1 November 2010, airing on both the CITV digital channel and ITV. It also introduces Bookaboo's bandmates, Growler and Paws.

    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

    Bookaboo Wikipedia