WordWorld

WordWorld
Genre	Educational Children's television series
Created by	Don Moody Jacqueline Moody Peter Schneider Gary Friedman
Developed by	Don Moody Olexa Hewryk Jacqueline Moody Tina Peel
Directed by	Olexa Hewryk
Narrated by	H.D. Quinn
Theme music composer	Billy Straus
Composers	Nick Balaban Nathaniel Reichman
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	45 (90 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Don Moody Jacqueline Moody Olexa Hewyrk Sue Hollenberg
Producers	Sue Hollenberg Alia Nakashima
Running time	28 minutes
Production companies	The Learning Box WTTW Chicago
Original release
Network	PBS Kids
Release	September 3, 2007 (2007-09-03) – January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17)

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 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

In 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

• H.D. Quinn as the Narrator, Dog, Fly, Duck and Ant
• 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, Cow, Cat, Spider, and Bird
• Marc Thompson as Robot, Shark, and Turtle
• Meredith Zeitlin as Fish and Whale

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Segments	Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
1	52	26		September 3, 2007 (2007-09-03)	December 1, 2008 (2008-12-01)
2	28	14		February 13, 2009 (2009-02-13)	December 28, 2009 (2009-12-28)
3	10	5		October 4, 2010 (2010-10-04)	January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17)

Season 1 (2007–2008)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Build a Word	Music video	Original air date
1	1	"Runaway O"	Box Cake	Dancing Dog	September 3, 2007 (2007-09-03)
		"Happy Birthday, Dog!"
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 (2007-09-04)
		"Chef Sheep"
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 (2007-09-05)
		"The Birds"
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 (2007-09-06)
		"Duck's Family Reunion"
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 (2007-09-13)
		"Dog Wants to Play Ball"
6	6	"Pies, Pies, Pies!"	Pies Log	Dancing Dog	September 14, 2007 (2007-09-14)
		"Waterlogged"
7	7	"Dog's Camping Adventure"	Tent Vine	Ride the Slide	September 17, 2007 (2007-09-17)
		"V is for Vacation"
8	8	"Snug as a Bug"	Rug Nightlight	Ride the Slide	September 18, 2007 (2007-09-18)
		"Nightlight"
9	9	"Duck's First Sleepover Party"	Bed Hat	Ride the Slide	October 29, 2007 (2007-10-29)
		"One Hat Fits All"
10	10	"Dancing Dog"	Drum Corn, Pie, Cake	Circus Sheep	November 19, 2007 (2007-11-19)
		"Pig's Big Moonlight Feast"
11	11	"Boppin' with the Bug Band"	Bell Pit	Circus Sheep	November 26, 2007 (2007-11-26)
		"Shuffleword"
12	12	"W Drought"	Water Crown	Take the Stage	January 31, 2008 (2008-01-31)
		"Princess Sheep"
13	13	"Radio Read-a-Thon"	Book Robots	Take the Stage	February 15, 2008 (2008-02-15)
		"Robots to the Rescue!"
14	14	"Pl-Pl-Plane"	Plane Sail, Pail, Nail	Take the Stage	March 3, 2008 (2008-03-03)
		"Mail Mix Up"
15	15	"Pig's Present"	Jet Clock	Monster Maker	March 21, 2008 (2008-03-21)
		"Tick Tock Space Clock"
16	16	"Castles in the Sea"	Castle Coat	Monster Maker	April 7, 2008 (2008-04-07)
		"Get Your Coat"
17	17	"Superhero Sheep"	Slide Ship	Monster Maker	April 8, 2008 (2008-04-08)
		"Pirate Ship"
18	18	"Playing Spies"	Pool Sub	It's Time to Rhyme	May 5, 2008 (2008-05-05)
		"Wee Little Whale"
19	19	"The Race to Mystery Island"	Boat Star	It's Time to Rhyme	May 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)
		"A Star is Born"
20	20	"Back on Track"	Track Candle	It's Time to Rhyme	May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23)
		"The Rainbow Birthday Cake"
21	21	"Bit by Bit"	Banana Rope	Pig's Perfect Pizza	June 23, 2008 (2008-06-23)
		"Ride 'em, Cowbear!"
22	22	"Play Ball!"	Ball Map	Pig's Perfect Pizza	June 24, 2008 (2008-06-24)
		"M is for Map"
23	23	"Flying Ant"	Kite Stage	Pig's Perfect Pizza	July 7, 2008 (2008-07-07)
		"The Dancing Duck Bonanza"
24	24	"The Lost Letter L"	Log Cookie	Ride the Slide	August 18, 2008 (2008-08-18)
		"Catch that C!"
25	25	"A Kooky Spooky Halloween"	Bag Dust	Monster Maker	October 6, 2008 (2008-10-06)
		"Sheep's Halloween Costume"
26	26	"The Christmas Star"	Star Ball	It's Time to Rhyme	December 1, 2008 (2008-12-01)
		"A Christmas Present for Dog"

Season 2 (2009)

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 (2009-02-13)
		"Love, Bug"
28	2	"Duck Saves Spider's Web"	Web Box	Fruit Cha-Cha	March 31, 2009 (2009-03-31)
		"Caterpillar Gets A Home"
29	3	"Bugs to the Rescue!"	Balloon Bike	Fruit Cha-Cha	April 13, 2009 (2009-04-13)
		"Sheep's First Bike Ride"
30	4	"Duck's Hiccups"	Glass Ants	Fruit Cha-Cha	May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11)
		"Achoo!"
31	5	"Get Well Soon Soup"	Bed Milk	Get Up and Move	May 12, 2009 (2009-05-12)
		"Mmm-Mmm-Milk!"
32	6	"Get Set for ET"	Jet Piano	Get Up and Move	June 15, 2009 (2009-06-15)
		"Duck Plays the Piano"
33	7	"Shark's First Day of School"	Flag Pillow	Get Up and Move	July 13, 2009 (2009-07-13)
		"Shark's First Loose Tooth"
34	8	"Duck at Bat"	Bat (happened twice) Roof	Get Up and Move	July 14, 2009 (2009-07-14)
		"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 (2009-09-07)
		"Duck's Family Reunion"
36	10	"Bed Bugs"	Bed Rug (repeat of season 1 episode)	It's Time to Rhyme	September 8, 2009 (2009-09-08)
		"Snug as a Bug"
37	11	"Totally Terrific Duck"	Tie Star (repeat of season 1 episode)	Fruit Cha-Cha	October 12, 2009 (2009-10-12)
		"A Star is Born"
38	12	"Dog's Having a Party"	Horn Ball (repeat of season 1 episode)	Ride the Slide	November 9, 2009 (2009-11-09)
		"Dog Wants to Play Ball"
39	13	"Welcome Home, Duck"	Rock Log (repeat of season 1 episode)	Get Up and Move	November 10, 2009 (2009-11-10)
		"The Lost Letter L"
40	14	"Bear's Bed Sled"	Sled Shoe (repeat of season 1 episode)	Take the Stage	December 28, 2009 (2009-12-28)
		"Sh-Sh-Shark!"

Season 3 (2010–2011)

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 (2010-10-04)
		"J-J-Jelly"
42	2	"Hide and Seek"	Lake Kite	Get Up and Move	October 5, 2010 (2010-10-05)
		"Kite Flight"
43	3	"The Really Red Ruby"	Rock Fire	Pig's Perfect Pizza	November 1, 2010 (2010-11-01)
		"Firefighters to the Rescue"
44	4	"Think in the Rink"	Rink X-Ray	Fruit Cha-Cha	November 2, 2010 (2010-11-02)
		"X Marks the Spot"
45	5	"Race to the Spaceship"	Spaceship Sandbox	Get Up and Move	January 17, 2011 (2011-01-17)
		"Sandbox Surprise"

Reception

Critical

Emily 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.”

Awards

2009 Emmy Award Winner Outstanding Children's Animated Program Outstanding Writing in Animation

2008 Emmy Award Winner Outstanding Achievement in Main Title

Three 2007 Parents’ Choice Awards: Gold Welcome to WordWorld DVD Rocket to the Moon/The Birds DVD WordWorld Television Series

Creative Child Magazine – Creative Toys Awards 2008 Preferred Choice Award: Barn Bucket Set 2008 Seal of Excellence Award: Pull-Apart Plush

2004 Preferred Choice Award: Pull Apart Plush

2008 Toy Wishes Magazine All-Star Award WordPuzzle with Sound: Duck's Beach Party

Interactive Media Awards 2007 Best in Class: PBS Kids WordWorld Website

External links

• Official website
• WordWorld at IMDb