PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch was a three-hour block of children's animated series on PBS, produced by Canada's Nelvana animation studio. The block was typically shown on Saturday or Sunday mornings, depending on local station preference and scheduling. The series that formed the Bookworm Bunch were based on popular children's books. The initial series were Corduroy, Elliot Moose, Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse, George Shrinks, Seven Little Monsters, and Timothy Goes to School. The block premiered on September 30, 2000.
On September 29, 2001, the block was cut down to two hours, cancelling and removing Corduroy and Elliot Moose.
At the end of the 2001-2002 season, Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse and Timothy Goes to School ended production, but reruns still aired until the block's cancellation.
In 2003, PBS scheduled a weekday version of the block, which included The Berenstain Bears and new episodes of both Seven Little Monsters and George Shrinks. Berenstain Bears and Seven Little Monsters shared the same half-hour time-slot (with an 11-minute story of each series). Adventures from the Book of Virtues also aired between the block.
In 2003, PBS launched the "Share a Story" ad campaign that aired between George Shrinks, Adventures from the Book of Virtues, The Berenstain Bears and Seven Little Monsters. The song used in the campaign was sung by popular American rock band They Might Be Giants.
The block was cancelled in 2004, and was replaced by regular PBS Kids shows like Thomas & Friends and ZOOM. It was last aired on September 4, 2004.
After the cancellation of the Bookworm Bunch block, Seven Little Monsters and George Shrinks continued to air as stand-alone programs. The former was removed from PBS Kids in January 2005, while the latter remained on some PBS stations until around 2009. As of 2013, the non-cable Qubo channel airs reruns of Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse as part of its daily programming. Elliot Moose and George Shrinks reruns also aired on Qubo from 2007-2010. Cable channel Discovery Kids also aired reruns of Timothy Goes to School from 2004 until 2006.
Famous quotes containing the words kids, bookworm and/or bunch:
“Do we honestly believe that hopeless kids growing up under the harsh new rules will turn out to be chaste, studious, responsible adults? On the contrary, by limiting welfare, job training, education and nutritious food, won’t we plant the seeds for another bumper crop of out-of-wedlock moms, deadbeat dads and worse?”
—Richard B. Stolley (20th century)
“This is just a footnote, though a microcosmic one perhaps, to the greater curve
Of the elaboration; it asks no place in it, only insertion hors-texte as the invisible notion of how that day grew
From planisphere to heaven, and what part in it all the “I” had, the insatiable researcher of learned trivia, bookworm ...”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Don: I’m not going near that country club.
Wick: Why not?
Don: They’re all a bunch of hypocrites. I don’t like to be whispered about—”Look who’s here from New York, the Birnam brothers. Or rather the nurse and the invalid.””
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)