Readalong
Encyclopedia
Readalong was an educational, Canadian television
program for young children, first produced in 1976 for TVOntario
.
The program taught fundamentals of reading
with the help of live child actors and puppet
s, including a comically dressed grandmother figure named Granny and anthropomorphic footwear: a brown, male boot and pink, female shoe named, appropriately, Boot (voiced by Jack Duffy
) and Pretty. Other characters were Mister Bones, the Explorer, House, and the Thing.
The Granny, Boot, and Pretty puppets are now housed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization
. Noreen Young
, who designed the puppets, also created puppets for other programs, including Under the Umbrella Tree
. The characters were developed by Ken Sobol, who also wrote all the scripts for the series. The show's music was composed by Eric Robertson
.
Canadian television
Canadian television may refer to:*Television in Canada - general information about the Canadian television industry*CTV Television Network - a specific Canadian TV network; CTV is sometimes interpreted as "Canadian Television"...
program for young children, first produced in 1976 for TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
.
The program taught fundamentals of reading
Reading (process)
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...
with the help of live child actors and puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
s, including a comically dressed grandmother figure named Granny and anthropomorphic footwear: a brown, male boot and pink, female shoe named, appropriately, Boot (voiced by Jack Duffy
Jack Duffy
Jack Duffy was a Canadian singer, comedian and actor.-Biography:Born in Montreal, Duffy grew up in Toronto, dropping out of Central Technical School to become a singer...
) and Pretty. Other characters were Mister Bones, the Explorer, House, and the Thing.
The Granny, Boot, and Pretty puppets are now housed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
. Noreen Young
Noreen Young
Noreen Isabel Young, CM is a Canadian producer and puppeteer, and is still actively involved in the puppeteering business through her corporation, Noreen Young Productions....
, who designed the puppets, also created puppets for other programs, including Under the Umbrella Tree
Under the Umbrella Tree
Under the Umbrella Tree is a Canadian children's television series created by Noreen Young that originally aired on CBC from 1986–1993. The show was produced by CBC and Noreen Young Productions, and also later by The Disney Channel....
. The characters were developed by Ken Sobol, who also wrote all the scripts for the series. The show's music was composed by Eric Robertson
Eric Robertson (composer)
Eric Nathan Robertson is a Scottish composer, organist, pianist, and record producer who has been primarily active in Canada. A two time Gemini Award winner, he has composed more than 60 film scores and written music for a number of television series in Canada and the United States...
.
Credits
- Children: Reena Schellenberg, Moira Knott, Bobby Prochaska, Eric Braslis, Adrian Rajaram
- Puppeteers: Noreen Young, Bob Dermer, Nina Keogh
- Voices: Max Ferguson, Jack Duffy, Julie Amato
- Music: Eric Robertson
- Animation: Bill Reed, Patricia Crudden, John Leach, Bill Borg
- Writer: Ken Sobol
- Educational Supervisors: Ruth Vernon, Jennifer Harvey
- Production Assistant: Jeannie Mougeot, Janice Newland, Frances Revell
- Producer/Director: Peter McLean, Chris Homer