New York,
NY (November
7,
2006) --
Word Up! Scholastic Media announced today it will premiere shorts of the new animated children’s series The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl™ this November on PBS KIDS GO!. The twenty, 2-minute shorts will be telecast during the breaks of specific episodes of Maya & Miguel (check local listings), throughout the PBS KIDS GO! block and online at PBSKIDSGO.org.
The new series chronicles the adventures of Becky Bostford, a mild-mannered fifth grader who, at the call of duty, transforms into WordGirl – caped crusader and definition dynamo! When there is trouble in the big city, this super heroine-in-disguise uses vocabulary to defeat outlaws bent on “WORD” domination. With the help of her faithful monkey sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, WordGirl spends each episode defeating a quirky cast of misfit bad guys with her uncanny vocabulary skills and superhero strength.
“The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl introduces vocabulary in an age-appropriate, humorous manner to engage early elementary school kids and help them build their language and literacy skills,” said John F. Wilson, PBS SVP & Chief TV Programming Executive. "With the premiere of The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl as short form stories and a Web site, PBS KIDS GO! is debuting educational content in a new way, or as WordGirl might say, a splendiferous way to create positive hullabaloo about vocabulary!”
Created and produced by Soup2Nuts, a cutting-edge animation production studio and a division of Scholastic Media, The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl features irreverent humor and a wacky style that will give early elementary school kids a fun and unique way to learn the power of new words and see them in crime-fighting action.
The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl boasts an all-star cast, which includes the famous voices of Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Saturday Night Live’s Chris Parnell, and comedian Wanda Sykes, among others, as well as a dedicated companion website at
http://pbskidsgo.org/wordgirl.
The Web site at PBSKIDSGO.org includes exciting games and activities that are specially designed to expose children to new words in a fun way. The web experience stays true to the on-air series. Kids will feel like they’re actually in the world of The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl, and can control and play in simulated elements that are found within the television episodes. The site is designed to encourage children to use new words in daily conversation and develop a love of language.
“We are very excited to offer our viewers a first glimpse at this fun-filled series,” said Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media. “The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl’ uniquely incorporates the underlying themes of education and laugh-out-loud comedy and is a true reflection of our commitment to create programming that connects with and educates children.”
PBS will premiere twenty 2-minute shorts of The Amazing Colossal Adventures of WordGirl during the breaks of specific episodes of Maya & Miguel beginning November 10. In addition, ten 1-minute shorts will premiere within the PBS KIDS GO! block beginning November 13.
About Scholastic Media
Scholastic Media (SM), the entertainment and media division of Scholastic, is a leading producer of quality, family-oriented content across multiple platforms, including feature films, television programming, videos, interactive products and web sites, and is a major developer and marketer of children's brands worldwide. Among SM's award-winning and top-rated productions are the animated series Clifford The Big Red Dog® (PBS KIDS®); the Emmy award-winning spin-off series Clifford's Puppy Days™ (PBS KIDS); I SPY (HBO Family); The Magic School Bus (TLC); Goosebumps®; Animorphs®; and the newest series Maya & Miguel™ (PBS KIDS GO!). SM's critically-acclaimed feature films include Clifford's Really Big Movie, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Babysitters Club Movie, and The Mighty. SM is also producing the forthcoming film The Golden Compass, based on the award-winning Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials, for New Line Cinema. Scholastic is a co-creator of the new multi-platform qubo network for children, which promotes literacy and positive values through entertainment.
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site,
www.scholastic.com.
About Soup2Nuts®
Soup2Nuts, a division of Scholastic Media, is cutting edge digital animation studio, Soup2Nuts offers full in-house production services from creating original series, writing, recording, music composing, to character design, animation, and post-production. Founded in 1994, the Boston studio quickly established a reputation for having award-winning animated comedy producers with their first hit, Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, which aired on Comedy Central. Since Dr.Katz, Soup2Nuts has created the cult favorite Home Movies for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, Squigglevision for ABC’s Saturday Morning, Hey Monie for BET and Oxygen, and the teen comedy O'Grady for The N.
About PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS GO!sm
PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, are committed to providing the highest quality non-commercial content and learning environment for children across the country. Providing age-appropriate, diverse programming for kids, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. Only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. With additional PBS resources to complement its programming, including PBS KIDS online (
www.pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (
www.pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (
www.pbsparents.org), PBS TeacherSource (
www.pbsteachersource.org), PBS Ready To Learn services and literacy events across the country, PBS is providing the tools necessary for positive child development. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation’s 354 public television stations, serving nearly 90 million people each week and reaching 99% of American homes.
