Baby Shakespeare

## Cover

Baby Shakespeare is the 4th video to be released in the BE Video Series. All of the classical music is by Ludwig van Beethoven, and the visual content consists of nature, toys and puppet shows featuring Bard the Dragon and other classic BE puppets. It was released in 1999. The counterpart CD is Baby Beethoven (CD). It was also sold in a 'special' pack including the VHS and the book. The video was re-released as World of Words in 2010.

## Video Guide (1999 - 2007)

### Opening

* *Symphony No. 9, 2nd Movement* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *Custard the Dragon* by Ogden Nash: Bard the Dragon's Introduction

> *"Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth, And spikes on top of him and scales underneath, Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose, And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes."*
>
>

* Opening Titles (Baby Shakespeare Theme by Bill Weisbach)
* The ABC Song: Pull Along ABC Block Cart (replaced by Wooden Block Cart with Bag O' Blocks and Big Blocks in 2004); The Baby Shakespeare Kids with Sunny the Bunny, Bluebird, and Cud the Cow:

### Train

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word train
* Bard rides across the screen on the Sesame Street Express Train Ride-On (replaced by Casey Toy Train Engine, People Car, Smiley Face Gondola and Circus Caboose in 2004)
* *A Modern Dragon* by Rowena Bennett

> *"The train is a dragon that roars through the dark, He wriggles his tail as he sends up a spark. He pierces the night with his one yellow eye, And all the earth trembles when he rushes by."*
>
>

* *Rondo à Capriccio* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Pull Along Soft Cars, Playful Insects (replaced by Gears! Gears! Gears! Dizzy Fun Land in 2004), Pull Along Soft Cars, Gearation, Polaris, Playful Insects (replaced by Gears! Gears! Gears! Dizzy Fun Land in 2004), Pull Along Soft Cars

### Flower

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word flower
* Bard sniffs and sneezes because of Sunny the Sunflower (replaced by 50 Centimeter Sunflower in 2004)
* *A Midsummer Night's Dream* by William Shakespeare

> *"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine. There sleeps Titania, sometime of the night, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight."*
>
>

* Bluebird attempts to rise a Bendy Flower, fails twice, and gets it up the third time
* Ball Party: Round About Tower

### Apple

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word apple
* Bard paints the word apple (Magnetic Letters on a Magnet Board)
* *The Apple Tree* by Galway Kinnell

> *"It’s the fall. The unfallen apples hold their brightness a little longer into the blue air, hold the idea that they can be brighter."*
>
>

* *Rondo in C* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Taggly, Butterfly Knob Puzzle, Taggly, Teaching Tower (replaced by Busy Box in 2004), Taggly

### Cat

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word cat
* *The Cat and the Moon* by William Butler Yeats

> *"The cat went here and there, And the moon spun round like a top, And the nearest kin of the moon, The creeping cat, looked up."*
>
>

* Threading Apple

### Grass

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word grass
* Stripes the Tiger hops along in the grass
* *Für Elise* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *Heavenly Grass* by Tennessee Williams

> *"My feet took a walk in heavenly grass. All day while the sky shone clear as glass. My feet took a walk in heavenly grass, All night while the lonesome stars rolled past."*
>
>

* Stripes roars, but is confronted by Quackamus Duck

### Frog

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word frog
* Bard dumps the Frog-in-the-Box into the water and laughs
* *Wadasa Nakamoon, Vietnam Memorial* by Ray A. Young Bear

> *"Last night when the yellow moon of November broke through the last line of turbulent Midwestern clouds, a lone frog, the same one who probably announced the premature spring floods, attempted to sing."*
>
>

* The ABC Song - Pull Along ABC Block Cart (replaced by Wooden Block Cart with Bag O' Blocks and Big Blocks in 2004); The Baby Shakespeare Kids

### Leaf

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word leaf
* Bard dives into a pile of leaves
* *Nothing Gold Can Stay* by Robert Frost

> *"Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay"*
>
>

* *Allegro for a Flute Clock* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Wave Spinner Kinetic Mobile, Pop Pop Top (replaced by Dancing Teddy Push Along in 2004), Blacklight Mind Bender Blurz, Gearation, SpinTrix Disc, Stacking Clown

### Snow

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word snow
* Bard plays in the snow
* *The Revival* by Steve Crow

> *"Snow is a mind-falling, a continuous breath of climbs, loops, spirals, dips into the earth, like white fireflies wanting to land, diving like moths into their own light, so that one wonders if snow is a wing's long memory across winter."*
>
>

* Jane the Monkey plays in the snow
* Max the Pull-Along Dog chases Quack-Along Ducks

### Tree

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word tree
* Bard runs away from a cherry tree after he hears an owl
* *Loveliest of Trees, The Cherry Now* by A.E. Housman

> *"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now. Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride. Wearing white for Eastertide."*
>
>

* *Marches for Military Band* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Mr. Monkey, Pudgey Pig, Dancing Go-Go Gorilla, Pudgey Pig, Mr. Monkey, Pretty Kitty, Mr. Monkey with Dancing Go-Go Gorilla

### Cow

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word cow
* Bard finds the word cow and hears moos
* *The Calf-Path* by Sam Walter Foss

> *"One day through the primeval wood, a calf walked home as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do."*
>
>

* Quack-Along Ducks chases Max the Pull-Along Dog

### Butterfly

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word butterfly
* Bard chases butterfly and hits wall
* *The Butterfly* by William Wordsworth

> *"I've watched you now a full half-hour; self-poised upon that yellow flower; and, little Butterfly! indeed, I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless!--not frozen seas more motionless! and then what joy awaits you, when the breeze hath found you out among the trees, and calls you forth again!"*
>
>

* Cud and Betsy eat grass, but when Tooter the Cow shows up, they go away. Tooter then flicks a butterfly off of her nose.
* *The Ruins of Athens* by Ludwig van Beethoven: The Torpedo Run: Figure 8 Starter Set passes Little Knotties, Teddy Copter

### Moon

* Focus Pocus clicks to the word moon
* *Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique"* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *My Loves* by Langston Hughes: Bard kisses his Curly Beanie Baby and goes to sleep

> *"I love to see the big white moon a-shining in the sky; I love to see the little stars, when the shadow clouds go by; I love the rain drops falling on my roof-top in the night; I love the soft wind's sighing before the dawn's gray light."*
>
>

### Closing

* *Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Markie Scholz with Bard and Bluebird (replaced by Bard dancing in 2004), Gabrielle and Stripes, Madeline and Sunny, Sierra dancing, Dylan and Dakota with Bluebird, Sunny, and Stripes, Aspen with Tooter, Bard, End Credits

## Video Guide (2010)

### Opening

* *Symphony No. 9, 2nd Movement* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *Custard the Dragon* by Ogden Nash: Bard the Dragon's Introduction

> *"Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth, And spikes on top of him and scales underneath, Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose, And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes."*
>
>

* Opening Titles (Baby Shakespeare Theme by Bill Weisbach)
* Sing-Along (The ABC Song): Pull Along ABC Block Cart; The Baby Shakespeare Kids with Sunny, Bluebird, and Cud:

### Train

* Bard wears a train driver's cap, blows the train whistle and clicks on Focus Pocus
* Bard rides across the screen on the Sesame Street Express Train Ride-On
* *A Modern Dragon* by Rowena Bennett

> *"The train is a dragon that roars through the dark, He wriggles his tail as he sends up a spark. He pierces the night with his one yellow eye, And all the earth trembles when he rushes by."*
>
>

* Music Video (*The Ruins of Athens* by Ludwig van Beethoven): The Torpedo Run: Figure 8 Starter Set passes Little Knotties

### Flower

* Bard finds a pile of flowers, smells them, reveals the Hocus Pocus, and clicks on it
* *A Midsummer Night's Dream* by William Shakespeare

> *"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine. There sleeps Titania, sometime of the night, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight."*
>
>

* Bluebird attempts to rise a Bendy Flower, fails twice, and gets it up the third time
* Ball Party: Round About Tower

### Apple

* Bard wears a farmer's hat, clicks on Focus Pocus and eats an apple
* Bard paints a picture of apples
* Autumn's Promise by Aspen Clark

> *"With soft crimson fingers, the apple hangs like a spark grasping the magic wand of a tree’s branch. She is suspended by the promise that is autumn."*
>
>

* Music Video (*Rondo in C* by Ludwig van Beethoven): Taggly, Threading Apple, Taggly, Stack & Sort Shape Sorter Buckets, Threading Apple

### Cat

* Bard hears meowing, dresses up as a cat, and clicks on Focus Pocus
* RC Dizzy Kitty
* *The Cat and the Moon* by William Butler Yeats

> *"The cat went here and there, And the moon spun round like a top, And the nearest kin of the moon, The creeping cat, looked up."*
>
>

### Grass

* Bard wears green sunglasses, clicks on Focus Pocus and walks through the pipe cleaner grass
* *Für Elise* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *Heavenly Grass* by Tennessee Williams

> *"My feet took a walk in the heavenly grass. All day while the sky shone clear as glass. My feet took a walk in the heavenly grass, All night while the lonesome stars rolled past."*
>
>

* Stripes the Tiger roars, but is confronted by Quackamus Duck
* Music Video: (*Allegro for a Flute Clock* by Ludwig van Beethoven): Wave Spinner Kinetic Mobile, Pop Pop Top, Blacklight Mind Bender Blurz, Gearation, SpinTrix Disc, Stacking Clown

### Leaf

* Bard wears a hard hat, walks through leaves, and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *Sonatina in G* by Ludwig van Beethoven / Falling Leaf by Aspen Clark

> *"A little green kite, loose in the wind's hand, the leaf spins and tumbles like an acrobat, settling at my feet."*
>
>

* Bard dives into a pile of leaves

### Frog

* Bard jumps and ribbits like a frog, and clicks on Focus Pocus
* Pull-Along Bullfrog
* *Wadasa Nakamoon, Vietnam Memorial* by Ray A. Young Bear

> *"Last night when the yellow moon of November broke through the last line of turbulent Midwestern clouds, a lone frog, the same one who probably announced the premature spring floods, attempted to sing."*
>
>

* Sing-Along (The ABC Song): Pull Along ABC Block Cart; The Baby Shakespeare Kids

 EFG
 HIJK
 LMNOP
 QRSTUV
 WXY and Z
 Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you
 Sing with me?

### Snow

* Bard gets covered in snow, shakes it off, and clicks on Focus Pocus
* Bard plays in the snow
* *The Revival* by Steve Crow

> *"Snow is a mind-falling, a continuous breath of climbs, loops, spirals, dips into the earth, like white fireflies wanting to land, diving like moths into their own light, so that one wonders if snow is a wing's long memory across winter."*
>
>

* Jane the Monkey plays in the snow

### Tree

* Bard hears an owl in the cherry tree, and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *Loveliest of Trees, The Cherry Now* by A.E. Housman

> *"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now. Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride. Wearing white for Eastertide."*
>
>

* *Marches for Military Band* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Mr. Monkey, Pudgey Pig, Dancing Go-Go Gorilla, Pudgey Pig, Mr. Monkey, Pretty Kitty, Mr. Monkey with Dancing Go-Go Gorilla

### Cow

* Bard wears a cowboy hat, carries a milk bucket and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *The Calf-Path* by Sam Walter Foss

> *"One day through the primeval wood, a calf walked home as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do."*
>
>

* Cud and Betsy eat grass, but when Tooter the Cow shows up, they go away. Tooter then flicks a butterfly off of her nose.

### Butterfly

* Bard shakes a butterfly off his nose and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *The Butterfly* by William Wordsworth

> *"I've watched you now a full half-hour; self-poised upon that yellow flower; and, little Butterfly, indeed, I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless!--not frozen seas more motionless! and then what joy awaits you, when the breeze hath found you out among the trees, and calls you forth again!"*
>
>

* Music Video (*Rondo à Capriccio* by Ludwig van Beethoven): Butterfly Knob Puzzle, Gearation, Butterfly Knob Puzzle, Polaris, Gearation, Triple Rainbow Pinwheel, Butterfly Crystalites, Quack-Along Ducks, Max the Pull-Along Dog

### Moon

* Bard wears a nightcap, yawns and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique"* by Ludwig van Beethoven / *My Loves* by Langston Hughes: Bard kisses his Curly Beanie Baby and goes to sleep

> *"I love to see the big white moon a-shining in the sky; I love to see the little stars, when the shadow clouds go by; I love the rain drops falling on my roof-top in the night; I love the soft wind's sighing before the dawn's gray light."*
>
>

### Closing

* Finale (*Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement* by Ludwig van Beethoven): Bard appears (mirrored shot), Gabrielle and Stripes, Madeline and Sunny, Sierra dancing, Dylan and Dakota with Bluebird, Sunny, and Stripes, Aspen with Tooter, Bard, End Credits
* Bard sniffs and sneezes because of Sunny the Sunflower

## International Versions

Baby Shakespeare has been released in several countries. Some countries left the ABC songs undubbed, while others cut it out completely. Some countries that cut the alphabet segments completely did not show the kids talking to puppets at the end.

## Sketches (Mini Shows)

### Bard's Gallery

* Baby Shakespeare Theme by Bill Weisbach: Title Card
* Train (*A Modern Dragon* by Rowena Bennett)
* Flower (*A Midsummer Night's Dream* by William Shakespeare)
* Apple (Autumn's Promise by Aspen Clark)
* Cat (*The Cat and the Moon* by William Butler Yeats)
* Grass (*Heavenly Grass* by Tennessee Williams)
* Leaf (*Falling Leaf* by Aspen Clark)
* Frog (*Wadasa Nakamoon, Vietnam Memorial* by Ray A. Young Bear)
* Snow (*The Revival* by Steve Crow)
* Tree (*Loveliest of Trees, The Cherry Now* by A. E. Housman)
* Cow (*The Calf-Path* by Sam Walter Foss)
* Butterfly (*The Butterfly* by William Wordsworth)
* Moon (*My Loves* by Langston Hughes / Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique" by Ludwig van Beethoven)

### Bard's Tribute to Beethoven

* Bard wears green sunglasses, clicks on Focus Pocus and walks through the pipe cleaner grass.
* *Allegro for a Flute Clock* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Wave Spinner Kinetic Mobile, Pop Pop Top, Blacklight Mind Bender Blurz, Gearation, SpinTrix Disc, Stacking Clown
* Bard wears a train driver's cap, blows the train whistle and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *The Ruins of Athens* by Ludwig van Beethoven: The Torpedo Run: Figure 8 Starter Set passes Little Knotties
* Bard wears a farmer's hat, clicks on Focus Pocus and eats an apple
* *Rondo in C* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Taggly, Threading Apple, Taggly, Stack & Sort Shape Sorter Buckets, Threading Apple
* The ABC Song - Pull Along ABC Block Cart, The Baby Shakespeare Kids with Sunny, Bluebird, and Cud
* Bard wears a cowboy hat, carries a milk bucket and clicks on Focus Pocus
* Cud and Betsy eat grass, but when Tooter shows up, they go away.
* *Marches for Military Band* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Mr. Monkey, Pudgey Pig, Dancing Go-Go Gorilla, Pudgey Pig, Mr. Monkey, Pretty Kitty, Mr. Monkey with Dancing Go-Go Gorilla
* Bard shakes a butterfly off his nose and clicks on Focus Pocus
* *Rondo à Capriccio* by Ludwig van Beethoven: Butterfly Knob Puzzle, Gearation, Butterfly Knob Puzzle, Polaris, Gearation, Triple Rainbow Pinwheel, Butterfly Crystalites, Quack-Along Ducks, Max the Pull-Along Dog
* Bard wears a tuxedo and takes a bow

## Poems

* The Tale of Custard the Dragon, Ogden Nash
* A Modern Rragon, Rowena Bennett
* Excerpt from A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
* The Apple Tree, Galway Kinnell (1999 - 2007)
* The Cat and the Moon, William Butler Yeats
* Heavenly Grass, Tennessee Williams
* Wadasa Nakamoon, Ray A. Young Bear
* Nothing Gold Can Stay, Robert Frost (1999 - 2007)
* Loveliest of Trees, A. E. Housman
* The Calf-Path, Sam Walter Foss
* To a Butterfly, William Wordsworth
* My Loves, Langston Hughes
* Autumn's Promise, Aspen Clark (2010 only)
* Falling Leaf, Aspen Clark (2010 only)

## Trivia

* The original VHS and DVD covers depicted Bard the Dragon, but later in 2001, a gecko would be shown on the cover.
* This is the first video to have Markie as the puppeteer and to have kids other than Aspen and Sierra (not counting the Baby Mozart 1998 discussion).
* All of the kids in this video are girls (not counting stock footage).
* This is the first video to have classical music by Beethoven.
* This is the first educational video that teaches you about words.
* In the Castilian Spanish, 2003 British English and Japanese, There is no Alphabet Song and no Markie kids and the puppets.
* In the Cantonese, both Chinese, Korean, and Thai versions, there is no Alphabet Song.
* Some of these toys were later seen in other videos: The Big Blocks in Language Nursery (2004), as well the Sesame Street Express Train Ride-On in the 1997 version, later replaced by the Casey Toy Train Engine, People Car, Smiley Face Gondola and Circus Caboose in the 2004 version; the Gearation in Baby Van Gogh and Baby da Vinci; yellow and orange versions of the Bender Blurz in Baby Van Gogh; Pudgey Pig in Neighborhood Animals; Mr. Monkey in World Animals and Little Knotties: Marley the Lion, Penelope the Pig and Whiskers the Rabbit are in Baby Beethoven.
* This is the debut of Sunny, Bluebird, Cud, Stripes, and Jane. This is the only appearance of Quackamus and Tooter (the footage of them was reused in World of Words).
* This is the only appearance of the Gonzalez sisters; footage of them here was later reused in World of Words. This is the first appearance of Madeline and Gabrielle.
* World of Words was based off of this video.
* This video was the last video to have a "Stay Tuned Screen" at the beginning of some VHS Releases.
* Dylan Gonzalez, one of the girls who sang the alphabet song, posted a picture on August 28, 2020 of her and her sister on her Instagram story, tagging their mom and asking "Mom who is who? Asking for myself. Pretty confident I'm in purple but it's a close call here."

## Puppets

* Bard the Dragon (Host)
* Sunny the Bunny
* Bluebird
* Cud the Cow
* Stripes the Tiger
* Quackamus Duck
* Jane the Monkey
* Tooter the Cow

## Kids

* Dylan and Dakota Snider
* Gabrielle Margas
* Madeline Pluto
* Sierra and Aspen Clark

## Puppeteers

* Markie Scholz
* Mark Burr (2010)

## Songs

1. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral", Op. 125, 2nd Movement (Bard's Big Introduction)
2. Baby Shakespeare Theme, Weisbach (Opening Titles)
3. The Alphabet Song, Traditional
4. Rondo à Capriccio in G major, Op. 129, "Rage Over a Lost Penny" (Train in 1999 - 2007, Butterfly in 2010)
5. Rondo in C Major, Op. 51, No. 1 (Apple)
6. Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, WoO 59, "Für Elise" (Grass)
7. Five Pieces for Mechanical Clock, WoO 33, No. 3, "Allegro for a Flute Clock" (Leaf in 1999 - 2007, Grass in 2010)
8. March for Military Band No. 1 in F Major, WoO 18 (Tree)
9. The Ruins of Athens, Op. 113, "Turkish March" (Butterfly in 1999 - 2007, Train in 2010)
10. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, "Pathétique", Op. 13, 2nd Movement (Moon)
11. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral," Op. 125, 4th Movement, "Ode to Joy" (Closing Credits)
12. Sonatina in G major, WoO Anh. 5, 1st Movement (Leaf, 2010 only)

## Bonus Songs (Baby Beethoven Concert Hall)

1. Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21, 3rd Movement
2. Minuet in G Major, WoO 10
3. Sonatina in F Major, WoO 50
4. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Major, "Moonlight," Op. 27, No. 2, 2nd Movement
5. Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, "Fate," Op. 67, 1st Movement
6. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, "Pathetique," Op. 13, 3rd Movement
7. Piano Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2, 1st Movement
8. Symphony No. 6 in F Major, "Pastorale," Op. 68, 3rd Movement
9. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, "Choral," Op. 125, Coda

## Discovery Cards

* Chalk
* Chalkboard
* Crayons
* Desk
* Easel
* Markers
* Notebooks
* Paper
* Pen
* Pencil
* Quill
* Scroll

## Crew

 Creator
Leslee Anne Terpay (2010)
 Graphic design
 Sound design
Laura Koepke
Tom Nazziola
 Music
 Kids
Gabrielle Margas
Madeline Pluto
Sierra and Aspen Clark

## Toys

### Toys (World of Words)

* RC Dizzy Kitty by TOMY
* Pull-Along Bullfrog by IQ Preschool
* Triple Rainbow Pinwheel by New Tech Kites
* Butterfly Crystalites by White Eagle