PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch
The PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch is a former preschool television block produced by Canada-based animation studio Nelvana that aired on PBS from September 30, 2000 to September 5, 2004. It typically aired on weekend mornings, depending on station preference and scheduling. The shows that formed the "Bookworm Bunch" were all based on well-known children's books (such as Arthur, Caillou and Clifford the Big Red Dog). The initial lineup consisted of six shows: "Corduroy", "Elliot Moose", "Timothy Goes to School", "Seven Little Monsters", "George Shrinks", and "Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse". History. In August  1999, PBS and Nelvana teamed up to create the network's first-ever animated weekend programming block. It was essentially created to boost viewership of the preschool audience on weekends, specifically on Saturday mornings when that attention was shifted elsewhere. A proposed series called "Junior Kroll and Company" was set to premiere, but that idea was eventually shelved and replaced by "Marvin". News of the block's expansion was paired with the release of a study from the University of Kansas that demonstrated the idea that children can learn to read from television programs. Upon its launch on September 30 , 2000, the "Bookworm Bunch" became the second preschool-oriented Saturday morning block after " Nick Jr. on CBS", which premiered two weeks before. During the block's first season, all the shows (with the exception of the first 15-minute "Corduroy" episode), were shown either 15 or 45 minutes past the hour. A final 15-minute "Corduroy" episode then ended the block, making its total run three hours. "Bookworm Bunch" proved to be extremely popular in its first season, and weekend viewership increased dramatically. The season finale (the finale of Season 1) premiered on February 24, 2001. Starting from February 25 , 2001, reruns of Season 1 (including reruns of "Elliot Moose" and "Corduroy") aired until October 27 of that same year. For reasons most likely due to cancellation and/or waning interest in programming, PBS does not air the first season reruns after the aforementioned date. Interstitials and other materials from this season were considered to be lost media for almost 16 years until footage eventually surfaced online. The second and final season premiered one week later on November 3, 2001, and with this premiere came a drastic revamp: "Corduroy" and "Elliot Moose" were removed from the lineup entirely, thus shortening it  to two hours. The four remaining series were instead seen on the hour and half-hour, and "Marvin" and "Timothy" both ended production by late 2001. The second season finale premiered on February 23, 2002. Some PBS stations began to gradually phase out the weekend block a year later in favor of an unbranded weekday edition, which premiered on January 6, 2003. This included a revival of "Berenstain Bears", and new episodes of "Seven Little Monsters" and "George Shrinks". Although originally a half-hour program, PBS commissioned new 15-minute episodes of "Monsters" that aired alongside "Bears" in the same  half-hour timeslot. This did not last long as "Bears" eventually became a half-hour show beginning September 15, 2003, thus permanently removing "Monsters" from the PBS lineup. "George Shrinks" was given its own half-hour timeslot, in which it also proved to be extremely popular. Select member stations, including the former PBS Kids Channel, continued to air the two-hour weekend block until September 5, 2004. As for the "Bookworm Bunch", the show --after the second and final season-- (with the four remaining shows --Timothy Goes to School, Marvin the Tap Dancing Horse, Seven Little Monsters, and George Shrinks ) aired reruns after Sept. 5, 2004 until the end of 2004. At the end of 2004 and beginning with the start of 2005, the "Bookworm Bunch" TV show was dropped altogether in order to make room for more other programs aimed at preschoolers. However, only "George Shrinks" survived (having its own half-hour timeslot on weekdays). After the cancellation of the "Bookworm Bunch", cable channel Discovery Kids aired reruns of "Timothy" from 2004 to 2006. Now-defunct Qubo also aired reruns of "Elliot", "Marvin", "Seven Little Monsters", and "Timothy" as part of its daily programming. Interstitials. One of the staples  of the "Bookworm Bunch" were music video interstitials that aired at the end of each program before the credits. These spots initially replaced promotions for "Elliot Moose", which are the only materials as of late that are still considered to be lost. These music videos were essentially montages of scenes from all of the shows with musical accompaniment. Each of the songs was performed by American musical artist Nancy Cassidy, appearing on three albums released between 1986 and 1992.