Words and Pictures: Series 9 (Vicky Ireland)
Series 9 of the BBC Schools TV series Words and Pictures was shown in the 1980s & 1990s, covering English for Primary pupils.
A series of 18 programmes for the spring and summer terms of Words and Pictures was added in 1989, as usual featuring Vicky Ireland and her animated assistant Charlie welcoming children to the library, reading stories from the books found there, as well as playing games, singing songs, and reading simple words from the screen.
Magic Pencil shows letter formation, and this year for the first time it draws letters with serifs or 'flicks' to assist children with joined-up handwriting.
This was the final series of Words and Pictures programmes to feature Vicky and Charlie, and the last produced by Moyra Gambleton after 140 episodes over 15 years. They were the last Words and Pictures programmes to really focus on physical books and where to get them, rather than just the stories within them. As [[Words and Pictures/Series 10 (Stuart Bradley)|new units of Words and Pictures with a slightly direction were made in the 1990s, Moyra Gambleton started producing the series Rat-a-Tat-Tat for Channel 4 Schools, with a similar style and ethos as the 1970s and 80s Words and Pictures episodes.
Titles & Theme Music
The title sequence introduced in 1982 was used for the final time this year.
Episode List
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Happy Birthday, Moon | 9 Jan 1989 |
| 2. | Thomas Tortoise | 16 Jan 1989 |
| 3. | The Glerp | 23 Jan 1989 |
| 4. | Dear Daddy | 30 Jan 1989 |
| 5. | The Very Busy Spider | 6 Feb 1989 |
| 6. | A List (1989) | 13 Feb 1989 |
| 7. | The Story | 20 Feb 1989 |
| 8. | "Ahhh!" said Stork | 27 Feb 1989 |
| 9. | Are You My Mother? | 6 Mar 1989 |
| 10. | Tortoise's Dream | 13 Mar 1989 |
| 11. | Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher | 17 Apr 1989 |
| 12. | Spring | 24 Apr 1989 |
| 13. | Tomorrow | 3 May 1989 |
| 14. | The Challenging Bull | 8 May 1989 |
| 15. | On the Other Side of the River | 15 May 1989 |
| 16. | Mrs Plug the Plumber | 22 May 1989 |
| 17. | The Bad Tempered Ladybird | 5 Jun 1989 |
| 18. | The Runaway Roller-Skate | 12 Jun 1989 |
Episode Guide
A simple guide to the books and letters featured in each episode.
1. Happy Birthday, Moon
- Story: Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch
- Letter: h
First broadcast: Monday 9th January 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 11th January 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBJ055W
2. Thomas Tortoise
- Story: Thomas Tortoise (in 'Story Book') by Rosalie Eisenstein
- Letter: t
First broadcast: Monday 16th January 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 18th January 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBJ060R
3. The Glerp
- Story: The Glerp by David McPhail
- Letter: d
First broadcast: Monday 23rd January 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 25th January 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBK036L
4. Dear Daddy
- Story: Dear Daddy by Philippe Dupasquier
- Letter: s
First broadcast: Monday 30th January 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 1st February 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBK035S
5. The Very Busy Spider
- Story: The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
- Digraph: sp
First broadcast: Monday 6th February 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 8th February 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBJ061K
6. A List (1989)
- Story: A List (from 'Frog and Toad Together') by Arnold Lobel
- Digraph: fr
First broadcast: Monday 13th February 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 22nd February 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBK031R
7. The Story
- Story: The Story (from 'Frog and Toad are Friends') by Arnold Lobel
- Digraph: gr
First broadcast: Monday 20th February 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 1st March 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBK032K
8. "Ahhh!" said Stork
- Story: "Ahhh!" said Stork by Gerald Rose
- Digraph: cr
First broadcast: Monday 27th February 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 8th March 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBJ062E
9. Are You My Mother?
- Story: Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
First broadcast: Monday 6th March 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 15th March 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBK034Y
10. Tortoise's Dream
- Story: Tortoise's Dream by Joanna Troughton
First broadcast: Monday 13th March 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 22nd March 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBJ063Y
11. Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher
- Story: Fourteen Rats and a Rat-Catcher by Tamasin Cole& James Cressey
- Digraph: qu
First broadcast: Monday 17th April 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 26th April 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL051D
12. Spring
- Story: Spring (from 'Frog and Toad are Friends') by Arnold Lobel
First broadcast: Monday 24th April 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 3rd May 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL052X
13. Tomorrow
- Story: Tomorrow (from 'Frog and Toad are Friends') by Arnold Lobel
First broadcast: Wednesday 3rd May 1989, 11:00am on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 10th May 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL053R
14. The Challenging Bull
- Story: The Challenging Bull (from 'The Anita Hewett Animal Story Book') by Anita Hewett
First broadcast: Monday 8th May 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 17th May 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL054K
15. On the Other Side of the River
- Story: On the Other Side of the River by Joan Oppenheim
- Digraph: br
First broadcast: Monday 15th May 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 24th May 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL055E
16. Mrs Plug the Plumber
- Story: Mrs Plug the Plumber by Allan Ahlberg& Joe Wright
First broadcast: Monday 22nd May 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 7th June 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL056Y
17. The Bad Tempered Ladybird
- Story: The Bad Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle
- Digraph: fl
First broadcast: Monday 5th June 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 14th June 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL057S
18. The Runaway Roller-Skate
- Story: The Runaway Roller-Skate by John Vernon Lord
- Digraph: sk
First broadcast: Monday 12th June 1989, 2:02pm on BBC2 Last broadcast: Friday 21st June 1991, 2:02pm on BBC2 BBC programme number: ESBL058L
Broadcasts
| Year | Term | Day | Time | Channel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-89 | Spring & Summer 1989 | Mon | 14:02 | BBC2 | |
| Wed | 11:00 | BBC2 | Repeat | ||
| 1990-91 | Spring & Summer 1991 | Wed | 11:00 | BBC2 | |
| Fri | 14:02 | BBC2 | Repeat |
Credits
| Presenter | Vicky Ireland |
| With | Charles O'Rourke as Charlie |
| Music | Paddy Kingsland Ian Humphris |
| Animation | Richard Taylor Alan Rogers & Peter Lang Mike Hibbert Gil Potter |
| Puppets | Alan Platt Ken Haines |
| Design | Myra Lewis Will Noble Len Birchenall Bronwen Grover |
| Studio Director | Susie Nott-Bower (episode 18) |
| Assistant Producer | Tony Kovacs Steve Hocking Susie Nott-Bower |
| Producer | Moyra Gambleton |
Resources
Teacher's Notes
Video
Several story readings from this year were extracted and released in the Favourite Stories from Words and Pictures video collection in 1992.
Volume 1 includes A List and Mrs Plug the Plumber, and volume 2 includes The Story, all read by Vicky Ireland.
Topics
School topics covered in this programme. Click to find other programmes covering the same topics, but bear in mind topics are a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.
Keyword tags
Some features of this programme. Click to find other programmes with the same features, but bear in mind tags are also a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.
More
Want more on this programme?
This site attempts to cover thousands of programmes and it will take ages to update them all. If you would like to see this one updated soon please click on the star to 'vote' for it and I will do my best to prioritise it!
Voting is anonymous and you can vote for as many programmes as you like. The number in the box above shows how many people have already voted for this programme. You can also see a list of all the votes so far.
More Programmes
Some random programmes for age 5-7 from the 1990s
| Something to Think About | |
| BBC Schools Radio | |
| 1979-present | |
| Religion |
| Caraidean | |
| Channel 4 Schools | |
| 1995-1998 | |
| Languages |
| Maths is Fun | |
| ITV Schools | |
| 1988-1992 | |
| Mathematics |
| Story Box (radio) | |
| BBC Schools Radio | |
| 1993-1996 | |
| English |