WordWorldWordWorld is an Emmy Award-winning children's television series partially funded by the United States Department of Education as part of the Ready to Learn literacy initiative targeted to 3- to 7-year olds. The show airs in 10 languages and 90 countries, including in the United States. The television series, created by Don Moody and Jacqueline Moody, stars Dog and his WordFriends. In each episode, Dog and/or one of his friends embarks on a series of adventures where the only way to save the day is to build or un-build words. The show's novelty is that when a word is built correctly, it morphs into the thing it represents, which gives instant meaning to the word. WordWorld has been translated into popular mobile applications, Internet-based games, magnetic plush and other toys. WordWorld currently airs in 90 countries and 10 languages. It premiered September 3, 2007 on PBS Kids and is currently in its third season, with 84 11-minute episodes. WordWorld currently broadcasts on PBS Kids it is produced for WTTW Chicago.
WriterRobert Vargas
Runaway O
Sep 3, 2007
Bear and Sheep snoop around a box delivered to Cat and break it! The letters B-O-X scatter, sending the WordFriends on a crazy chase to catch the runaway letter O before Cat wakes up. Build a Word: BOX
Happy Birthday Dog!
Sep 3, 2007
It’s Dog’s birthday! His friends are planning a surprise party for him, but they don’t have a cake! With a little help from Pig, Frog gathers the letters C-A-K-E…but can he get them to the party without ruining the surprise? Build a Word: CAKE
There's an Ant in Every Giant
Sep 4, 2007
Ant is tired of being the smallest WordFriend in WordWorld! He always has to avoid being stepped on, and playing basketball is a big challenge. Ant thinks he can solve his problem by adding a G-I to his tiny frame and turning himself into a giant. But he soon realizes that being big isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and that he can be WordWorld’s biggest hero when he’s just tiny Ant. Build a Word: ANT
Chef Sheep
Sep 4, 2007
During his "cooking show," Chef Pig gets a pot stuck on his face while eating ice cream out of it! Now there is no pot to cook in and no chef to do the cooking! Luckily for Pig, ever-helpful Sheep is there to take over for him. But first Sheep must learn to have confidence in herself before she can save the day! Build a Word: POT
Rocket to the Moon
Sep 5, 2007
Frog thinks that in order to build a big rocket he needs big, uppercase letters. But when he gets stranded on the moon with the Little Piggies, he learns that lowercase letters are just as useful as uppercase ones. Build a Word: ROCKET
The Birds
Sep 5, 2007
Sheep, Bear and Frog go out bird watching and get more than they bargained for: They find an egg! Sheep does her zany best to care for the "energetic" egg until the baby bird is born and is reunited with its mother. Build a Word: BIRD
Mystery of the Disappearing Pie
Sep 6, 2007
The pie Pig baked for Bear is missing! But have no fear…Detective Sheep is ready to help her WordFriends follow the letter clues and solve the mystery of the disappearing pie! Build a Word: BEAR
Duck's Family Reunion
Sep 6, 2007
Because they have similar-sounding names, Duck mistakes a truck for a long-lost relative! His best friend Frog is a bit ruffled at the epidemic of silliness going around, but ends up saving the day for Duck and his word "family" when the truck gets stuck in the muck! Build a Word: TRUCK
Sh Sh Shark
Sep 13, 2007
Shark is misunderstood. Everyone is afraid of him and won’t even give him a chance to prove he’s friendly. Everyone but Duck, that is, who doesn’t know that the letters S and H together make the ‘sh’ sound and, therefore, doesn’t know who Shark is. When Duck introduces his new WordFriend to the gang, Duck learns a lesson about the ‘sh’ sound, while everyone else learns that acceptance is an important part of friendship. Build a Word: SHOE
Dog Wants to Play Ball
Sep 13, 2007
Dog wants to play ball, but he’s having trouble communicating with his friends. Pig, Sheep and Frog each think Dog wants to do what they want to do. When Bear actually takes the time to listen to Dog, Dog gets his wish…and everyone has a ball! Build a Word: BALL
Pies, Pies, Pies!
Sep 14, 2007
When Pig promises to make a pie for everyone in WordWorld, he learns a hard lesson about keeping promises and sharing. Fortunately, Pig also learns about the letter S and how it can turn "pie" into "pies." Build a Word: PIES
Waterlogged
Sep 14, 2007
Frog and Pig’s friendship is put to the test when Frog moves in with Pig after his log sinks. After some silly mishaps, Pig and Frog finally come to an understanding – about how important it is to see things from a friend’s perspective. Build a Word: LOG
Dogs Camping Adventure
Sep 17, 2007
Dog is so excited! Pig and Frog are taking him on his first camping trip! While Pig and Frog are supposed to be the brave camping "experts," it is Dog who overcomes his fear and finds the lost letters to their tent in the dark forest. But who’s that peeking out from behind a tree? Build a Word: TENT
V is for Vacation
Sep 17, 2007
The weather is turning colder, and Duck is ready for his yearly vacation (migration). He’s not sure, however, how to go. When Bird tells him he just needs to "find the 'V,'" Duck doesn’t realize that she means a "V" formation of migrating birds. Instead, Duck is off and running on a wild "V" chase. Build a Word: VINE
Snug as a Bug
Sep 18, 2007
Bug can’t sleep, and until he does, his favorite neighbor Frog can’t sleep either! Bug knows he has to be "snug as a bug in a..." but he can’t remember the rest of the rhyme. So Frog and Bug head off on a nighttime hunt of words that rhyme with "bug"—and wake up half their WordFriends in the process! Build a Word: RUG
Nightlight
Sep 18, 2007
Bear won’t go to sleep. Try as her friends might to lull her off to sleep, Bear stubbornly refuses to turn off all her lights and go to bed. It’s not until they venture out into the night that the WordFriends realize Bear is afraid of the dark! But Frog has just the right solution to Bear’s problem, and it comes by joining two words to make a new one. Build a Word: NIGHTLIGHT
Duck's First Sleepover Party
Sep 19, 2007
Duck attends his first sleep-over party but he’s nervous about not sleeping in his nest for the first time. After a long night of fun games his friends calm his anxiety by building him a soft, fluffy nest. Build A Word: NEST
One Hat Fits All
Sep 19, 2007
Sheep, while practicing her magic act, loses her magicians top hat (it's quite blustery in Word World today). The hat wends all around Word World, visiting Pig, Bear and Duck, breaking into its letters each time it crashes to a halt! And whenever our heroes put it back together, the hat takes on a fresh, new form. For Pig it becomes a chef's hat; for Bear, an artist's beret; and for Duck, a silly propeller beanie! Clearly, this hat is special! Could it even be… magical? Build A Word: HAT
Dancing Dog
Sep 20, 2007
It’s the day of the Word World Concert and no one is more excited than Dog – he loves music. Unfortunately, he can’t play an instrument. With the help of his good friend Bear, Dog discovers that anyone can make music! Build A Word: DRUM
Pig's Big Moonlight Feast
Sep 20, 2007
When Pig is too sick to cook the Moonlight Feast, his friends step in, but they find that if you don’t follow the recipe you may end up "in the soup." Build A Word: CAKE
Boppin' with the Bug Band
Sep 21, 2007
Ant is having a band showcase on his radio show and while Bug, Fly and Bee have some really good music, they need a lot of help with their lyrics. Frog teaches the Bug Band all about rhyming and they eventually give a fantastic performance. Build A Word: BELL
Shuffleword
Sep 21, 2007
When Pig and Ant get into an argument while playing Shuffleword, Pig storms off with the consonants and Ant storms off with the vowels but they soon realize that not only do they need each other’s letters to make words but they also need each other to have fun! Build A Word: PIT
W Drought
Sep 24, 2007
It’s a hot summer day and all the WordFriends are using water to stay cool. But all the letter Ws start to disappear, and you can’t have "water" without the letter W! Sheep leads the gang in the hunt to discover just who’s causing the W drought. Build A Word: WATER
Princess Sheep
Sep 24, 2007
Bear and Sheep want to play princess, but they only have one crown. Although Sheep promises to take turns wearing the crown and being princess, she gets royally carried away playing her role. It is only after she hurts Bear’s feelings that Sheep learns that a true princess isn’t selfish, but kind and generous instead. Build A Word: CROWN
Radio Read-a-Thon
Feb 15, 2008
Duck asks Frog to read his favorite book on Ant’s radio station because he can’t read it himself. But when Frog’s tongue gets tangled in knots, Duck realizes that he doesn’t need to know how to read to be able to look at pictures and tell a great story. Build A Word: BOOK
Robots to the Rescue!
Feb 15, 2008
When Frog discovers that you can make a word "more than one" by adding the letter S to the end of it, he becomes a mad scientist of sorts, making more and more of everything! Frog learns that while having a lot of stuff might seem like a good idea, too much of anything soon leads to chaos. Frog fortunately has a robot who likes to clean up! Build A Word: ROBOT
Pl-Pl-Plane!
Mar 27, 2008
Frog and the Bug Band are headed to have some fun on the beach, but not everything goes as Frog had planned. Frog loses the letters “PL” from his plane and must search through the jungle to find them. After some crazy jungle adventures (including a run-in with a giant Frog-kissing plant), Frog realizes that fun doesn’t always have to be planned! Build A Word: PLANE
Mail Mix Up
Mar 27, 2008
Duck offers to help Kangaroo deliver letters to his WordFriends, but he forgets Kangaroo’s instructions and delivers the wrong letters to everyone. Duck discovers that there sure are a lot of words that end with the sound "ail"—such as NAIL, PAIL and SAIL—and that they sure can’t be used interchangeably! Build A Word: NAIL, SAIL, PAIL
Pig's Present
Mar 21, 2008
When a mysterious rocket lands in Word World, Duck pledges to help a robot track down a very important clock. He searches all over Word World, listening for the special sound that will lead the robot to the clock that will save his home planet. Build A Word: CLOCK
Tick Tock Space Clock
Mar 21, 2008
When a mysterious rocket lands in Word World, Duck pledges to help a robot track down a very important clock. He searches all over Word World, listening for the special sound that will lead the robot to the clock that will save his home planet. Build A Word: CLOCK
Castles in the Sea
Apr 7, 2008
While playing in the sand on the beach, Duck and Shark discover the perfect home for Shark: a sand castle! But why, oh why, does it disappear every night while Shark is sleeping? When the WordFriends try to hunt down the castle thief, they learn about tides and waves…from a singing Crab. Build A Word: CASTLE
Get Your Coat
Apr 7, 2008
Duck thinks Frog doesn’t want to play in the rain because Duck accidentally broke Frog’s boat. But the real reason is that Frog doesn’t like the rain. Duck learns all about words that end with "oat" before finally coming across a word that will allow Frog to play outside in the rain: a coat! Build A Word: COAT
Superhero Sheep
Apr 8, 2008
Sheep becomes Word World’s first superhero, saving the day with the letter "S"! Duck is eager to be her trusty sidekick, but Sheep repeatedly points out that "superheroes don't need help." But Sheep learns that everyone needs help sometimes when she gets stuck on top of Pig's barn and it's up to Duck to save her. Build A Word: SLIDE
Pirate Ship
Apr 8, 2008
While playing on the beach, Sheep, Duck and Shark find a message in a bottle. It's one of several rhyming clues that will lead them to a special treasure! Like hearty pirates, the trio follows the clues and rhyme their way across the sea—if only they had a ship! Build A Word: SHIP
Playing Spies
May 5, 2008
When Sheep and Duck think that Dog has a secret, they decide to play "spy" to figure out the mystery. As they secretly watch Dog, they discover he wants to build a word with the "oo" sound. But will they be caught before they can guess Dog’s secret? Build A Word: POOL
Wee Little Whale
May 5, 2008
Sheep rescues a tiny whale who is stuck in some seaweed and brings her home to her haystack. They quickly become best of friends. But as Whale gets bigger and bigger, outgrowing Sheep’s tea cups, bathtubs and pools, Sheep realizes she must return her WordFriend to the sea. Although Whale may be big, her friendship with Sheep proves to be bigger, and the two discover a way to continue to play together: They just have to build a word! Build A Word: SUB
The Race to Mystery Island
May 6, 2008
Pig and Frog are trying to out-do each other. Their competition results in a big race to Mystery Island. While each WordFriend builds himself several words to thwart his competitor along the way, Pig and Frog both finally come to realize that the only way they’ll succeed is to work together. Build A Word: BOAT
A Star Is Born
May 6, 2008
Duck gets a case of stage fright while singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for all his WordFriends. Instead of singing the word "star," Duck freezes and blurts out the first thing he sees. With a little word building, Sheep and Ant solve Duck’s problem, and soon a "star" is born. Build A Word: STAR
Back On Track
May 23, 2008
While looking through his telescope, Frog notices that Kangaroo’s mail train is headed straight for a broken track! He has to rely on BEAR and her tiny new tricycle to get him there to fix the track on time. And if the tricycle isn’t tiny enough, Dog, Duck, and Ant and all his cousins climb on board to lend a hand. Will they make it in time? Build a Word: Track
The Rainbow Birthday Cake
May 23, 2008
It is Frog’s birthday, and Duck wants to make him a big, beautiful birthday cake frosted in the colors of the rainbow. Such a cake requires lots of cans of frosting, and Duck learns he can’t just throw cans anywhere—they must be recycled. In WordWorld, recycling means using the letters in a discarded word to make other words, such as can-dle—which is just what Duck needs for Frog’s cake! Build a Word: Candle
Bit By Bit
Jun 23, 2008
It is Monkey’s birthday, and a sick Frog entrusts Duck and Bug to take his present—a banana—to Monkey’s birthday party for him. In their enthusiasm to get to the party, Duck and Bug accidentally break the banana into letters…and they don’t know how to rebuild it! It’s just too big a word. Fortunately Elephant knows a thing or two about big words, and teaches them to build the banana back, bit by bit, based on the three syllables in the word.
Ride 'em Cowbear
Jun 23, 2008
Pig, Dog and Duck are playing cowboys. Bear wants to join them, but gets frustrated when she learns she’s not very good at rope tricks. Dog went let her sulk, though, and after much practice Bear is a rootin’-tootin’ CowBear! And just in time—Pig and Duck have herded Cow into the mud!
Play Ball
Jun 24, 2008
The WordFriends play an exciting game of baseball, but Robot has never played before. With some practice, and a lot of encouragement from his WordFriends, Robot learns the game and turns into a slugging machine!
M is for Map
Jun 24, 2008
After a fun day of adventuring through the jungle, Sheep and Bear discover they are lost---and it’s almost dark! In their haste to get home before sunset, the WordFriends lose the letters to their map. They have to sound out and hunt down the letters in "map"---but with Adventure Sheep leading the way, nothing is ever easy!
Flying Ant
Jul 11, 2008
Duck encourages Shark, who is a great underwater dancer, to dance in his show. When Shark comes up on land to practice, he flops all over the stage like a…well, a fish out of water. But the show must go on! Duck must find a way to put on his show and include Shark.
The Dancing Duck Bonanza
Jul 11, 2008
Duck encourages Shark, who is a great underwater dancer, to dance in his show. When Shark comes up on land to practice, he flops all over the stage like a…well, a fish out of water. But the show must go on! Duck must find a way to put on his show and include Shark.
Lost Letter L
Aug 11, 2008
When Duck accidentally breaks the L off Frog's lamp, he decides not to tell Frog. Instead, he'll just fix it himself. Although Bug and Dog try to help, things spiral out of control, and soon Duck has broken a lamp, a lever and even Frog's log! Duck learns that everyone makes mistakes and admitting them sooner rather than later can make a big difference.
Catch That C
Aug 11, 2008
While Pig and Ant are making cookies, their bag of letter Cs gets away from them, sending the WordFriends on a wild goose chase all over WordWorld to catch that C! The bad news is that the letter C is in big demand that day. But the good news is that Pig and Ant have a lot of WordFriends who want to help them out!
The Christmas Star
Dec 25, 2008
It’s the night before Christmas and Frog needs a star to hang on his Christmas tree. Duck thinks this will be the perfect present for Frog, and tries to lasso one out of the sky for him. Try as he might, Duck is unable to catch a star for Frog, and cries himself to sleep. But while he sleeps, someone leaves him a wonderful present: the letters S-T-A-R…
A Christmas Present for Dog
Dec 25, 2008
It’s Christmas morning, and all the WordFriends are excited by the presents Santa has brought for them! Pig has a sled, Bear has a doll, and Ant has a cookie. But not all the letters for Dog’s present came down his chimney. All he has is a B-A-L. Bear gets filled with the Christmas spirit and makes a sacrifice to ensure Dog’s Christmas will be merry!
A Kooky Spooky Halloween
Oct 31, 2008
The WordFriends get their share of scares the night before Halloween, when Pig sleepwalks and everyone thinks he’s a ghost!
Sheep's Halloween Costume
Oct 31, 2008
It’s Halloween—Sheep’s favorite day of the year. Sheep likes nothing more than to dress up, so she always goes out of her way to make herself a special costume. But what will she do when her WordFriends need pieces of her costume for their own costumes?
