Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola is a Henson Company television show that aired on Hallmark Channel from August to September 2001. The show featured children's book author Tomie dePaola, with his Muppet squirrel friend Gabe, encouraging children to make their own stories in a variety of media. During each episode, Tomie would tell a story featuring his storybook characters -- Strega Nona, Big Anthony and Bambolona. Each episode also featured a visit with a guest storyteller or two (often people connected to the Henson Company), while the last segment had a child actor playing Tomie enacting stories from his book 26 Fairmount Avenue.
Characters[]
- Gabe is a mischievous squirrel who is Tomie dePaola's friend, confidant and muse. The squirrel puppet was later recycled for Skippy on Bear in the Big Blue House, and reappeared even later on Puppet Up! - Uncensored.
- The Animal Band is a musical group of woodland animals -- a rabbit on drums, a weasel on guitar, a raccoon on keytar -- plus a penguin on bass. Gabe visits the band in each episode.
- Strega Nona is an elderly village lady who always wants to help her friends, Big Anthony and Bambolona.
- The Goat appeared in the Strega Nona stories. Bambolona does not like the goat, and claims that it doesn't really help at all, but the goat is usually shown to have more intelligence than most of the characters. The puppet was built by James Wojtal, working under the supervision of Rollie Krewson. The character of "Goat" was based on the designs from DePaola’s illustrated "Strega Nona" books. The design featured a departure from the traditional Muppet-look, as the goal was to match the water color illustrations found in the book.[1] The puppet was recycled in Puppet Up! and pops up again in The Simian Undercover Detective Squad.
Episodes[]
Summaries and air dates from the Roku Channel.
Image | Description |
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Episode 1: Tales Around the Table
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Episode 2: Where Do You Get Ideas?
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Episode 3: What's a Story?
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Episode 4: Stories for Myself
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Episode 5: Food as Storytelling
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Episode 6: That's a Story?!
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Episode 7: Getting Started
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Episode 8: Character
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Episode 9: Setting
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Episode 10: Point of View
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Episode 11: Performance as Storytelling
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Episode 12: Every Picture Tells a Story
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Episode 13: Making Sense of Our World Through Stories
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Episode 14: Taking a Chance
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Episode 15: Finding Your Audience
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Episode 16: Funny
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Episode 17: Scary
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Episode 18: Moods: Happy/Sad
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Episode 19: History
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Episode 20: Music
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Episode 21: Make Believe Stories
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Episode 22: Real Stories
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Episode 23: More Than One Way to Tell a Tale - Versions
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Episode 24: More Than One Way to Tell a Tale - Techniques
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Episode 25: Putting Heart Into Your Story
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Episode 26: Collaboration
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Cast[]
- Tomie dePaola as himself
- John Kennedy as Gabe, Big Anthony, and Raccoon
- Bill Barretta as Strega Nona
- Julianne Buescher as Bambolona and Weasel
- James Murray as Rabbit
- Gregory R. Ballora, Alison Mork
- Isaiah Griffin as Tomie in "26 Fairmount Avenue"
Crew[]
- Directed by David Gumpel
- Written by Jim Lewis, Kati Rocky, Craig Shemin
Gallery[]
Sources[]
External links[]
- ToughPigs - My Week with Tomie dePaola