TV Schedule

Local TV Schedule

(Honesty, Responsibility)

Episode Summary: Piggley, Ferny, Dannan and Molly just can’t resist eating one of Mrs. Winks’s fresh-baked pies…even though she told them it was off limits. The friends decide to pool their creativity to bake a new pie before Mrs. Winks finds out. After much hard work - and a run-in with a feisty goat who refuses to share the apples in his orchard - the kids realize that a simple apology might have been easier and wiser in the long-run.

Lesson: Admitting your mistake from the beginning is usually the best thing.

Storyteller Playhouse: Special Words
Professional storyteller Georgette Baker relates a Mexican tale of the origin of Chocolate. Her storytelling technique is highly interactive with the studio audience and is presented bilingually, in Spanish and English, and in song.

Meet the Grandparents: Grape Leaves
Farmouze Fedail is from Syria. She shares her childhood photos with her twin seven-year-old granddaughters, Kendall and Caitlin, and teaches them how to make an authentic Syrian dish: stuffed grape leaves.

(Self-esteem, Peer relationships)

Episode Summary: Piggley has a big test coming up in school and hates the thought of giving up an entire weekend to study. He decides instead to catch the legendary “Salmon of Knowledge,” an all-knowing fish that can help him ace the exam. While Piggley puts his faith in a questionably magical fish, Ferny and Dannan study. Ferny and Dannan are the ones who ace the test - and Piggley learns an important lesson.

Lesson: There’s no substitute for good old-fashioned hard work.

Storyteller Playhouse: Pourquoi Stories
African-American multicultural storyteller Micheal D. McCarty presents a traditional “pourquoi” legend from Africa about why the spider has a big butt.

Meet the Grandparents: Clothes Prop Horse
Sally Fisher was raised in St. Louis. Her favorite pastimes, besides reading, was to make a pretend horse out of a clothes prop and blow bubblegum bubbles, both of which she demonstrates to her five year-old grandson Sean.

(Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Piggley’s father tells him an old Irish tale about fairies disguising themselves as bugs and playing tricks on anyone who harms them. Soon Piggley and Dannan are convinced that fairies have turned Ferny into a flying beetle after he inadvertently smacks a bug on his arm. While Piggley investigates and experiments with ways to keep Ferny safe, Dannan hits the books to try and find a cure - and Ferny learns how much his friends care about him.

Lesson: Good friends should always be treasured.

Storyteller Playhouse: Audience Participation
Jay Leslie, professional storyteller, magician and TV personality (“Aladdin the Wonder Boy” from Bozo the Clown) presents an amazing story-trick using a volunteer from our audience.

Meet the Grandparents: The Book
Alicia Jimenez grew up in the Sacramento area and was one of 12 children. Her family members were all migrant farm workers. She will share her inspiring life story with her six year-old granddaughter Aylish Brennan in the form of a book that she wrote and illustrated about her childhood. Alicia will also demonstrate how they play a wooden recorder together (Aylish blows into the flute while Alicia does the fingering).

(Peer Relationships, Cooperation)

Episode Summary: Piggley’s favorite radio program, “Piggley Trotter, Private Eye,” inspires Piggley, Ferny and Dannan to spend many imaginative and adventurous afternoons playing detective. One particular afternoon, they work together to solve an unusual mystery: the case of “what a teacher does on his day off.”

Lesson: Co-operation and working together to solve a problem can be fun.

Storyteller Playhouse: Sound Effects
Two members of “The Liquid Radio Players” (an offshoot of the popular Los Angeles-based ACME Comedy Theatre), will demonstrate how stories can be enhanced by sound effects, just like they used to do in the golden age of radio.

Meet the Grandparents: Radio
Singer Mary Lou Capka grew up in a small town in Yakima WA. Mary Lou had a beautiful singing voice and when she was young her parents took her to Seattle to audition for a radio program. Mary Lou aced the audition and soon became a professional child singer, appearing on hundreds of radio programs. Mary Lou will share her story, with her grandsons: five year-old Nick and seven year-old Luke.

(Peer relationships, Intergenerational Relationships)

Episode Summary: Mr. Winks is going fishing and Piggley and his friends really want to go along. Dad doesn't think they're ready for the trip, so the three friends set out to prove that they're not only ready, they're also willing and able! They work hard to earn the privilege by doing chores around the farm, then they pull out all the stops and use their imagination to show Dad what excellent fishermen they will be. At last, off they all go for some early-morning fishing.

Lesson: Determination and persistence will often help you achieve your goal.

Storyteller Playhouse: Who, What, Where
Actor and Improv Comedian Gary Anthony (Star of Malcolm in the Middle) will teach us about the three basic building blocks of stories. He’ll ask the audience kids to throw out ideas for location, lead character and situation. He will then do an improvised kid-friendly rap story to demonstrate how it’s all put together.

Meet the Grandparents: Gooly Danda
Dr. Gilam Hassan Butt is from Kashmir. As a youth, his favorite thing to do was to play baseball and Gooly Danda, a game with a home-made wedge and a stick (played by launching the wooden wedge into the air and hitting it - kind of like batting practice). Dr. Butt will show his six year-old grandson, Hamza, how to make and play with a Gooly Danda.

(Peer relationships, Self-Esteem)

Episode Summary: Piggley accidentally embarrasses his good friend Ferny by taking a photo of him with his pants ripped and his undies showing! After promising not to show it to anyone, the photo gets away from Piggley and is seen by everyone at school. He tries to apologize but finds that, for the first time, his best friend Ferny isn’t willing to accept his apology. Piggley must use his ingenuity and creativity to regain Ferny’s trust and friendship - and Ferny must find a way to forgive.

Lesson: Friends make mistakes and sometimes we have to forgive them.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories with Pictures
Jakers! voice actor Russi Taylor will show our audience how a story can be conveyed using only pictures. Russi will have an oversized Jakers! storyboard that has no captions or dialogue. She will invite the audience kids to describe the story just by looking at the pictures. She will then let the children come up with dialogue that works for the story they came up with. We will end the segment with the final storyboard being shown like a finished animatic with the children performing all the dialogue.

Meet the Grandparents: Clothes Prop Horse
Sally Fisher was raised in St. Louis. Her favorite pastimes, besides reading, was to make a pretend horse out of a clothes prop and blow bubblegum bubbles, both of which she demonstrates to her five year-old grandson Sean.

(Self-Esteem, Diversity)

Episode Summary: Young Piggley’s insecurity rises when he discovers that his teacher, Mr. Hornsby, is coming to his house for supper. Piggley is certain he's going to “grade” the Winks family and that they’ll come up woefully inadequate! So Piggley and pals hatch a plan to make sure the Winks family gets passing marks. Much to Piggley’s surprise, he discovers that Mr. Hornsby is just a regular person - and not so intimidating after all.

Lesson: Before you make up your mind about someone, make sure you’ve taken the time to get to know them.

Storyteller Playhouse: Singing
San Francisco based children’s performer, Ira Levin (also known as Uncle Eye) appears costumed as a medieval troubadour and sings a brief welcoming song with his guitar. He will then briefly explain the ancient tradition of storytelling and point out the many ways folks tell stories. He’ll then and ask the children to join him in one of his new story-songs, “Ruby the Rescue Cow.”

Meet the Grandparents: Banana Baseball
Joe Alcedo grew up in the Philippines. He spent his time swimming, sailing (his father built his own sailboat) and especially playing baseball. He will show his eight year-old grandson Zae how he used to make baseballs out of banana leaves.

(Peer relationships, Imagination)

Episode Summary: A series of odd circumstances convinces Piggley that Molly’s new doll is actually a real leprechaun in disguise! Piggley and his friends set out to prove his theory and try to catch the leprechaun at his own game. They soon learn, however, that it’s a good idea to get ALL the facts before jumping to conclusions.

Lesson: Be sure to get all the facts before jumping to conclusions.

Storyteller Playhouse: Audience Participation
Jay Leslie, professional storyteller, magician and TV personality (“Aladdin the Wonder Boy” from Bozo the Clown) presents an amazing story-trick using a volunteer from our audience.

Meet the Grandparents: Russian Dolls
Nadia Polny grew up in the Ukraine during the war. Since she had no toys of her own, she learned to make her own. She will show her six year-old grandson Alexander how she made her own dolls out of scrap fabric when she was a child.

(Peer relationships, Friendship, Trust)

Episode Summary: When Piggley, Ferny and Dannan hear strange noises in the barn, Piggley decides it’s the “song of the banshee”—which frightens Dannan more than she wants to admit! When she finally confesses her fear to her friends, they search for the source of the noise…and discover it's only Wiley the sheep trying to lead his uncooperative flock in song.

Lesson: Talking about your fears or problems with your friends can make one feel better.

Storyteller Playhouse: Mood and Tone of the Story
Voice actor and stand-up comedian Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, and numerous other animated shows) demonstrates how mood and tone changes a story. Kids from the audience will call out different moods (funny, scary, romantic, etc.) as Tom tells a very wild and varied version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Meet the Grandparents: Radio
Singer Mary Lou Capka grew up in a small town in Yakima WA. Mary Lou had a beautiful singing voice and when she was young her parents took her to Seattle to audition for a radio program. Mary Lou aced the audition and soon became a professional child singer, appearing on hundreds of radio programs. Mary Lou will share her story, with her grandsons: five year-old Nick and seven year-old Luke.

(Science, Diversity)

Episode Summary: Piggley, Ferny and Dannan rescue an errant egg - which they decide must be a dragon’s egg. They hatch all kinds of plans to keep the egg safe, but when the creature inside emerges, it turns out to be a not-so-sweet wild swan chick. That’s when the real work begins.

Lesson: Even though we may want to have a pet, sometimes the best place for that pet is in its natural environment.

Storyteller Playhouse: Pourquoi Stories
African-American multicultural storyteller Micheal D. McCarty presents a traditional “pourquoi” legend from Africa about why the spider has a big butt.

Meet the Grandparents: Can Walkers
Terry Nakawatasee spent her childhood in rural Oregon, living on a farm. She had many chores around the farm, but for fun she would tie tin cans to her shoes as a kind of make-shift stilts, which she will demonstrate to her four year-old granddaughter Jessica.

(Kindness/Responsibility)

Episode Summary: Sweet Shop owner Miss Nanny offers a reward for the return of her lost cat and Piggley and friends leap at the opportunity. Of course, catching a cat with a mind of her own is not such an easy task, but seeing Miss Nanny’s happy face is a great reward.

Lesson: A good deed and kindness are their own rewards.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories with Pictures
Jakers! voice actor Russi Taylor will show our audience how a story can be conveyed using only pictures. Russi will have an oversized Jakers! storyboard that has no captions or dialogue. She will invite the audience kids to describe the story just by looking at the pictures. She will then let the children come up with dialogue that works for the story they came up with. We will end the segment with the final storyboard being shown like a finished animatic with the children performing all the dialogue.

Meet the Grandparents: Sneakers
Audrey Usher grew up near London, England. She will talk about how she left her sneakers under her mum’s sewing machine one night and then attended a dance class the next day. When she started to dance, she suddenly felt a pin and started hopping around the room wildly and was the hit of the class. She will retell this story to her grandsons, five year-old Ryan and seven year-old Collin, and teach them an English country dance that she enjoyed as a child.

(Peer Relationships, Diversity)

Episode Summary: Piggley and his friends (inspired by a spooky radio program) are convinced that the young boy whose family just moved into the small house up the lane from the Winks’ farm is actually a mad scientist! But through open-minded, adventurous thought and action, they are finally able to put aside their fears and risk making friends with the young boy.

Lesson: Don’t judge someone before you really get to know them.

Storyteller Playhouse: Cultural Stories
Master storyteller, Jacque Nunez, a ninth generation American Indian from Southern California, will pass on one of the stories her grandmother told her as a little girl.

Meet the Grandparents: Pushmobile
Maxwell Meltzer grew up in the Bronx. He will demonstrate to his grandchildren, seven year-old Avery and eleven year-old Bridget, how to build a pushmobile out a crate, wood and roller skates and also demonstrate his highly proficient skill as a yo-yo champ (in fact, his grandkids call him Grandpa Yoyo.)

(Music/ Art, Self-Esteem)

Episode Summary: Young Piggley discovers the joy of the new sounds of rock ‘n roll, and finds that he is suddenly eager to go to school—on Saturdays!—for his guitar lessons. When Piggley falters during his first public performance, Ferny and Dannan offer loving support and shared enthusiasm to help him regain his confidence.

Lesson: When it comes to making music, the joy of accomplishment makes all the practice and hard work worth it.

Storyteller Playhouse: Singing
San Francisco based children’s performer, Ira Levin (also known as Uncle Eye) appears costumed as a medieval troubadour and sings a brief welcoming song with his guitar. He will then briefly explain the ancient tradition of storytelling and point out the many ways folks tell stories. He’ll then and ask the children to join him in one of his new story-songs, “Ruby the Rescue Cow.”

Meet the Grandparents: Radio
Singer Mary Lou Capka grew up in a small town in Yakima WA. Mary Lou had a beautiful singing voice and when she was young her parents took her to Seattle to audition for a radio program. Mary Lou aced the audition and soon became a professional child singer, appearing on hundreds of radio programs. Mary Lou will share her story, with her grandsons: five year-old Nick and seven year-old Luke.

(Diversity)

Episode Summary: When Mr. Hornsby asks the class to think about the meaning of the old expression “you can’t make a racehorse out of a donkey”, Piggley takes it as a challenge! He sets out to change his donkey Finnegan into a racehorse. In the end, he learns that all living creatures have their own special talents - even donkeys.

Lesson: Everyone has his or her own unique talents and strengths.

Storyteller Playhouse: Tall Tales
Christy Lewis, cowgirl, professional storyteller and expert rope handler will demonstrate “The Tall Tale” telling a cowboy tale, all the while doing amazing rope tricks.

Meet the Grandparents: Ol’ Bill
Alice Strauther grew up in rural Mississippi. Her favorite childhood activity was riding horses and Ol’ Bill, the mule, when she wasn’t doing her farm chores. She will share an activity of painting pinecones with her grandchildren, six year-old Alexis and ten year-old Enrique, as she tells them her humorous tales of life on the farm.

(Honesty, Slef-Esteem)

Episode Summary: Piggley and his pals try to track down and trap a Fir Darrig, a particularly mischievous leprechaun. In the process, the kids accidentally break a window and decide to blame it on the Fir Darrig. Soon it begins to appear that the Fir Darrig is taking his revenge on them for giving him the blame - or is it just their guilty consciences?

Lesson: It’s always better to tell the truth.

Storyteller Playhouse: Audience Participation
Jay Leslie, professional storyteller, magician and TV personality (“Aladdin the Wonder Boy” from Bozo the Clown) presents an amazing story-trick using a volunteer from our audience.

Meet the Grandparents: Russian Dolls
Nadia Polny grew up in the Ukraine during the war. Since she had no toys of her own, she learned to make her own. She will show her six year-old grandson Alexander how she made her own dolls out of scrap fabric when she was a child.

(Diversity, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Mr Hornsby’s tale of ancient Irish battles inspires the kids to act out their own crusade. The game that ensues brings to light the differences in the trio’s heritage. Unfortunately, this puts Ferny on the opposing side because of his Spanish roots. Ferny finds it upsetting to be the enemy and begins to doubt whether Ireland is his true home. In the end, while Ferny learns that you can make anywhere in the world your home, Piggley and Dannan discover that introductions to new cultures can be an enriching experience.

Lesson: There are many cultures around the world – each with its own unique and wonderful stories and legends to tell.

Storyteller Playhouse: Cultural Stories
Master storyteller, Jacque Nunez, a ninth generation American Indian from Southern California, will pass on one of the stories her grandmother told her as a little girl.

Meet the Grandparents: The Book
Alicia Jimenez grew up in the Sacramento area and was one of 12 children. Her family members were all migrant farm workers. She will share her inspiring life story with her six year-old granddaughter Aylish Brennan in the form of a book that she wrote and illustrated about her childhood. Alicia will also demonstrate how they play a wooden recorder together (Aylish blows into the flute while Alicia does the fingering).

(Self-Esteem, Family)

Episode Summary: When Piggley is put in charge of the sheep, his overly enthusiastic approach makes the sheep disgruntled—and causes Wiley to run away. Piggley must then use his ingenuity and understanding to bring his sheep home. Through the process, he learns much about how to do a job well and gains new respect from his father.

Lesson: Learning something new is never easy and it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s the way you learn.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories Without Words
World-renowned pantomime artists Keith Berger & Sharon Diskin (“The Chameleons”) will demonstrate that you can even tell a story without any words at all. As they perform a brief mime skit, the children in the audience will verbalize what is being acted out in front of them. The Chameleons will then show the children how to have a tug of war with no rope.

Meet the Grandparents: Can Walkers
Terry Nakawatasee spent her childhood in rural Oregon, living on a farm. She had many chores around the farm, but for fun she would tie tin cans to her shoes as a kind of make-shift stilts, which she will demonstrate to her four year-old granddaughter Jessica.

(Self-Esteem, Relationships, Imagination)

Episode Summary: When Piggley overhears his dad is worried about the farm’s poor milk sales, he launches a creative campaign to improve business. Dad is impressed and touched by Piggley’s generosity of spirit. Piggley learns what a wonderful experience it is to help others when there is nothing in it for yourself.

Lesson: It feels good to help others with no thought of a reward for yourself.

Storyteller Playhouse: Singing
San Francisco based children’s performer, Ira Levin (also known as Uncle Eye) appears costumed as a medieval troubadour and sings a brief welcoming song with his guitar. He will then briefly explain the ancient tradition of storytelling and point out the many ways folks tell stories. He’ll then and ask the children to join him in one of his new story-songs, “Ruby the Rescue Cow.”

Meet the Grandparents: Chinese Jacks
Yen Lu Wong is from China. She is a former dancer, choreographer (a Martha Graham protégé) and currently teaches filmmaking at San Jose State University. She will share with her young grandson, Riley, a Chinese game similar to jacks, but played with small sacks of rice, and teach him about the traditional red envelopes that are given during holidays.

(Peer Relationships, Diversity)

Episode Summary: When Piggley and Ferny join a “boys only” storytelling club, Dannan is upset that she is excluded because she is ‘different’, but her friends soon realise that life is much more fun when she’s around.

Lesson: Leaving someone out of your game just because they are different to you is unfair.

Storyteller Playhouse: Mood and Tone of the Story
Voice actor and stand-up comedian Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, and numerous other animated shows) demonstrates how mood and tone changes a story. Kids from the audience will call out different moods (funny, scary, romantic, etc.) as Tom tells a very wild and varied version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Meet the Grandparents: Clothes Prop Horse
Sally Fisher was raised in St. Louis. Her favorite pastimes, besides reading, was to make a pretend horse out of a clothes prop and blow bubblegum bubbles, both of which she demonstrates to her five year-old grandson Sean.

(Peer Relationships, Diversity)

Episode Summary: Piggley and his best friends Ferny and Dannan are challenged to open their minds and hearts to new friends when Mr. Hornsby requires them to do a team project with classmates they don’t know very well. They end up seeing things in a different light when they take time to look under the surface.

Lesson: It’s a good idea to keep an open mind about new friends and experiences.

Storyteller Playhouse: Special Words
Professional storyteller Georgette Baker relates a Mexican tale of the origin of Chocolate. Her storytelling technique is highly interactive with the studio audience and is presented bilingually, in Spanish and English, and in song.

Meet the Grandparents: Gooly Danda
Dr. Gilam Hassan Butt is from Kashmir. As a youth, his favorite thing to do was to play baseball and Gooly Danda, a game with a home-made wedge and a stick (played by launching the wooden wedge into the air and hitting it - kind of like batting practice). Dr. Butt will show his six year-old grandson, Hamza, how to make and play with a Gooly Danda.

(Imagination, Responsibility)

Episode Summary: Mr. Winks plants a treasure map for Piggley and his friends, but this is a map with a difference! The trio set about the tasks on the treasure trail and are having so much fun they don’t realize they’re doing their chores at the same time. But the real “treasure” is learning that when work is done with the right attitude, it can even be fun!

Lesson: When work is approached with the right attitude, it can be fun!

Storyteller Playhouse: Who, What, Where
Actor and Improv Comedian Gary Anthony (Star of Malcolm in the Middle) will teach us about the three basic building blocks of stories. He’ll ask the audience kids to throw out ideas for location, lead character and situation. He will then do an improvised kid-friendly rap story to demonstrate how it’s all put together.

Meet the Grandparents: Ol’ Bill
Alice Strauther grew up in rural Mississippi. Her favorite childhood activity was riding horses and Ol’ Bill, the mule, when she wasn’t doing her farm chores. She will share an activity of painting pinecones with her grandchildren, six year-old Alexis and ten year-old Enrique, as she tells them her humorous tales of life on the farm.

(Peer Relationships, Diversity)

Episode Summary: Hector plays a joke on Piggley, Dannan and Ferny, but they don’t think it’s so funny. With a little gentle encouragement from Don Toro, Piggley and his pals look at their problem with Hector from a new perspective. They use their ingenuity to show him that “jokes” aren’t always so funny when the joke is on you!

Lesson: Practical jokes can be fun – but sometimes they’re not. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes may help you tell the difference.

Storyteller Playhouse: Tall Tales
Christy Lewis, cowgirl, professional storyteller and expert rope handler will demonstrate “The Tall Tale” telling a cowboy tale, all the while doing amazing rope tricks.

Meet the Grandparents: Grape Leaves
Farmouze Fedail is from Syria. She shares her childhood photos with her twin seven-year-old granddaughters, Kendall and Caitlin, and teaches them how to make an authentic Syrian dish: stuffed grape leaves.

(Literacy, Honesty, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: The kids set out to write newspaper stories and Piggley and Ferny end up making up exciting adventure stories instead. But Dannan knows that news stories are about the truth and that the truth can be powerful – it can actually change the way you think about something or someone.

Lesson: Dig a little deeper to find out all you can about someone before you judge them.

Storyteller Playhouse: Who, What, Where
Actor and Improv Comedian Gary Anthony (Star of Malcolm in the Middle) will teach us about the three basic building blocks of stories. He’ll ask the audience kids to throw out ideas for location, lead character and situation. He will then do an improvised kid-friendly rap story to demonstrate how it’s all put together.

Meet the Grandparents: Pushmobile
Maxwell Meltzer grew up in the Bronx. He will demonstrate to his grandchildren, seven year-old Avery and eleven year-old Bridget, how to build a pushmobile out a crate, wood and roller skates and also demonstrate his highly proficient skill as a yo-yo champ (in fact, his grandkids call him Grandpa Yoyo.)

(Peer relationships, Self-Esteem)

Episode Summary: Piggley and Dannan think they know best how to help a love-struck Ferny get the attention of his schoolmate, Millie. While he appreciates that his friends are trying to help, in the end Ferny learns that he's really much better off trusting his own feelings and instincts.

Lesson: Be yourself and trust that your friends like you just the way you are.

Storyteller Playhouse: The Hero
Professional storyteller Rebecca Martin will explain how every good story has a hero. To illustrate, she’ll tell an ancient Japanese tale that shows how a simple young man is chosen as the new Emperor because of his honesty and integrity.

Meet the Grandparents: Sneakers
Audrey Usher grew up near London, England. She will talk about how she left her sneakers under her mum’s sewing machine one night and then attended a dance class the next day. When she started to dance, she suddenly felt a pin and started hopping around the room wildly and was the hit of the class. She will retell this story to her grandsons, five year-old Ryan and seven year-old Collin, and teach them an English country dance that she enjoyed as a child

(Perseverance, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Piggley tries to make the most of a bad situation by training his left arm to throw when his right arm is broken and put in a cast, but it’s the help of his friends that enables him to overcome his temporary handicap and win the Ball Toss Contest at the annual School Fair.

Lesson: Helping a friend through a difficult time is a true sign of friendship.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories Without Words
World-renowned pantomime artists Keith Berger & Sharon Diskin (“The Chameleons”) will demonstrate that you can even tell a story without any words at all. As they perform a brief mime skit, the children in the audience will verbalize what is being acted out in front of them. The Chameleons will then show the children how to have a tug of war with no rope.

Meet the Grandparents: Banana Baseball
Joe Alcedo grew up in the Philippines. He spent his time swimming, sailing (his father built his own sailboat) and especially playing baseball. He will show his eight year-old grandson Zae how he used to make baseballs out of banana leaves.

(Problem-Solving, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Using creativity and cleverness, Piggley, Dannan and Ferny work together towards the common goal of finding and testing three lucky horseshoe legends in order to find the “true” story behind the horseshoe Mr. Hornsby has hung on the schoolhouse door.

Lesson: Cooperating is a great way to accomplish a difficult goal.

Storyteller Playhouse: Pourquoi Stories
African-American multicultural storyteller Micheal D. McCarty presents a traditional “pourquoi” legend from Africa about why the spider has a big butt.

Meet the Grandparents: Pushmobile
Maxwell Meltzer grew up in the Bronx. He will demonstrate to his grandchildren, seven year-old Avery and eleven year-old Bridget, how to build a pushmobile out a crate, wood and roller skates and also demonstrate his highly proficient skill as a yo-yo champ (in fact, his grandkids call him Grandpa Yoyo.)

(Diversity, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Ferny gets the chance to be the leader in a game of cowboys, and Piggley is put in the unusual position of being a follower. But Ferny doesn’t play cowboys Piggley’s way and Piggley soon loses interest and goes home. Mr. Winks convinces Piggley to try Ferny’s way and Piggley ends up having fun - and gaining new respect for his friend.

Lesson: Listen to others. Your way isn’t necessarily the only/right way.

Storyteller Playhouse: Tall Tales
Christy Lewis, cowgirl, professional storyteller and expert rope handler will demonstrate “The Tall Tale” telling a cowboy tale, all the while doing amazing rope tricks.

Meet the Grandparents: Clothes Prop Horse
Sally Fisher was raised in St. Louis. Her favorite pastimes, besides reading, was to make a pretend horse out of a clothes prop and blow bubblegum bubbles, both of which she demonstrates to her five year-old grandson Sean.

(Self-Esteem, Responsibility)

Episode Summary: Molly is about to start school and feels very grown up. To prove it, she persuades her parents to let her take care of an adorable lamb. When Molly can’t say “no” to the little darling, however, he becomes a troublemaker causing chaos on the farm, in the house, and even at school. Molly soon realizes that even little lambs need rules!

Lesson: Having rules and setting limits make life better for everyone.

Storyteller Playhouse: Special Words
Professional storyteller Georgette Baker relates a Mexican tale of the origin of Chocolate. Her storytelling technique is highly interactive with the studio audience and is presented bilingually, in Spanish and English, and in song.

Meet the Grandparents: Russian Dolls
Nadia Polny grew up in the Ukraine during the war. Since she had no toys of her own, she learned to make her own. She will show her six year-old grandson Alexander how she made her own dolls out of scrap fabric when she was a child.

(Honesty, Responsibility, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: When Dannan’s school bag is chewed to pieces, Finnegan the donkey is the likely suspect. The kids hold a “trial” in the barn, where witnesses tell different versions of the crime. When it is revealed that Finnegan was not to blame, everyone learns an important lesson about the dangers of making accusations without knowing all the facts.

Lesson: Don’t make accusations without knowing all the facts.

Storyteller Playhouse: The Hero
Professional storyteller Rebecca Martin will explain how every good story has a hero. To illustrate, she’ll tell an ancient Japanese tale that shows how a simple young man is chosen as the new Emperor because of his honesty and integrity.

Meet the Grandparents: Ol’ Bill
Alice Strauther grew up in rural Mississippi. Her favorite childhood activity was riding horses and Ol’ Bill, the mule, when she wasn’t doing her farm chores. She will share an activity of painting pinecones with her grandchildren, six year-old Alexis and ten year-old Enrique, as she tells them her humorous tales of life on the farm.

(Diversity, Family, Imagination)

Episode Summary: When Mr. and Mrs. Winks have to go out in the rain to repair a fence, Piggley must keep Molly inside and entertained. He quickly realizes that what is fun for him isn’t necessarily fun for Molly. Piggley uses his ingenuity to come up with some great games they both can play and enjoy - and discovers how much fun it is to be a truly helpful older brother!

Lesson: People of all ages can find a common ground if they look for it.

Storyteller Playhouse: Mood and Tone of the Story
Voice actor and stand-up comedian Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, and numerous other animated shows) demonstrates how mood and tone changes a story. Kids from the audience will call out different moods (funny, scary, romantic, etc.) as Tom tells a very wild and varied version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”

Meet the Grandparents: Chinese Jacks
Yen Lu Wong is from China. She is a former dancer, choreographer (a Martha Graham protégé) and currently teaches filmmaking at San Jose State University. She will share with her young grandson, Riley, a Chinese game similar to jacks, but played with small sacks of rice, and teach him about the traditional red envelopes that are given during holidays.

(Diversity, Friendship)

Episode Summary: A series of misunderstandings lead the villagers of Tara to believe that Don Toro and Ferny are moving back to Spain. So the town throws Don Toro a special birthday fiesta complete with Spanish music, dancing, food and even fireworks. Then they discover that Don Toro had only been planning a weekend trip to Dublin!

Lesson: When you are unsure about something don’t guess the truth - go to the source.

Storyteller Playhouse: Cultural Stories
Master storyteller, Jacque Nunez, a ninth generation American Indian from Southern California, will pass on one of the stories her grandmother told her as a little girl.

Meet the Grandparents: The Book
Alicia Jimenez grew up in the Sacramento area and was one of 12 children. Her family members were all migrant farm workers. She will share her inspiring life story with her six year-old granddaughter Aylish Brennan in the form of a book that she wrote and illustrated about her childhood. Alicia will also demonstrate how they play a wooden recorder together (Aylish blows into the flute while Alicia does the fingering).

(Diversity, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Dannan is excited when her cousin, Gaddie, comes to visit from the United States. She gets jealous, however, when it appears that Ferny and Piggley like Gaddie better than they like her. When Dannan’s jealousy gets the best of her and she ruins a fun afternoon, she learns that the best way to deal with bad feelings is to talk about them.

Lesson: Don’t keep feelings bottled up inside—share them with people you trust.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories Without Words
World-renowned pantomime artists Keith Berger & Sharon Diskin (“The Chameleons”) will demonstrate that you can even tell a story without any words at all. As they perform a brief mime skit, the children in the audience will verbalize what is being acted out in front of them. The Chameleons will then show the children how to have a tug of war with no rope.

Meet the Grandparents: Banana Baseball
Joe Alcedo grew up in the Philippines. He spent his time swimming, sailing (his father built his own sailboat) and especially playing baseball. He will show his eight year-old grandson Zae how he used to make baseballs out of banana leaves.

(Peer Relationships, Grief, Friendship)

Episode Summary: Ferny is distraught when his pet fish, Thor, dies. Piggley and Dannan try to help Ferny by distracting him with games and play, but Ferny doesn’t seem to be getting “better”. The townsfolk pitch in and hold a wake for Thor to help Ferny talk about and share his feelings and to celebrate the happiness Thor brought him.

Lesson: Dealing with loss and acquiring the grace to accept the things we cannot change gives us the power to celebrate life.

Episode note: 2005 Humanitas Award Winner, children’s category

Storyteller Playhouse: The Hero
Professional storyteller Rebecca Martin will explain how every good story has a hero. To illustrate, she’ll tell an ancient Japanese tale that shows how a simple young man is chosen as the new Emperor because of his honesty and integrity.

Meet the Grandparents: Grape Leaves
Farmouze Fedail is from Syria. She shares her childhood photos with her twin seven-year-old granddaughters, Kendall and Caitlin, and teaches them how to make an authentic Syrian dish: stuffed grape leaves.

(Imagination, Responsibility, Family)

Episode Summary: Piggley needs to help his father with some chores around the farm. But when Piggley takes a more creative than practical approach in painting the milk cart and builds a castle of hay for the new chicks, his father thinks Piggley is playing instead of working. In the end, Piggley’s overworked father sees the joy Piggley is getting from his work and rediscovers his own sense of play.

Lesson: When work is approached with the right attitude, it can be fun!

Storyteller Playhouse: Sound Effects
Two members of “The Liquid Radio Players” (an offshoot of the popular Los Angeles-based ACME Comedy Theatre), will demonstrate how stories can be enhanced by sound effects, just like they used to do in the golden age of radio.

Meet the Grandparents: Gooly Danda
Dr. Gilam Hassan Butt is from Kashmir. As a youth, his favorite thing to do was to play baseball and Gooly Danda, a game with a home-made wedge and a stick (played by launching the wooden wedge into the air and hitting it - kind of like batting practice). Dr. Butt will show his six year-old grandson, Hamza, how to make and play with a Gooly Danda.

(Responsibility, Family)

Episode Summary: After griping about his parents’ rules, Piggley wishes he were a grownup, so he could do as he pleases. When Dad sprains his ankle and puts Piggley in charge of the farm for a day, however, Piggley finds being a grownup is a lot harder than it looks.

Lesson: Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up—everything happens in its own time.

Storyteller Playhouse: The Hero
Professional storyteller Rebecca Martin will explain how every good story has a hero. To illustrate, she’ll tell an ancient Japanese tale that shows how a simple young man is chosen as the new Emperor because of his honesty and integrity.

Meet the Grandparents: Can Walkers
Terry Nakawatasee spent her childhood in rural Oregon, living on a farm. She had many chores around the farm, but for fun she would tie tin cans to her shoes as a kind of make-shift stilts, which she will demonstrate to her four year-old granddaughter Jessica.

(Self-Esteem, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: When Dannan’s grandma teaches the class to dance, Dannan proves an enthusiastic student of the art. When Dannan realizes that she isn’t a very good dancer, however, she becomes afraid that she will let her friends down and doesn’t want to dance anymore.

Lesson: The most important thing is to do the best you can - and to enjoy yourself!

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories Without Words
World-renowned pantomime artists Keith Berger & Sharon Diskin (“The Chameleons”) will demonstrate that you can even tell a story without any words at all. As they perform a brief mime skit, the children in the audience will verbalize what is being acted out in front of them. The Chameleons will then show the children how to have a tug of war with no rope.

Meet the Grandparents: Sneakers
Audrey Usher grew up near London, England. She will talk about how she left her sneakers under her mum’s sewing machine one night and then attended a dance class the next day. When she started to dance, she suddenly felt a pin and started hopping around the room wildly and was the hit of the class. She will retell this story to her grandsons, five year-old Ryan and seven year-old Collin, and teach them an English country dance that she enjoyed as a child.

(Problem-solving, Peer Relationships)

Episode Summary: Piggley and friends borrow a special wooden shamrock from Mr. Hornsby - then misplace it. Following advice from Don Toro, they retrace their steps to find it, starting from the last place they saw it. Working together and helping each other they eventually find what they were looking for.

Lesson: Cooperation and working together to solve a problem can be fun.

Storyteller Playhouse: Audience Participation
Jay Leslie, professional storyteller, magician and TV personality (“Aladdin the Wonder Boy” from Bozo the Clown) presents an amazing story-trick using a volunteer from our audience.

Meet the Grandparents: Gooly Danda
Dr. Gilam Hassan Butt is from Kashmir. As a youth, his favorite thing to do was to play baseball and Gooly Danda, a game with a home-made wedge and a stick (played by launching the wooden wedge into the air and hitting it - kind of like batting practice). Dr. Butt will show his six year-old grandson, Hamza, how to make and play with a Gooly Danda.

(Literacy, Intergenerational Learning)

Episode Summary: Grandpa is feeling a little blue on his birthday, so his young grandpigs decide to try to cheer him up by telling the great storyteller a few stories of their own describing how life would be if they were in Tara.

Lesson: There are many ways to tell a story, it’s important to use your own particular skills.

Storyteller Playhouse: Stories with Pictures
Jakers! voice actor Russi Taylor will show our audience how a story can be conveyed using only pictures. Russi will have an oversized Jakers! storyboard that has no captions or dialogue. She will invite the audience kids to describe the story just by looking at the pictures. She will then let the children come up with dialogue that works for the story they came up with. We will end the segment with the final storyboard being shown like a finished animatic with the children performing all the dialogue.

Meet the Grandparents: Chinese Jacks
Yen Lu Wong is from China. She is a former dancer, choreographer (a Martha Graham protégé) and currently teaches filmmaking at San Jose State University. She will share with her young grandson, Riley, a Chinese game similar to jacks, but played with small sacks of rice, and teach him about the traditional red envelopes that are given during holidays.

(Literacy, Intergenerational Learning)

Episode Summary: Uncle Ferny arrives from Ireland with a special birthday gift for Grandpa Piggley: the original Raloo Rocket. As the old friends and grandchildren repair the beloved wagon, they recall its origins through song, written word and fanciful storytelling.

Lesson: There are many ways to tell a story. Good friendships, and good stories, last forever.

Storyteller Playhouse: Singing
San Francisco based children’s performer, Ira Levin (also known as Uncle Eye) appears costumed as a medieval troubadour and sings a brief welcoming song with his guitar. He will then briefly explain the ancient tradition of storytelling and point out the many ways folks tell stories. He’ll then and ask the children to join him in one of his new story-songs, “Ruby the Rescue Cow.”

Meet the Grandparents: Pushmobile
Maxwell Meltzer grew up in the Bronx. He will demonstrate to his grandchildren, seven year-old Avery and eleven year-old Bridget, how to build a pushmobile out a crate, wood and roller skates and also demonstrate his highly proficient skill as a yo-yo champ (in fact, his grandkids call him Grandpa Yoyo.)

(Imagination, Honesty, family)

Episode Summary: After being told he’s too young to listen to his parents’ science fiction radio show, Piggley eavesdrops anyway. When his impressionable imagination puts him in a strange dream filled with cabbages and cabbage creatures, he learns there are reasons for rules.

Lesson: Rules are there for a reason.

Storyteller Playhouse: Sound Effects
Two members of “The Liquid Radio Players” (an offshoot of the popular Los Angeles-based ACME Comedy Theatre), will demonstrate how stories can be enhanced by sound effects, just like they used to do in the golden age of radio.

Meet the Grandparents: Radio
Singer Mary Lou Capka grew up in a small town in Yakima WA. Mary Lou had a beautiful singing voice and when she was young her parents took her to Seattle to audition for a radio program. Mary Lou aced the audition and soon became a professional child singer, appearing on hundreds of radio programs. Mary Lou will share her story, with her grandsons: five year-old Nick and seven year-old Luke.