The Happy Birthday Video:
Seven animated books that celebrate all the fun and excitement of having a birthday. The stories feature the vocal talents of Joss Ackland, Linda Bellingham, Bernard Cribbins, Alison Steadman and the master of all funny animal voices Johnny Morris.
Badger's Bring Something Party by Hiawyn Oram and Susan Varley:
When Badger throws a party, Squirrel brings fairycakes, Owl brings streamers, Rat brings funny hats, and Bat brings an accordion, but Mole brings only himself and feels badly until his friends reassure him.
It's My Birthday by Helen Oxenbury:
"It’s my birthday and I’m going to make a cake," a little boy tells his friends. Will they all help? Yes. The chicken gets some eggs; the bear gets some flour; the cat gets butter and milk; the pig gets a pinch of salt.... and they’ll all help to eat the cake too!
The Trouble with Jack by Shirley Hughes:
Jack and trouble seem to be inseparable so much so that older sister Nancy's birthday party is almost ruined before it even gets under way - almost but not quite.
How Many Days to my Birthday? by Gus Clarke:
Danny's seemingly endless wait for his birthday to come is made worse by knowing that Florence, the girl next door, has already had six birthdays, and even the cat has had more than that.
Elephant Pie by Hilda Offen:
Mrs Elephant is making a birthday pie for the sharp-toothed Snipper-Snappers. But as she bakes, baby JoJo disappears and poor mummy is so worried she makes custard with mustard by mistake. Those Snipper-Snappers are in for a few surprises - and mustard custard is only one of them!
Bear's Birthday by Allan Ahlberg and Colin McNaughton:
A bear has a noisy birthday party.
Surprise! Surprise! by Michael Foreman:
Little Panda is frightened of the dark, so he has a moonlight lamp on at night. But the only thing he can afford to get for Mum's birthday is one very small plant, and it needs light. He has to put it in the attic, as it's the one place Mum won't look, and it's not light up there at all. So Little Panda lets the plant have his special lamp: it needs it more than he does. He finds that soon he gets used to the dark, and doesn't find it frightening any more. And when it's time to show Mum her present, the little plant has grown into an extravaganza of foliage seething with exotic birds!
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Bedtime Stories:
Seven animated bedtime books and one animated bedtime short designed to calm children down before they are put to bed, and to get the parent out of bedtime story reading duties. It features the vocal talents of Joss Ackland, Linda Bellingham, Bernard Cribbins, Alison Steadman and Johnny Morris.
Dad! I Can't Sleep by Michael Foreman:
Little Panda can't sleep, so his dad brings him a drink and suggests counting imaginary sheep. That doesn't work, so he tries counting cows and tigers and pigs and elephants and polar bears - and soon his room becomes a zoo.
Bedtime Story by David Wood and Richard Fowler:
It's time for bed and Mole is feeling very sleepy. But where is his bed? Mole climbs into Elephant's lumpy bed, Mouse's squeaky bed and Kangaroo's bouncy bed, but none of them feel quite right.
Get into Bed! by Virginia Miller:
It's Bartholomew's bedtime. But Bartholomew doesn't want to go to bed. "Nah!" he says. He wriggles, giggles, cuddles and snuggles. Will George ever get him to fall asleep?
Go to Sleep! by Nigel McMullen:
Jack the kitten is too excited to sleep on the night before his birthday. After his mum and dad have gone to bed he ransacks the house looking for his birthday presents, which he finds with a flurry of excitement. The result is one happy kitten and two very tired parents.
Little Princess' Bedtime by Tony Ross:
The Little Princess is typically mischievous as she gets ready for bed.
Sleep Tight by Penelope Lively and Adriano Gon:
A girl has a large family - Frog, Lion, Cat and Mary-Ann, her doll. All day she looks after them, but at night they take charge and each in turn leads her into a thrilling adventure.
I'm Not Sleepy! by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins:
Naughty Baby Bear wants to do everything except go to sleep, until he gets what he truly needs before bedtime.
Good Night Everyone! by Ian Robinson:
James says goodnight to everyone in his house.
