Puddle Lane


Puddle Lane is a 1980s English pre-school children's television programme written by Rick Vanes with animated stories written by Sheila K. McCullagh, author of Tim and the Hidden People. A long series of early readers based on the stories was produced by Ladybird Books, also under the title Puddle Lane.

TV programme

The programme was made by Yorkshire Television in Leeds for ITV and ran on from 1985 until 1989. The main characters were the Magician, and a Spell Dragon named Toby ; the Magician told Toby stories by moving his finger around in a puddle and a bird bath and producing images. He also had a cauldron inside and water barrel outside, both of which could talk. The stories he told were presented as animations, narrated by Kate Lee. The Magician lived in a large house at the end of Puddle Lane, hence the name of the programme.
In an interview in 2014, Neil Innes recalled his involvement with Puddle Lane:

Transmission guide

A series of 54 books was produced for Puddle Lane, published by Ladybird Books. The texts, based on the animated stories, were written by Sheila McCullagh. Illustrations for the books were provided by several different artists. There were five sets of books, the first set being the easiest to read and the last set being the hardest. Since they were intended for children who are learning to read, the books with lower reading stages would present the text in two versions: the left page contained the full version, to be read aloud by the parent, while the right page contained a simplified version for the child. The books are currently out of print.

Miscellany

Other Puddle Lane merchandise included audio tapes supplied for the books, jigsaw puzzles, dominoes, picture word cards, and several educational products: The Magician's Activity Book, The Griffle's Activity Book and Puddle Lane Fun Frieze.