Shirley Temple's Storybook is a 1958-1961 American children'santhology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 novel The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. The first season of sixteen black-and-white and colored episodes aired on NBC between January 12, 1958 and December 21, 1958 as Shirley Temple's Storybook. Thirteen episodes of the first season re-ran on ABC beginning on January 12, 1959. The second season of twenty-five color episodes aired on NBC as The Shirley Temple Show between September 18, 1960 and July 16, 1961 in much the same format. Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose". When a stagehand began swearing during a "Mother Goose" rehearsal, Temple had him fired, telling the stunned cast it was a children's show-although no children were present during the rehearsal. Three of the first season episodes were done live, and each of the three took ten days of preparation. Temple read each script and made suggestions for improvement if necessary.
Episode list
Season 1
C^ Episode was telecast in color.
L^ Live episode.
Season 2
Book collections
published three fairy tale collections under Temple's name based on the first season: Shirley Temple's Storybook, Shirley Temple's Fairyland, and Shirley Temple's Stories That Never Grow Old. A fourth book, Shirley Temple's FavoriteTales OfLong Ago includes "The Magic Fishbone", "The Nightingale", "The Valiant Little Tailor", and "The Little Lame Prince".
DVD release
The full series anthology has not been released, however selected episodes of the second season were released on Region 1 DVD in 2006. First Run Video released all sixteen of the first season episodes, all in black and white, on VHS tapes in 1989. Wood Knapp Video re-released thirteen of the episodes from the first season in extended play speed on VHS tape. The episodes were "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", "Hiawatha", "The Land of Green Ginger", "The Magic Fishbone", "The Nightingale", "Rapunzel", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Lame Prince", "Mother Goose", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Wild Swans", and "Dick Wittington and His Cat".
