''Picture Book'' is a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's TV series created by

Freda Lingstrom Freda Violet Lingstrom OBE (23 July 1893 – 15 April 1989) was a BBC Television producer and executive, responsible for pioneering children's programmes in the early 1950s. She and her friend Maria Bird together created '' Andy Pandy'' and '' ...

, first broadcast in 1955. It was the Monday programme in the ''

Watch with Mother ''Watch with Mother'' was a cycle of children's programmes created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird. Broadcast by BBC Television from 1952 until 1975, it was the first BBC television series aimed specifically at tiny tots to pre-school childr ...

'' cycle. Initially introduced by

Patricia Driscoll Patricia Noel Driscoll (17 December 1927 – 2 January 2020) was a British and Irish actress, who has appeared both on television and in films.''Picture Show Who's Who on the Screen'' (Amalgamated Press • London) 956p40 Television work Train ...

, the programme encouraged children to make things; Driscoll's catch phrase was "Do you think you could do this? – I am sure you could if you tried". She left the programme in 1957 to play the part of

Maid Marian Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circums ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

series ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

''. Patricia Driscoll's episodes were repeated until 1963 when they were replaced by a new series of episodes with Vera McKechnie. The programme ran until December 1965 and replaced in the Monday slot by

Camberwick Green ''Camberwick Green'' is a British children's television series that ran from January to March 1966 on BBC1, featuring stop motion puppets. ''Camberwick Green'' is the first in the ''Trumptonshire'' trilogy, which also includes '' Trumpton'' a ...

in January 1966.BBC Genome – ''Picture Book''
/ref> The show's opening theme tune was

Badinerie A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often refe ...

, the final movement of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor. Each Monday, Driscoll or McKechnie would open the Picture Book at a relevant page. Sometimes it would be shown to the camera at a distance, making the pages' content often brief and obscure. Alternatively, the presenter would simply tell the children what the next item would be, sometimes with a still photograph as a continuity link. It was something different every week. The 1963 series featured Sausage, a

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

dachshund who could speak a few words, voiced by

Roy Skelton Roy William Skelton (20 July 1931 – 8 June 2011) was a British actor most noted for his voice work. He was best known for playing Zippy and George in ''Rainbow'', and for voicing the Daleks and the Cybermen in ''Doctor Who''. Life and ca ...

and generally shared the presentation with Vera McKechnie. The 1987

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release by

BBC Video 2 Entertain Video Limited, trading as BBC Studios Home Entertainment, is a British video and music publisher founded in 2004 following the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International by BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths (United Kingd ...

featured an episode including Sausage the puppet dog, the Adventures of the Jolly Jack Tars (a group of sailors), making paper lanterns, growing mustard and cress, and a regular cartoon of a little girl called

Bizzy Lizzy ''Bizzy Lizzy'' is a British children's TV series from the 1960s. Bizzy Lizzy is a little girl whose dress has a magic flower. When she touches it, her wishes come true – but if she makes more than four wishes in a day, all her previous wi ...

, who had a magic flower. The 'Bizzy Lizzy' inserts for Picture Book were narrated by Maria Bird, who also narrated ''

Andy Pandy ''Andy Pandy'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC Television in 1950. Originally live, a series of 26 filmed programmes was shown until 1970, when a new series of 13 episodes was made. This series was the basis for a co ...

'', ''

The Woodentops The Woodentops are a British rock band that enjoyed critical acclaim and moderate popularity in the mid-1980s. History The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial lineup of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of the Wild Swans ...

'' and ''

The Flowerpot Men The Flowerpot Men were a British electronic music group active in the 1980s. This group featured electronic musician Ben Watkins (of Juno Reactor), Paul N. Davies (of Naked Lunch), and cellist Adam Peters. Works They recorded several EPs ...

''. A further episode was included on a '' Watch with Mother 2'' video released in 1989. The main feature involved the creation of hills and a valley using a sand tray, an item featured regularly in the programme. Both episodes were taken from the 1963 series, presented by Vera McKechnie.

References

Notes

External links

* Bibliography * BBC children's television shows 1955 British television series debuts 1965 British television series endings 1950s British children's television series 1960s British children's television series 1950s preschool education television series 1960s preschool education television series British preschool education television series British television shows featuring puppetry {{BBC-children-tv-prog-stub