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Jim Henson's The Muppets Worlds of Wonder Book Prototype

9/28/2015

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​Not too long ago I had the opportunity to own one of the coolest pieces of WOW memorabilia I've come across in a while -- a Worlds of Wonder set of prototype artwork for what was to be the first in a series of books for The Muppets (specifically, Muppet Babies). One would assume that there would have been talkers, but nothing is mentioned in the artwork. What was mentioned in the artwork, however, is some kind of "magical book" device that seems to interact with kids when they touch different areas of it. It also stands to reason that a prototype of this toy exists! See the images below for a closer inspection.
Along with beautiful full spread prints of what would have been pages in the book, it also came with a prototype book (which sadly is falling apart due to age). The book itself contains the entire story and looks very similar to all of WOW's other book series. The ink is transferring from page to page and the pages are curling near the edges (it's about 30 years old!), but it's still beautiful to carefully page through.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this piece, however, is the handwritten signature of WOW designers or marketers and the date that is written on the piece. The date is marked July 9th, in what I assume to be 1987. If this is correct, it was a mere 5 months before Worlds of Wonder was to declare bankruptcy. It would be so interesting to me to see how Jim Henson's team reacted (or how the WOW team internally reacted) when bankruptcy was filed. To see that the Worlds of Wonder team was going strong on new, innovative product completely contradict's the company's failure come just a few months later. What do you think? Do you have any more information on the above prototype? Do you think a magical reader prototype exists? Enjoy!

❤ Elle
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Teddy Ruxpin Book and Tape Guide

9/27/2015

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Picture
Have you ever wondered if there's a list of Teddy Ruxpin books and tapes? Worlds of Wonder made the largest amount of books and tapes available in hardback with an accompanying cassette to work inside of the tape-playing Teddy Ruxpin.

When Playskool took over the license and continued manufacturing Teddy Ruxpin that was redesigned, books were switched to paperback versions and the cassette tapes were changed to cartridges, as children were pulling out the ribbon in the cassettes of Teddy's first design. Hardcover books are exclusive to the first generation Teddy. YES! Entertainment and Backpack Toys also manufactured book titles via paperback versions as well.

This is my beginning at a list for the first generation Teddy manufactured by Worlds of Wonder. Take a look at the list below! Have I missed anything? Leave a comment to make sure this is a complete list.
  • The Airship
  • The Missing Princess
  • The Wooly What's-It
  • Teddy and the Mudblups
  • Tweeg and the Bounders
  • Grubby's Romance
  • Grunge Music
  • Take A Good Look
  • All About Bears
  • The Story of the Faded Fobs
  • Teddy Ruxpin's Birthday
  • Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies
  • Teddy's Winter Adventure
  • The Third Crystal
  • Grundo Beach Party
  • Teddy Ruxpin's Christmas
  • The Medicine Wagon
  • Autumn Adventure
  • Double Grubby
  • The Day Teddy Met Grubby
  • Gizmos and Gadgets
  • The Mushroom Forest
  • Teddy Ruxpin Summertime
  • Lost in Boggley Woods
  • Wooly and the Giant Snowzos
  • Anything in the Soup
  • Grundo Springtime Singtime
  • One More Spot
  • Tweeg Gets the Tweezles
  • Uncle Grubby
  • The Sign of a Friend
  • Teddy Ruxpin Lullabies II
  • Teddy Ruxpin Sings Love Songs
  • The Do-Along Songbook
  • Quiet Please
  • Safe at Home with Teddy Ruxpin
  • Water Safety with Teddy Ruxpin
  • Fire Safety with Teddy Ruxpin
  • Teddy Ruxpin Visits the Dentist

​❤ Elle


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    80s toy fan, Teddy Ruxpin collector, and researcher. Learn more about me here.


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