Welcome To Storyland!

I just had a dream last night, which may remind one of the Care Bears movie Journey To Joke-A-Lot and the 'Wizard Of Oz'.

I went through a strange amount of tunnels, ending with a long tube slide that lead me to a colorful world named 'Storyland'. Here, you can create stories, and they come to life right before your eyes - they have loads of shops where they sell magical pencils and notebooks which you can write in, they have giant vending machines filled with chocolate treats and fizzy drinks, and the beds are so big. I slept in one which had blue covers. They even had gardens which grew the sweetest flowers, and they even sold wands which made all your wishes come true! Did I also mention that there are loads of playgrounds there? Awesome!

I wish Storyland existed in real life, then my stories would come alive and I would never be bored in my new house ever again. Speaking of, in I.B.F.F Diaries, there are some special sparkling insert cards for 'Jody In Wonderland' on CBBC and 'Kate In Oz' on CBeebies - when one is inserted, a magical portal appears which leads to two fantastical places - Wonderland and Oz. So, in the books, whenever the specials air, the I.B.F.Fs go on a magical adventure through these portals, encountering a magical new place every time. This also goes to 'Dumping Ground Island', because its insert card is coloured leafy green.

Clangers Overview - Healing Harmonies

LAST TIME ON CLANGERS: A near-upsetting situation involving the Music Trees leads to a catchy song from a group of Eggbots.

And now, the next exciting adventure in the life of Tiny and Small...

Tiny performs music with the Music Trees, which Mother loves, whilst Small paints a picture...until Tiny suddenly feels ill, and sneezes. This is the first time we've ever heard a Clanger sneeze, as Tiny has fallen ill. She's sent straight to bed with her Skymoo doll by her side, and Small places a picture he drew of her making music with the Music Trees on her shelf. Everyone comes to see Tiny, and want to make her better, with soup, a puffball pillow and a knitted blanket, plus a story from the Iron Chicken. Mother tells them to leave Tiny alone, but they meant well, and bed and rest will help Tiny feel better.

Small goes out on his own, and hears the Music Trees playing a marvelous melody, a tune so soothing and full of love. He goes to fetch Mother and tell her the whole story and let Tiny hear the soothing music, but Mother still is on strict borderlines.

Later, everyone falls asleep, but Tiny's still sneezing, and Small is awoken by the noise - we also see a music note and a red heart on her shelf as Small enters the room. She would like to hear some music, but Small isn't good at music...until the picture on Tiny's shelf gives him an idea. He takes her outside despite Mother's orders, and he allows her to hear the marvelous melody, which makes her calm and sleepy.

Small places Tiny back into bed, and heads off to sleep himself.

The next morning, Small is awoken by Mother. Tiny feels much better, thanks to a lot of bed and rest. Everyone gathered is happy to know that Tiny is better, and so is Small - now she has the strength and energy to play music again. Tiny believes she dreamed about the tune Small let her hear, and races off to play it with the Music Trees, which know the tune. All is well, as caring is what a Clanger loves to do best.

I've had a very cranky day because I got hot overnight, but who can cure my depression? Tiny and Small! Not to forget all their friends and family, of course. Thank you, Clangers, you turned a grumpy day into a wonderful afternoon.

Goodnight, Tiny. Goodnight, Small.

Clangers Overview - Strange Music

LAST TIME ON CLANGERS: Three disabled Froglets wanted to feel special, so they and their not so disabled friends got awards...then refused them. Tiny and Small returned and now we can finally live happily ever after.

And now, our next exciting episode....

As always, we start off in Major's workshop, where he is fixing the soup trolley. Small then cruises round the caves, waving to his friends and family before going off to fetch soup and give the Soup Dragon a nice new woolly hat before getting soup to share with his family. Above the planet, the Eggbot crashes and lands in a crater, spilling soup all over our lovely pink friends. The Eggbots, if you didn't realize, go 'Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do', and have first appeared in 'I Am The Eggbot'. We haven't seen them in three years.

The Music Trees are destroyed, so Small puts the notes back on and Tiny, as a result, plays a dramatic and completely messed up tune that upsets her. She shows Major, and he reveals they're in the wrong order. He hears 'DO' and meets the Eggbot, who makes that noise one too many times. Maybe he's doing that just to annoy Small and make him insane. Tiny, on the other hand, goes completely depressed over the Music Tree's mix up, but it seems this episode is getting more and more upsetting by the minute.

Everyone lines up to pull the Eggbot free. HEAVE! A Skymoo gives Small an idea to pull him out the airborne way and POP! He's free! In return, the Eggbot reveals its many forms and, with their music, Tiny places them back on the Music Trees again. See? This episode isn't as upsetting as I thought it would be. Time for a song. Sing along with Tiny and Small when you see the hat! What a jolly tune this is.

Everyone's in harmony now, so down to earth we go to enjoy another adventure in the Night Garden, this time it's about avoiding Haahoos.

Goodnight. Tiny. Goodnight, Small.

My Friends The I.B.F.Fs

I've written a book with simple phrases introducing me and my nine friends, in cozy stories with simple lines of dialogue and a bit at the end to help viewers say phrases out loud to give autistic children, teens and adults who have difficulty expressing emotion the vocabulary to help them. I'll create a series of future I.B.F.F books which focus on the same aspect, entertaining both autistic and non-autistic 4-60 year olds. Read the soothing stories featured in 'My Friends The I.B.F.Fs'.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g9ll80uvpb8uo7xHhJdw8FoyPcAQiGUz0mEJp5RMwp8/edit

Clangers Overview - Medal

LAST TIME ON CLANGERS: Tiny and Small were absent due to my magic.

And now, the next thrilling adventure in the life of the Clangers!

I'm Tiny Clanger in CBeebies' Clangers personality test!

Anyway, we head to the Clangers' planet as always, with Major working in his workshop as the three eager Froglets watch. One Froglet finds his missing wrench. Another Froglet points out Major's horn thing, which doesn't fit into his latest invention...until a Froglet gives him Moonflower oil. Major gives each Froglet a special medal, and they rush off to tell....MORE FROGLETS?! We came all the way for THIS?! Perhaps these Froglets have mental disorders like dyslexia or autism (like me) or down syndrome.

Later, Tiny and Small return (AT LAST!) and the Froglets proudly show my two friends their medals, and allow them to share in a game of Cotton Ball. The disabled Froglets appear and are still jealous over all the attention the Froglets are getting.

The Froglets visit Granny Clanger for a story...then the disabled Froglets appear with timid looks on their faces. All the Froglets look timid, and I have to say they're extremely cute when they're shy. Tiny looks in Granny's wool cupboard and gives each Froglet a ball of wool. Granny does her magic, knitting all the way until she makes three knitted rosettes just for the disabled.

The disabled Froglets show the other Froglets, and oh my god, the Froglets stand off until my two friends arrive and are blocked in their path by those meddlin' Froglets.

The Clangers crave soup, but medals and rosettes aren't a Froglet's thing, so when Tiny and Small return, they lead the Froglets back to Granny and Major. I know, they're known for smiling all the time, like the Haahoos, but it seems like Granny and Major had a fight, so the Froglets complain and shake off their rewards and they become normal Froglets. Six normal Froglets and a group nose kiss from the Clangers. Sweet, ain't it?

Six little Froglets all in a row,
Each deserves a medal and BOOM! Here they blow!

I don't mean the Froglets had exploded. They're still alive, but Froglets aren't equipped with bombs. I must say, if the Clangers' planet were armed with explosives, the Clangers would be sent flying off into space. Don't worry, it's still safe from terrorists, and so are my friends Tiny and Small.

Goodnight, Tiny. Goodnight, Small.

Goodnight to you too, Froglets.

I Know Someone Who Likes The Worst Witch

I.B.F.F Diaries book activities

In every I.B.F.F book, there are simple phrases for autistic people with difficulty in expressing emotion, even in I.B.F.F Diaries, which at the end of each month has simple phrases from each day which autistic people can repeat, and at the end 12 of the phrases from each month are repeated for readers to say.

They also include activities much like those from 'Learn English With Noddy' - matching phrases to characters, picture guessing games, anything in particular.

The I.B.F.F Diaries books also include the history of CBBC and CBeebies depending on the year from 2013 to 2018, which might come in useful for those who haven't watched these channels in the past. To write these books, I may need research from both channels....

I.B.F.F Diaries '17 Book Trailer Music

Even books need to have trailers.

Someday, when I write I.B.F.F Diaries '17 (I haven't seen CBBC and CBeebies in 2017, so I may need help from CBBC themselves), I'm going to ask them to make a trailer/music video which featured what Tiny and Small fantasized about when CBeebies Snow Babies aired on the 1st January. The trailer/music video, which features 'Welcome Home' by Radical Faces, shows the stop-motion Tiny and Small against live-action natural footage as they imagine living with polar bears, penguins and snow monkeys. It sounds kind of fun, and imitates what Tiny and Small imagine at the beginning and end of the book whenever the special airs. Suddenly, we hear Andy Day's voice call out their names, and they are jolted back into the CBeebies building, or reality, where Andy asks "You've been watching CBeebies Snow Babies, haven't you?" and Small replies "We heard your voice, it was you who was narrating!" The Clangers' dialogue at the end has English subtitles on the screen so viewers can understand what they're saying.

The trailer/music video ends with the tagline 'See-Beebies what they really got up to in 2017'.

I've also decided that from I.B.F.F Diaries '13 onwards, at the end of each book there will be a history of what happened on CBBC and CBeebies during that year, like most activities that appear at the end of some books.

Whenever I listen to 'Welcome Home', I imagine just that. Have a listen for yourself:

Clangers Overview - Radio Wol

LAST TIME ON CLANGERS: A human astronaut known as Maggie, a CBeebies Stargazing presenter, came to the little blue planet to meet the Clangers. A once encounter with Major and a few welcome gifts lead to Maggie befriending the Clangers and failing to drink the Soup Dragon's famous soup (OI! That's because she had her helmet on) and when she left, she left the Clangers with a superb gift: a blow up planet earth which the Clangers played with.

And now, our thrilling next episode...

Major emerges from his workshop. Granny suggests he should go fishing, then takes a nap.

Cue the Music Boat take off sequence.

The Iron Chicken dances and sings with her radio whilst she dusts her nest, but one loud note and the radio explodes. Oh no! Major goes to investigate, and has to have a problem with spanners. Yes, spanners. But the radio doesn't seem to respond. Major takes it back to the Clangers' planet to fix it in his workshop. We see Major looking inside the radio, which means we get to see what makes it work. He gets tangled up in wiring and gets in a muddle with his tools, as if he doesn't know how they work.

No sign of Tiny and Small.

Mother puts away the Music Boat, and Major has run out of Moonflower Oil. But when the chicken returns, her radio has been smashed to bits! She panics, much like Mr. and Mrs. Pontipine when they lose their children, and rages at Granny before storming away to find Major.

She returns to her nest in a very bad mood....until the Wols return. Last time you and I met them the Iron Chicken had her wings full because of the babies. The Wols decide to be the Iron Chicken's radio, but despite the Iron Chicken's frustration, they play a nice tune to make her happy. If only I saw the Wol episodes when they premiered.

At last, Major fixes the Iron Chicken's radio and music plays, whilst the Iron Chicken is too busy singing along with the Wols. When Major returns the radio to the Iron Chicken, she prefers the music of the Wols, so with Major they enjoy the music of the Wols together. Now the only music we'll wait for tonight is Tee and Mo's world famous bedtime song, even though Tee and Mo went on an adventure a few minutes earlier.

Bad news: no Tiny and Small. That's because they're in my stories. GASP! How magical! The world can be full of magic after all, because I wrote Tiny and Small out of the episode! Oh my god! How did this happen?! HOW?! HOW?! Anyway, the real thing I meant to say is I included Tiny and Small in an autism friendly picture storybook about the I.B.F.Fs, which I am writing right now. It's simple, really, perfect for those who can't stand loooooooong sentences, but luckily, we'll see Tiny and Small tomorrow night, after a helping of Moon & Me.

See you tomorrow night, Tiny and Small!

When Dumping Ground Island Comes On....

Clangers Overview - The Visitor

The first night of the exciting new adventures of my friends Tiny and Small Clanger have begun with a bang tonight on CBeebies, and after a whole night of gazing up at the moon with Maggie and Chris and Robert the Robot, we begin peacefully with the shots of space like in all episodes until....SHE COMES! I meant the astronaut. She even has a teddy! Sweet....

The rocket lands on the Clangers planet (this receives an epic low angle view of the Music Trees) until finally we see my two Clanger friends and Baby Soup Dragon in action. The astronaut steps out. My friends hide in the planet and doubt it...until they come back outside again. She has a Blue Peter badge, that astronaut, mainly because a few days ago Blue Peter broadcast live from a space station.

The trio decide to give the astronaut a present with Granny's help, and the astronaut turns out to be human....she's Maggie! She's given a warm scarf by the Clangers.

The astronaut is then given a smiling plant from Mother Clanger. And woah, we've never seen a human face on the Clangers before.

Major steps out and finds the rocketship, which he climbs into and takes control, finding there are many buttons to press. One touch of a button and it's red alert! Major, panicked, runs out and the rocket lifts off into space, until Maggie encounters Major. Maggie doesn't speak, but then makes peace with Major Clanger. The Soup Dragon gives Maggie some warm soup, but the poor astronaut can't drink it because she has her helmet on! With the spaceship lost, Maggie doesn't know how to get home. But with Major's telescope, Tiny and a Froglet help Maggie by playing her a nice tune.

With all the gifts in place, Mother uses the rocket to take Maggie home, flying past the Skymoos, the Hoot Planet and the Iron Chicken in her nest, plus the Cloud, until they find the rocket. Maggie steps into the small rocket, and is confused, but she gives Mother a present with a label with a heart on it.

When Mother returns, she reveals a deflated thing which turns out to be a blow-up planet earth, which everybody plays catch with, like the Teletubbies do when they play with La-La's ball.

Now, with the first Clangers adventure over, we are left to head back down to earth and cross over into an alternate dimension named the Night Garden where another high-flying adventure in the Pinky Ponk ends with Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and the Tombliboos showing love to Makka Pakka by giving him big hugs and kisses after a long day of trundling his Og-Pog around the garden.

Goodnight, Tiny. Goodnight, Small.

Well Done Noddy

100th Post: A Letter From The Clangers

MY 100TH POST!!!

Today Factory sent me a letter with a picture of Major, Mother and Small Clanger and Little Hoot on it, with Small holding up the 'Hi Sybil' sign. Inside, they've written that they have approved the ideas I suggested for 'Norman Picklestripes', which airs on Universal Kids in America (although obviously I don't live in America). They even liked the ideas for the upcoming series of Elmer, my swinging episode idea inspiring Jo Chalkley to write: "I think Elmer would have to find a very strong tree to swing from. He is much bigger than a monkey." Well, I think you're right, Jo. Let's hope, for the new Clangers series, they air my ideas on the Space Rabbit, the Ice Planet and the copying game....