New Episodes of Hit Animated Series
With All-Star Voice Cast Debut In November and December

New York – November 13, 2009 – Scholastic Media’s Emmy® Award-winning WordGirl® will star in all-new episodes this holiday season bringing cheer, merriment, mirth and general joviality to audiences nationwide. Thankful viewers will get a taste of three new episodes on November 23rd, December 10th and December 28th on PBS KIDS GO! -- the afternoon programming block for early elementary school kids. WordGirl is produced by Scholastic Media’s animation studio Soup2Nuts.

The Botsfords kick off the holiday season with the premiere of three new episodes, each containing two segments. In “Oh, Holiday Cheese,” the evil Dr. Two Brains creates a telescopic ray to steal everyone’s cheese for his own holiday party. WordGirl and Captain Huggy Face have to find a way to save the festivities. In “Who is Ms. Question?” after a supernatural accident, Ms. Question, the latest break-out villain, has the ability to make everyone doubt themselves. While they are lost in a state of mental confusion, she sets her eyes on stealing precious artifacts. In “WordGirl Makes a Mistake: Parts 1 and 2,” Mr. Big captures WordGirl and creates a mind control device on the moon so he can take over the world. WordGirl must save the earth from Mr. Big in outer space. “Lunch Lady Chuck” and “Ch-ch-change Day” also highlight WordGirl’s verbal victories over some of her other favorite nemeses: Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy and The Butcher.

This holiday season, Scholastic is delighted to provide children and families with the opportunity to celebrate with WordGirl and experience her signature humor and heart,” says Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media, Executive Producer of WordGirl, and Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc., the global children’s publishing, education and media company. “With the show’s robust vocabulary curriculum and engaging characters, we’re sure WordGirl fans will enjoy getting a chance to experience the festivities along with our favorite definition dynamo.”

WordGirl airs five days a week and is in its second season on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings for times). The popular web site, pbskidsgo.org/wordgirl, supports the show’s goals with free interactive games, activities for parents and children, and lesson plans for teachers to enhance their students’ vocabulary development and literacy. Kids, parents and educators also can view full episodes and clips from the show at pbskidsgo.org/video.

The show has won numerous parenting and industry excellence awards since its debut, including a 2008 Emmy Award for “Best Writing in Animation,” a Television Critics Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Animation,” a Gracie Award for its portrayal of a strong female character, and an iParenting Media Award. It was nominated for a 2009 Emmy for Best Direction in an Animated Series.

FEATURED EPISODES

Monday, November 23, 2009
Premiere Episode"Who Is Ms. Question?" Is asking questions a superpower? The Coach certainly doesn’t think so when he eliminates Ms. Question from Villain School. When lightning strikes, WordGirl is going to have to dodge more than just questions in order to stop her. Vocabulary Words: Inquire, Hilarious

“Lunch Lady Chuck” Rather than spend his time in jail, Chuck is recruited to serve in the cafeteria at Becky’s school. Chuck wows the students with superb sandwiches, but things turn ugly when people request non-sandwich related lunches. Irritated by the lack of sandwich appreciation, Chuck returns to his evil ways forcing WordGirl to bring him to justice. Vocabulary Words: Disorderly, Famished

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Premiere Episode"Oh, Holiday Cheese" The Botsford’s kick off the holiday festivities with a cheese party. With lots of cheese and sing-a-longs, the party is a huge success until Dr. Two Brains shows up with his cheese-swiping ray. Can WordGirl save the party and get Dr. Two Brains into the holiday spirit? Vocabulary Words: Curmudgeon, Festivity

"Ch-ch-change Day" Everyone is bringing their loose change to the bank to convert it into savings. What will happen when the Butcher locks Becky and Bob in the vault? Will the city's police officers be able to stop him when WordGirl can't come to the rescue? Vocabulary Words: Quandary, Fidget

Monday, December 28, 2009
Premiere Episode "WordGirl Makes a Mistake: Part 1" Newsflash: WordGirl is mispronouncing words! Realizing her weakened state, Mr. Big captures WordGirl and plans to set up a mind control ray on the moon. Can the city and the entire planet be saved without her? (To be continued. . .) Vocabulary Words: Flawless, Dominate

"WordGirl Makes a Mistake: Part 2" Mr. Big has captured WordGirl by exploiting her weakness to Lexonite. He's building a mind control device on the moon to achieve total global domination. WordGirl is forced to battle Mr. Big in outer space but will she be able to save the Earth? Vocabulary Words: Potent, Mission

Voice talent for these episodes includes Dannah Phirman (“MadTV”) as WordGirl, Chris Parnell (“30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live”) as the Narrator, Ned Bellamy (“Scrubs”, “Seinfeld”) as The Coach, Fred Stoller (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) as Chuck, Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob Squarepants”) as Dr. Two Brains and Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”, “The Larry Sanders Show”) as Mr. Big.

Scholastic began releasing books based on the series last spring and plans to further extend the franchise with educational board games, puzzles and more. An online press kit for WordGirl is available at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/wordgirl.

If you would like more information about Scholastic, please visit our media room at: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.

More information is available online at www.pbskidsgo.org/wordgirl and pbs.org/pressroom.

Contact:
Brian Reinert / Ashley Gillen BENDER/HELPER IMPACT / 212.689.6360