Tyrone

Tyrone is a moose, whose antlers make him the tallest of all the Backyardigans. He is orange and dresses in a blue and orange striped shirt. He is very confident, sometimes to the point of not listening to the others when he should. Easy-going and optimistic, Tyrone is smart and quick to find a solution to any problem. With Uniqua, he is one of the leaders of the group.

Tyrone is voiced by Reginald Davis, Jr., sung by Corwin C. Tuggles and danced by Greg Sinacori.

Lyrics - Mermaid Lullaby

From the Viking Voyage episode.

Tyrone: Rest my little darling
You’ve had a busy day
The sun is a'falling
And it’s time for me to say

Together: Hush, hush, hush little mermaid,
Good night.
Hush, hush little mermaid,
Sleep tight.
Close your eyes,
Close your eyes and lay down your head,
In your peaceful ocean bed.
Have a snooze, please, like I said and
Hush, hush, hush little mermaid,
Good night.
Hush little mermaid,
Sleep tight.

Tasha (spoken): I'm feeling a little sleepy.

Tyrone: You’re feeling kind of sleepy,
Uniqua: You’re feeling kind of loopy,
Pablo: Your fins are getting floppy,
Tyrone: And your eyelids getting droopy.

Uniqua: May your dreams be sweet,
As you fall into a snooze.
Perhaps again we’ll meet,
But now we have to cruise.

Together: So hush, hush, hush little mermaid,
Good night.
Hush, hush little mermaid,
Sleep tight.
Hush, hush little mermaid,
Good night.
Hush little mermaid,
Hush little mermaid,
Good night.

New Backyardigans Printable

Nick Jr. has a new printable exclusively for members. It's a Halloween picture frame, with an "It's Great to Be a Ghost" theme.

You'll need to sign up for a Nick Jr. membership to get it, but it's free and simple to do. Just go to their Member page and follow the link that says Sign Up. All they require, besides a member name and password, is your zip code, e-mail address and date of birth.

The Backyardigans Magazine

My daughter has keen eyes where fun stuff is concerned. There we were in the grocery story, Mommy concentrating on getting past the animal crackers before anyone notices them, when she grabs one particular magazine out of the mass of them in the books and periodicals section.

"Mommy! Uniqua!"

Over at BackyardigansFans.com there's been a certain amount of discussion about a Backyardigans magazine, but no-one seemed to know where it was. Trust my daughter to find it. It wasn't cheap ($4.95/Canada $5.95) but we got it anyway. I had to write a review of it, after all! Yeah, yeah, that's why I got it. Sure ...

Nick Jr. is calling it a magazine, but it's really more of an activity book, with a section in the middle with articles for parents. You can't subscribe to it and it doesn't say if there are going to be any more issues. It's titled "The Backyardigans Magazine" with "Collector's Issue" over the title. It's marked as being the Fall 2005 issue, and in the block where the bar code is, there is the notation "Nick Specials" and "Display until November 22, 2005"

All of which leaves me not sure what to think. Is this going to be a regular publication, or is this a one off? I'm inclined to think they're testing the waters to see how many of us pick this up. Of course, if they'd PUBLICIZED it, more of us might have been on the look-out for it and that would help their sales, but no. That would be too logical.

Anyway. It's centered around the Tower of Power episode, with one half of the magazine featuring roleplaying being a superhero and the other half of the magazine (flip it over to read the other half) featuring roleplaying being a supervillain (Tasha is in here as a villain, Eraser Girl). There's a two page poster of all the Backyardigans dressed up as heroes and villains in the middle of the magazine saying "You did it!" and urging kids to go have a snack with the Backyardigans after all that playing (featuring apples!)

The parents section has some great articles. There's information about the people behind the show, Janice Burgess, Jonny Belt, Robert Scull and Beth Bogush. There are photos of the kids who sing and voice the characters. A chart of the types of music found in season one was especially interesting. It talks about which type of music is found in each episode and something of the history of that genre as well as where to hear more of that style of music.

If you are concerned about your child pretending to be a supervillain, there is an article about why children love to play superheros and how to use this kind of imaginative play as a positive part of your child's life. They have 12 imaginative play prompts, only one of which involves superpowers.

Dancing is not left out; there is an easy Salsa how-to and an article on the benefits of dancing for your children.

Do expect to help your preschoolers with this magazine. There will be some cutting to do (superhero and supervillain props as well as some puzzles) and, of course, they will probably need you to read it to them.

Uniqua face-painting how-to (and an episode premiere, also!)

Nick Jr. is doing a special day of spooky episodes on Halloween, Monday, Oct. 31. Among the shows will be the premier of Monster Detectives at 10 a.m.! So, if you haven't had a chance to see the It's Great To Be A Ghost DVD, you'll finally get to see this episode.

Nick Jr. might not have Backyardigans costumes, but they do have a face painting how-to video for Uniqua! They also have a printable (for members only, so you'll have to sign up with them to get it) Backyardigans Halloween Door Hanger. If you don't want to sign up you can still find a Backyardigans "Happy Haunting" e-card at the Nick Jr. site's Halloween section.

Epinions review of Backyardigans

I thought this review was excellent. I really like how comprehensive it is. You might find it interesting reading, too!

Just in time for Christmas shopping!

Finally! Backyardigans merchandise that moves beyond clothes, books and music. Because as nice as all that is, our kids are asking for more than that, aren't they?

Linens 'n Things is now carrying Backyardigans bedding and "fun stuff." They have a Backyardigans Art Set, a Backyardigans Hopscotch game, dinnerware, Micro-Beaded Pillows, and a Backyardigans table and chair set.

There are more items available at TC Toyz. They carry a divided plate, flatware, as well as offering a twin bed sheet set and comforter and micro-bead pillows.

Hopefully, more toys will come out in the next few weeks. They'd be crazy to miss the Christmas shopping season, and considering Nickelodeon's success I would say we can count on them not being in the habit of making foolish decisions. Which means we should be seeing more items very soon!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though, just in case.

Pablo

Pable is a penguin, the shortest member of the group, given to panic and running around babbling at least once in every episode. Never think he isn't brave and courageous, though! Pablo never lets anything keep him from jumping into the midst of the fun. Creator Janice Burgess describes Pablo as being wound a little too tight, and admits that he's the character most like her as a child.

Blue, with a pale yellow belly, a blue bow tie and feet that look like blue shoes with spats (but that's just his natural coloring), Pablo wears a beanie with a red propeller on top.

Pablo is voiced by Zach Tyler, sung by Sean Curley and danced by Tasha Cooper.