Spot (franchise) facts for kids

This is the cover of Spot's First Walk, showing Spot.

Spot is a famous fictional puppy. He was created by Eric Hill, an English author and illustrator. Eric Hill made many children's picture books. The books about Spot became very popular. This success led to other things like TV shows, videos, music, and computer games.

Meet the Characters in Spot's World

Spot and His Family

• Spot: Spot is the main character. He is a yellow puppy. He has a brown spot on each side of his body. His tail also has a brown tip. Spot is very curious and loves to learn new things. He is always ready to help.
• Sally: Sally is Spot's mom. She is also yellow. She has a big brown spot on her back. She also has two brown spots on each side and a brown tip on her tail. In the first book, Where's Spot?, Sally looks all over the house for Spot.
• Sam: Sam is Spot's dad. He is yellow, but he does not have any spots on his body.
• Susie: Susie is Spot's little sister. She is yellow and has a brown spot on her back.

Spot's Friends

• Helen: Helen is a blue hippo. She is Spot's best friend. Her color changed a bit in the TV show. She started as dark blue. Later, she became lighter blue.
• Steve: Steve is a brown monkey. He has a tan face. Steve is very playful and always has surprises.
• Tom: Tom is a green crocodile. He is another one of Spot's good friends. Tom also changed colors in the TV show. He started as dark green. Later, he became a lighter green. Tom loves to go fishing. He also loves playing the snare drum. His dad is the mayor of their town.

Other Characters Spot Meets

• Billy: Billy is a brown bear. He loves to eat. You can see him in the first TV series.
• Clare: Clare is a green turtle.
• Cybil: Cybil is an orange tabby cat. She is sometimes a bit rude. For example, she scares Spot in some episodes. She only appears in the first TV series.
• Mr. Kangaroo: Mr. Kangaroo is Spot's neighbor. He is a brown kangaroo. He speaks with an Australian accent. This is because kangaroos are from Australia. He also appears only in the first TV series.
• Leo: Leo is an orange lion.
• Sidney: Sidney is a yellowish-green snake.

Spot's Books

Since 1980, Eric Hill has created many books about Spot. The first book was Where's Spot?. Many of these books have been translated into other languages. For example, they are available in Welsh and Scottish Gaelic. Where's Spot? has even been translated into Cornish.

Here are some of the popular Spot books:

• Where's Spot? (1980)
• Spot's First Walk (1981)
• Spot's Birthday Party (1982)
• Spot's First Christmas (1983)
• Spot Goes to School (1984)
• Spot Goes on Holiday (1985)
• Spot Goes to the Circus (1986)
• Spot Goes to the Farm (1987)
• Spot's First Easter (1988)
• Spot's Baby Sister (1989)
• Spot Goes to the Park (1991)
• Spot Goes to a Party (1992)
• Spot Bakes a Cake (1996)
• Spot Visits his Grandparents (1996)
• Spot Goes Splash! and Other Stories (1998)

Spot Sound Books

In the 1990s, some Spot books were released with sound effects. These books were a bit different in the U.S. compared to the U.K. The words were changed slightly, and sometimes the title was different too.

Book Design

The books use a special type of writing called Century Schoolbook Infant. This is a rare and unique typeface.

Spot on Television

Because the books were so popular, the BBC made an animated TV series. The first episode aired on April 9, 1987. Paul Nicholas was the narrator for the original series. Later, in 2000, Jane Horrocks became the narrator. The show was shown on TV channels all over the world. In Ireland, it was called Echtrai Bhrain and was dubbed into Irish. In Japan, a DVD version was released in 2005. It had Japanese, English, and instrumental soundtracks. In the U.S., Walt Disney Home Video distributes the shows.

The Adventures of Spot: Series 1 (1987)

The first series of The Adventures of Spot was made by King Rollo Films. It aired on the BBC from April 9 to July 17, 1987. There were 13 episodes, and each one was 5 minutes long. Paul Nicholas narrated the original version. Duncan Lamont composed the music.

Episodes in this series:

The Adventures of Spot: Series 2 (1993)

The second series of The Adventures of Spot aired from September 6 to December 20, 1993. Like the first series, it had 13 episodes, each 5 minutes long. King Rollo Films also produced these episodes. Paul Nicholas returned as the narrator. Duncan Lamont returned as the music composer.

Episodes in this series:

Spot's Musical Adventures (2000)

Spot's Musical Adventures was very similar to The Adventures of Spot. It aired from October 25 to November 10, 2000. This series also had 13 episodes. Each episode included a short song. The show went back to having a narrator. Comedian Jane Horrocks narrated these episodes. She also did the voices for the characters.

Episodes:

See also

In Spanish: Spot (franquicia) para niños