The Animal Shelf facts for kids

The Animal Shelf is a fun children's TV show that aired from 1997 to 2000. It was made by Cosgrove Hall Films. The show is based on popular books by British writer Ivy Wallace.

The story is about five talking toy animals. They live in a boy named Timothy's bedroom. The show was mostly for younger kids. It first appeared on ITV in the UK. There were 4 seasons and 52 episodes in total. Each episode was about 10 minutes long.

Meet the Characters

Get to know the special toy animals and their friends!

• Timothy is the owner of the animals. You never really see him, only his shadow.
• Gumpa the Bear is the leader of the group. He loves to sleep and can be a bit lazy.
• Woeful the Monkey wears a red fez and a coat. He often tells jokes. Sometimes the other animals find his jokes a bit rude. He likes to get his own way, which can annoy his friends.
• Stripey the Zebra is best friends with Getup. He seems very wise. His wool is lumpy. He and Getup are Timothy's oldest toys.
• Getup the Giraffe is Stripey's friend. She has brown curly hair on her long neck. She speaks with a clear English accent. Getup often falls over, but she is still close with her friends. The material on her hooves is worn, so she sometimes loses stuffing.
• Little Mut the West Highland white terrier is good friends with Gumpa. He wears a big pink bow. Little Mut often gets into tricky situations.
• Mrs Mole and her Baby Moles are a family of moles. They live underground. The moles only make squeaking sounds instead of talking.
• Kinker the Mouse is a friend who sometimes visits the blue shelf. Like the moles, he only squeaks. In the first episode, Getup meets him at a fairground where he lives.
• Jick the Jackdaw is a wild bird. He lives in the roof near Timothy's garden. Jick loves shiny things. He can be a bit of a pest by taking things. But he can also be very helpful, especially for reaching high things. In the US, he is called Carl the Crow.
• Squirrel is another friend of the animals. He lives in a tree in Bluebell Wood. He speaks in a unique language. He often points to plants. Getup and the shelf crew understand him.
• The Caterpillar is a red and yellow striped creature. He has many legs. He is a sidekick to the animals. He lives in Timothy's front garden near the moles' trapdoor. The caterpillar makes unusual sounds. Stripey and the gang understand his sounds.

Episode Adventures

Each episode of The Animal Shelf is about 10 minutes long. The animals go on many exciting adventures!

Season 1 (1997)

• 1. Stripey to the Rescue: Stripey saves Getup from a traveling circus.
• 2. Gumpa and the Paint Box: Gumpa pretends to be sick using red spots.
• 3. Getup Crusoe: Getup loses her spots and moves to Bluebell Wood.
• 4. Kinker Visits The Animal Shelf: Stripey and Getup rescue Kinker the mouse.
• 5. The Treasure Hunt: Getup and Stripey find buried treasure.
• 6. Music in the Woods: The animals make their own music with toy instruments.
• 7. The Animals' Garden: The animals learn how to grow plants in their own garden.
• 8. Woeful and the Waspberries: Woeful searches for raspberries for Timothy's birthday.
• 9. Gumpa Solves a Jigsaw Puzzle: The animals try to finish a jigsaw puzzle.
• 10. Tidying Timothy's Bedroom: The animals try to clean Timothy's messy room.
• 11. The Trail: The animals follow clues around Timothy's garden.
• 12. The Model Monster: The animals build models from old bits and pieces.
• 13. Little Mutt Goes Flying: The animals build a seesaw, sending Little Mutt flying.

Season 2 (1998)

• 1. Babysitting For Mrs Mole: The animals look after Mrs Mole's babies.
• 2. Timothy's Pet Balloon: The animals are forced to stay in a hutch.
• 3. The Great Explorers: The animals make maps to become explorers.
• 4. The Alarm Clock: An alarm clock wakes up all the animals at night.
• 5. The Wolf in the Wood: Woeful plays the big bad wolf while building houses.
• 6. Woeful Flies to the Moon: Woeful takes the animals on a moon walk using a litter bin.
• 7. Captain Gumpa: Gumpa acts as the captain of the group.
• 8. The Hottest Day Of The Year: The animals try to find ways to stay cool.
• 9. The Mystery of the Pictures: The animals are puzzled by what they see in their camera.
• 10. Timothy's Guest: The animals feel left out when Timothy's cousin visits.
• 11. Little Mutt Finds an Egg: Little Mutt and friends search for eggs.
• 12. Kinker's Camping Holiday: Kinker's camping trip goes wrong in the cold.
• 13. Timothy's Homework: The animals help Timothy with his homework.

Season 3 (1999)

• 1. The First Snowflake: The animals get excited for winter and build a snowman.
• 2. Getup the Skater: The animals wake up to a beautiful winter wonderland.
• 3. Waiting For Santa Claus: The animals are busy on Christmas Eve.
• 4. A Very Special Day: The Christmas fun begins, but Woeful is sad.
• 5. Living in the Jungle: Timothy teaches his friends about jungle animals.
• 6. The Activator: The animals are blown about by autumn winds.
• 7. Woeful and the Tooth Fairy: The animals learn about being clean and tidy.
• 8. The Art Gallery: Timothy's painting inspires the animals to create their own art.
• 9. A Lazy Afternoon: The animals are restless and look for fun things to do.
• 10. Woeful's Magic Wand: Woeful gets into trouble trying to do real magic.
• 11. Buckets and Spades: The animals worry about Timothy going on holiday.
• 12. The Jam Factory: The animals decide to make some jam.
• 13. Gumpa Reads A Story: Gumpa entertains his friends with a story.

Season 4 (2000)

• 1. Animal Watch: The animals learn about desert animals like camels.
• 2. Timothy's Valentine's Cards: The animals learn about Valentine's Day.
• 3. Gumpa's Halloween Lanterns: The animals make Halloween lanterns.
• 4. The Easter Egg Hunt: The animals help Timothy find hidden Easter eggs.
• 5. Gumpa's Ark: Gumpa plans to save his friends from a flood.
• 6. The Garden Sale: The animals learn about money as a new animal arrives.
• 7. Looking for Big Mutt: Little Mutt searches for his ancestors.
• 8. A Night In A Tent: The animals are inspired to camp in a tent.
• 9. The King of the Castle: The animals have a medieval adventure.
• 10. Timothy's Racing Car: A new toy arrives, and the animals track it down.
• 11. The Shooting Star: Timothy shares a secret about the night sky.
• 12. Get Down, Getup: Gumpa prepares an obstacle race, but Getup is missing.
• 13. Gumpa's Head: Timothy starts exercising, but Gumpa needs to rest.

Where the Show Aired

The Animal Shelf was shown in many countries around the world.

• In Australia, it aired on the ABC.
• In Kuwait, it was on KTV2.
• In Ireland, you could watch it on RTÉ2 as part of The Den.
• In the United Arab Emirates, it was on Dubai 33.
• In South Africa, it aired on K-T.V. World and M-Net (as part of K-T.V.).
• In Singapore, it was on Premiere 12 (in Kidz Blitz), Eureka Learning Channel, and Kids Central.
• In Malta, it was shown on PBS and Television Malta.
• In Hong Kong, it aired on TVB Pearl.
• In Sweden, it was on SVT and SVT Barnkanalen.
• In New Zealand, you could find it on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ 6 as part of Kidzone.

Itsy Bitsy Time in America

The show was also part of an American children's program called It's Itsy Bitsy Time. This show featured several TV series from other countries. It aired on the Fox Family Channel in America and Treehouse TV in Canada in 1999.

For this version, the British voices were changed to American and Canadian voices. The voice director was Susan Roman. She is famous for voicing Sailor Jupiter in the Sailor Moon anime. Susan Roman also directed the voices for another British show on It's Itsy Bitsy Time, called Tom and Vicky.

Fun Merchandise

After the show became popular, there were also storybooks made. These books were published by Ladybird Books.