Tomes & Talismans facts for kids

Tomes & Talismans is an exciting educational TV show from 1986. It was made by Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show has thirteen episodes, each about 20 minutes long. It tells a dramatic story while teaching you important skills for finding information in a library.

The Story of Tomes & Talismans

Imagine the future, way into the late 21st Century. Earth is super crowded and very polluted. An alien group called "The Wipers" comes from the Dark Star Solar System. They look just like humans! The Wipers start taking over Earth and destroying all our communication and computer technology.

By 2117, humans begin leaving Earth for a new home called the White Crystal Solar System. In 2123, the last humans are getting ready to go. But wait! A brave group of librarians, led by Ms. Bookhart, has built a secret underground library. Their mission is to protect all human knowledge from the Wipers.

As they finish up before evacuating, they find a problem. One very important book is missing! It's the third part of "The History of Wipers on Earth." Ms. Bookhart is desperate to find it. She drives her special bookmobile to the house of the last person who borrowed the book. She hopes they just forgot to return it.

When she gets there, she finds a Wiper destroying everything! On her way to the evacuation site, her bookmobile breaks down. While she looks for tools, a mysterious being appears. He calls himself "The Universal Being." He puts Ms. Bookhart into a deep sleep. The other librarians have to leave without her. They are very sad, not knowing what happened to Ms. Bookhart or the missing book.

A New Hope 100 Years Later

Fast forward 100 years. Another alien group, "The Users," arrives from the Alpha-Centauri Solar System. They also look human. They set up a communication base on Earth. Under the guidance of Tesla, a group of young Users tries to learn as much as possible about human knowledge. They want to find a way to defeat the Wipers.

Two Users, Abakas and Aphos, are Tesla's grandchildren. They find two books: Cinderella and the missing third volume of "The History of the Wipers on Earth." They try to figure out what these books are for. Meanwhile, two other Users find a sign that says "Bookmobile Stops Here." They learn that a bookmobile is a traveling library full of books!

Abakas, Aphos, and their friends Varian and Lidar leave their base. They search for the bookmobile to get more books. When they find it, they are shocked! Ms. Bookhart is inside, still asleep. Everyone thought all humans had left Earth.

The Universal Being appears again. He gives them a clue on how to wake Ms. Bookhart. She can teach them about books and how to use the library. Abakas figures out part of the clue. He starts reading a section of "The Story of the Amulet." This wakes Ms. Bookhart up!

She then takes the children to the underground library to hide from the Wipers. But the library is a mess! While the children help her clean up, she teaches them. They learn more about books and how libraries are organized.

Fighting the Wipers

Meanwhile, the Wipers, led by Chief Humbuckler, cause more trouble. They put a magnetic shield around the User base. This stops anyone from getting in or out. They destroy other User bases. Only Colonel Holon, who is Abakas' and Aphos' father, survives.

As the children learn about the library, they find ways to help Colonel Holon. They learn how to help him find food like Watermelon. They also learn how to guide him to the library. The children discover how to destroy the shield around the base. They even learn about a Wiper superstition about horses. Most importantly, they learn how to defeat the Wipers and tell the humans it's safe to come home!

Episode Lessons

Each episode of Tomes & Talismans teaches something new about books and how to use a library. These lessons unfold as the story continues.

Episode	Title	What You Learn
1.	Tomes Entombed	An introduction to what a Library is.
2.	Fact or Fiction	Different types of books: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Biography.
3.	Under Cover	The parts of a book: Cover, Title page, Copyright page, Table of Contents, Foreword, Preface, Index, Glossary, and Bibliography.
4.	In the Cards	How to find a book using a card catalog by its Title, Subject, or Author.
5.	The System	How books are grouped using the Dewey Decimal system.
6.	Information Quick	Finding information using an Encyclopedia.
7.	Hidden Meaning	Learning word meanings with a Dictionary and Thesaurus.
8.	Preference for Reference	Looking up specific topics in Reference books.
9.	Direction Unknown	Finding places with Maps and Almanacs.
10.	SOS: Skim or Scan	How to read faster by skimming and scanning a book.
11.	Guide to Light	Finding up-to-date information in Periodicals like Magazines and Newspapers.
12.	Show and Tell	Information from Audiovisual sources: Films and Videotapes.
13.	Final Report	How to put together all the information you've researched.

Who's Who in Tomes & Talismans

Here are some of the main actors and the characters they played in the show:

• Brian Ward as the Universal Being
• Jackie Lett as Earth Descendant

The Librarians

• Nicki Wood as Ms. Bookhart - The head librarian
• Denise Halbach as Dundee
• Michael Stewart as Lester
• Shari Schneider as Margaret

The Users

• Joan Stebe as Tesla - The leader of the Users
• Cresta Martin as Abakas - Tesla's granddaughter
• Darin Hyer as Aphos - Tesla's grandson and Abakas' older brother
• Mia Trevillion as Varian
• Jamie Martin as Lidar
• Traber Burns as Colonel Holon - Abakas' and Aphos' father
• Nick Stebe as Pixel
• John Horhn as Reset
• Charles Sampson as Chroma
• Mondria Jackson
• Linda Martin
• Osborne Moyer
• Jason Pace
• Fredericka Sands
• Steven Sprayberry
• Danyella Tedford
• Maurine Twiss

The Wipers

• Mac McMillin as Chief Humbuckler - The leader of the Wipers
• Russ Swain as Ferrite - Humbuckler's main helper
• W.C. McMullin as the Platoon Commander
• Mary Holden as Grimick
• Jim Robinson as Bumfig
• B.J Lambert as Mrs. Humbuckler
• Dianne Brown
• Jamie Ware
• Kerry Yoder
• Walley Wooten
• Patricia Gougne