The Book Place: The Bookworm

The Bookworm from The Book Place: endearing or a touch uncanny? The beloved ’90s series made literacy instruction playful, and the puppet’s design did a lot of that work. Michael Scheld’s gravelly voice, the long lashes, the purple satin tie – these theatrical flourishes sit oddly against his essential worminess, giving him a cabaret energy that kids’ TV didn’t always aim for. 

In this intro to a story about elephants, the Bookworm banters with toy animals (‘Can I call you Ellie?’). The camera lingers on their fixed plastic faces, a visual contrast to his constant wriggle. The moment captures a familiar childhood instinct – animating the inanimate – while also hinting at the show’s knack for sliding between sweetness, silliness and a sliver of surreal tension. 

The slightly rickety production, the wink of oddball humour and the willingness to get a bit weird all mark the clip as peak early-’90s children’s TV.