Nickelodeon invites preschoolers to discover the magic of words as the network debuts the brand-new animated literacy series Wallykazam! (26 eps) on Monday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. (ET/PT). Wallykazam! follows the adventures of a troll named Wally and his pet dragon, Norville, who live in a forest with giants, goblins, ogres, sprites and other mythical creatures. Wally uses his magic stick to make words come to life on screen that start with a specific letter, sound or rhyme. Each episode features a new set of magic words that Wally uses to playfully transform the world around him.
Wallykazam! is Nickelodeon's first preschool series that embeds a literacy curriculum into a full-length story, introducing skills such as letter and sound identification, rhyming, vocabulary development and comprehension strategies. Celebrity guests featured in season one include Vanessa Bayer (SNL), Weird Al Yankovic, John O'Hurley (Seinfeld), Kate Micucci (The Big Bang Theory) and Alanna Ubach (Nick at Nite's See Dad Run). Created by producer/writer Adam Peltzman (Emmy Award-winning The Backyardigans and Bubble Guppies), the series will regularly air weekdays at 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
"Wallykazam! offers a new approach to literacy by weaving it into a comedy-driven story with funny characters and adventures that will keep preschoolers laughing and engaged," said Teri Weiss, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Preschool. "The series furthers Nickelodeon's commitment to producing high-quality, curriculum rich content that helps prepare young children for the important adventure of starting school."
In the series premiere, "Naptime for Borgelorp," Wally babysits Ogre Doug's hyper and unpredictable pet Borgelorp. Ogre Doug gives Wally two instructions: get Borgelorp to take a nap and, most importantly, make sure he doesn't eat any purple flowers. Wally uses magic words to help tire out the rambunctious creature and desperately tries to keep him away from purple flowers, but Bobgoblin has other plans. The words introduced in the episode start with the letter "s" and include somersault, soar, sandwich and symphony.
Nickelodeon's award-winning website for parents and preschoolers, www.nickjr.com, features the Wallykazam! page with letter tracing activities, a word wheel craft, Wallykazam! board game, puzzles, coloring pages, and more. Parents can also visit NickJr.com's Creativity Center and "send a letter" to Wally for a chance to see their child's artwork on TV. Beginning Feb. 3, the full series premiere episode will be available on the site and free for download on iTunes the week of Jan. 27.
