''Size Small'' is a Canadian children's music album series, turned television series, first produced in 1980. Written by and starring the Lumby family, characters included Miss Helen (played by Helen Lumby), Oliver ( John Lumby Jr.), Grandma Gussie ( Lisa Lumby-Richards), Stampede (

Jeff Lumby Jeff Lumby (born 1956) is a Canadian actor. He is a member of the Lumby family, who created and produced the 1980s Canadian children's television series, ''Size Small'', where he performed as various characters and as a puppeteer. Lumby played "Wi ...

), and Friend Record, a giant record who plays the spoons. Other characters included

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

s such as Hatchet (a beaver), Renfrew (a dog), Gasper (a skunk), Gifford (a gopher), Cooter (a coyote), Casablanca (a cow) and the triplets Webster, Dee Dee and Tug. ''Size Small'' is based on a predecessor series, ''Miss Helen's Kindergarten Party'', airing from 1956 to 1962 on

CFQC-TV CFQC-DT (channel 8) is a television station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has studios on 1st Avenue North and 23rd Street East in the Central ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. The television series, launched in 1982, was a huge hit in Canada and around the world; it also aired on some

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member stations in the United States, at least during 1987.Radio-Info: "Retro: Madison/LaCrosse-Eau Claire/Milwaukee/Rockford/Wausau Wed, Mar 18, 1987", November 16, 2009.
/ref> Spin-offs included ''Size Small Country'' (1983) and ''Size Small Island'' (1986). A ''Size Small'' Christmas special was also produced in 1984. ''Size Small'' was produced in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan through the

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

television station

CKND-TV CKND-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, with studios on the 30th floor of 201 Portage in downtown ...

, later involving the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

and Saskatchewan stations CFRE-TV and CFSK-TV. A series of ''Size Small'' records were produced, featuring songs performed on the show. They were advertised at the end of every episode of the TV show, where they could be purchased by mail order. The show re-aired on YTV in the early 1990s, with advertisements for the records removed.

References

External links

* 1980s Canadian children's television series 1982 Canadian television series debuts Year of Canadian television series ending missing Canadian television shows featuring puppetry Global Television Network original programming Treehouse TV original programming YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Television shows filmed in Saskatoon Television shows filmed in Winnipeg {{Canada-kids-tv-prog-stub