Superscope Storyteller and Tele-Story series (partially found series of audio cassettes and VHS video storybooks; 1973-1989)

Three tapes from the Growing Up Smarter Series in original packaging with their books.

Status: Partially Found

The Superscope company was incorporated in 1957 and originally distributed Sony reel-to-reel and cassette tape recorders throughout the 1960s. The name was based on a trademarked technique for producing widescreen movie prints that was developed by the company's founders in 1954. During the 1970s, they began developing storybook and audio cassette bundles aimed at young children under their Tele-Story and Storyteller lines.^[1] The books were primarily illustrated by Rex Irvine and Judie Clarke. The books and tapes were primarily focused on classic fairytales and bible stories. Most of the tapes were produced in English, but the fairy tale tapes were also translated into Portuguese and Italian language. It is unknown if any of their other series received similar translations.

As they moved into the early 1980s, they began producing their Growing Up Smarter series of audio cassettes and books, which contained educational material aimed at children ages 3 to 8. By the middle of the 1980s, they had also aquired licenses for various children's properties, such as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and The Adventures of Gumby. These properties were also used to produce packs of audio cassettes and educational storybooks.

By the late 1980s, Superscope had also begun producing VHS video storybooks. These tapes consisted of still images taken from their earlier storybooks and appear to contain the same audio narrations from the audo cassettes that they produced in the 1970s and early 1980s. Some of their Growing Up Smarter, " Favorite Bible Stories, and Classic Fairy Tales series were known to have been reproduced in this form. It is unknown if any of their licensed properties received the same treatment. Also, during the late 1980s, the Tele-Story portion of Superscope Inc was apparently bought out by Fun Discovery Inc, who continued to sell the audio cassettes and VHS storybooks.

The Classic Fairy Tales Series

The Classic Fairy Tales series consisted of 24 known English-language audio cassettes produced between 1973 and 1989. These were marketed under the Tele-Story Presents series. There are also two known alternate-language series. In 1973, Superscope released a series of at least twelve tapes that contained Italian-language recordings on both sides of the tape. These were marketed under the Superscope Presenta series. Also in 1973, Superscope released at least twelve tapes that contained an English-language recording on one side and a Portuguese-language recording on the opposite side. These were marketed under the title O Storyteller. This series is known to have changed some character's names for the Portuguese audience, such as "Hansel and Gretel" becoming "Joao and Maria".

Some of the English-language fairy tales audio cassette tapes were later adapted into VHS video storybooks. The early tapes were marked as being products of "Marantz", which is a famous hi-fi audio company that was owned by Superscope Inc. The later tapes were marked by "Fun Discovery Inc", who apparently bought the Tele-Story divsion from SuperScope Inc in the late 1980s. It is not known if all of the old cassette tapes were adapted, as only a few examples have resurfaced. As an aside, while many of the original VHS storybook tapes have not been digitized, a YouTube channel called Derek DeHaas has been using the storybooks and cassette tape narration to make reconstructions.

The English Translation

Title	Audio Status	Book Status	Video Storybook Status
The Tortoise and the Hare	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
The Emperor's New Clothes	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Little Red Riding Hood	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Snow White	Lost	Lost	Found
Cinderella	Lost	Found	Found
Hansel & Gretel	Lost	Lost	Found
Beauty & the Beast	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Tom Thumb	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Aladdin	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Jack and the Beanstalk	Lost	Lost	Found
Gulliver's Travel	Lost	Found	Existence Unconfirmed
Rumpelstiltskin	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Sleeping Beauty	Lost	Lost	Found
Pinocchio	Lost	Lost	Found
The Little Mermaid	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Puss in Boots	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Thumbelina	Lost	Found	Existence Unconfirmed
The Gingerbread Man	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
The Bremen Town Musicians	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
The Ugly Duckling	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
The Wizard of Oz	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
The Elves and the Shoemaker	Lost	Found	Existence Unconfirmed
The Selfish Giant	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Sinbad the Sailor	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed

The Italian Translation

Title	English Translation	Audio Status	Book Status
Cenerentola	Cinderella	Lost	Lost
La Bella Addormentata	Sleeping Beauty	Lost	Lost
Giacomo E La Planta Di Fagioli	Giacomo and the Bean Plant	Lost	Lost
Hansel E Gretel	Hansel and Gretel	Lost	Lost
La Lampada Di Aladino	The Lamp of Aladino	Lost	Lost
Biancaneve	Snow-White	Lost	Lost
Il Brutto Anatroccolo	The Ugly Duckling	Found	Lost
Saltapecchio	Skip the Mirror(?)	Lost	Lost
Capuccetto Rosso	Little Red Riding Hood	Lost	Lost
Pinocchio	Pinocchio	Lost	Lost
I Folletti Ed Il Calzolaio	The Goblins and the Shoemaker	Lost	Lost
Pollicino	Tom Thumb(?)	Lost	Lost

The Portuguese Translation

Title	English Translation	Audio Status	Book Status
Cinderela	Cinderella	Lost	Lost
A Bela Adormecida	Sleeping Beauty	Found	Lost
Joao E Maria	Joao E Maria/Hansel and Gretel	Found	Lost
Branca De Neve	Snow White	Lost	Lost
O Pequeno Polegar	The Little Thumb/Tom Thumb	Lost	Lost
O Chapeuzinho Vermelho	Little Red Riding Hood	Lost	Lost
A Galinha Dos Ovos De Ouro	The Golden Eggs Chicken(?)/The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg	Lost	Lost
Pinóquio	Pinocchio	Lost	Lost
Aladin E A Lampada Misteriosa	Aladdin and the Mysterious Lamp	Lost	Lost
O Patinho Feio	The Ugly Duck/The Ugly Duckling	Lost	Lost
Rumpelstiltskin	Rumpelstiltskin	Lost	Lost
Os Anões E O Sapateiro	The Dwarves and the Shoemaker/The Elves and the Shoemaker	Lost	Lost

The Alice in Wonderland Mini-Series

In addition to the one-shot fairy tales, the backs of some of the fairy tale books indicated that Superscope was producing a series of six English-Language tapes for Alice in Wonderland. However, the back of the book does not provide names for the six episodes. The book titles have since resurfaced via eBay, and they appear to combine the original Alice in Wonderland with the sequel Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Alice in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole	Lost	Lost
Alice in Wonderland: The Mad Hatter's Tea Party	Lost	Lost
Alice in Wonderland: The Court of Cards	Lost	Lost
Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass: Tweedledum and Tweedledee	Lost	Lost
Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass: The Land of the Red Queen	Lost	Lost
Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass: Queen Alice	Lost	Lost

The Favorite Bible Stories Series

The Favorite Bible Stories series consisted of at least six English-language tapes produced by Tele-Story around 1975. There is currently no evidence that these stories were re-done by Superscope in any other languages. At least four of the audio cassettes were adapted into VHS video storybooks.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status	Video Storybook Status
Noah And The Ark	Found	Found	Found
David & Goliath	Lost	Lost	Found
Joshua and the Battle of Jericho	Found	Lost	Found
Daniel in the Lions Den	Found	Lost	Found
Samson and Delilah	Lost	Lost	Found
Moses in Egypt	Lost	Lost	Found

The Growing Up Smarter Series

The Growing Up Smarter series consisted of at least twelve English-language tapes produced by Tele-Story around 1982. The tapes were at children between the ages of 3 and 8, and were light-hearted educational tapes that used stories as framing devices. In addition to the audio cassette and book, these tapes often came with additional items, such as cardboard puzzles and stickers. At least four VHS storybooks were made, though two VHS titles, Learning Addition and Learning Spelling, do not have an audio cassette version listed.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status	Video Storybook Status
Singing-a-long with my Puppet Pals	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Fun on a Rainy Day	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning to Tell Time	Lost	Found	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning My ABC's	Lost	Lost	Found
Learning About Manners	Found	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning the Calendar	Found	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning About Planets	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning My 1, 2, 3's	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning About the Zoo	Found	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning About Shapes & Colors	Lost	Lost	Found
Wacky Words	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Nimble Numbers	Lost	Lost	Existence Unconfirmed
Learning Addition	Existence Unconfirmed	Lost	Found
Learning Spelling	Existence Unconfirmed	Lost	Found

Confirmed Productions of Licensed Properties

The Tarzan Mini-Series

This was one of Superscope's more obscure series, as it appears that the Tarzan titles were only mentioned on the backs of the Tarzan books. There were six titles in this series. According to the pages at the beginning, they were officially licensed from the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Amazons	Lost	Lost
Desert Rescue	Lost	Lost
City of Diamonds	Lost	Found
Jewel of Kah	Lost	Lost
Dagomba Treasure	Lost	Lost
Fire Gods	Lost	Lost

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

The storybooks in this series were abridged retellings of episodes from the Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids television show from the 1970s and 1980s. The books featured still images from the actual animated epsiodes. While the books proudly claim to star Bill Cosby, it is not clear if the audio was ripped directly from the show, or if any of the other actors reprised their roles for these adaptations. It is believed that only two books were produced for this original series, as each book only showed the other book in the title list on the back. These books were "Four Eyes" and "Rebop for Bebop".

A third book has since resurfaced on eBay, titled "The Sinister Stranger". However, it was actually part of Tele-Story's later Straight Talk for Kids series, as opposed to this earlier Fat Albert series. The book does not name any additional Fat Albert titles. However, it does provide the only evidence that Punky Brewster and Tinosaurs were planned to receive titles. There has been no evidence to suggest that these Fat Albert books were ever re-released on VHS in the video storybook format. Given that the fully-animated original show itself was released on VHS, it is unlikely that a version with still frames and a voiceover would have been allowed.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Four Eyes	Found	Found
Rebop for Bebop	Found	Lost

Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones

The storybooks for this series were presumably based on the 1980s Galoob toyline of the same name. The U.K. toy collector site "ghost of the doll" contains small low-resolution images of the cover art.^[2] The series is believed to have only contained two tapes: "Still Waters Run Dangerous" and "Beware the Spider's Bite". There is currently no evidence that this series was intended for VHS storybook adaptation.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Still Waters Run Dangerous	Lost	Found
Beware the Spider's Bite	Lost	Lost

The Adventures of Gumby

The storybooks for this series appear to be based on the 1960s Gumby television series due to the episode titles matching the book titles.^[3] The confirmed adaptations were "The Witty Witch", "Gumby Crosses the Delaware", "Son of Liberty", and "The Golden Gosling". Unlike Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, these books did not directly use still frames of the original series. Instead, original illustrations were created based on scenes from the show. It is unclear if audio from the 1960s show was repurposed for these tapes, or if it was produced by Tele-Story themselves. There is currently no evidence that this series was ever adapted in the VHS storybook format.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
The Witty Witch	Lost	Lost
Gumby Crosses the Delaware	Lost	Lost
Son of Liberty	Lost	Lost
The Golden Gosling	Lost	Lost

Punky Brewster

There are two books known to have been released under the Punky Brewster license. One of them, Not All Rainbows are Golden, was part of the Straight Talk for Kids series, which has its own section. The other Punky Brewster book was The Birthday Present. Both stories were based of the Its Punky Brewster animated spin-off, as they feature Glomer. However, both of them appear to be original stories with original illustrations.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
The Birthday Present	Found	Found

Space Ace and Dragon's Lair

A single storybook and audio cassette each was made for Don Bluth's Space Ace and Dragon's Lair. The content of tapes are unclear, as the games were in the choose-your-own-adventure style. There is no evidence to suggest that these tapes ever got VHS storybook adaptations.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Dragon's Lair	Partially Lost	Found
Space Ace	Lost	Found

The Straight Talk for Kids series

The Straight Talk for Kids series appears to have been made to talk with children about difficult issues. Images of only one tape from this series have surfaced. This example, Not All Rainbows are Golden, is an anti-drug and anti-alcohol PSA, which re-uses the Punky Brewster license. Another book has surfaced without its tape, in which Tele-Story re-used the Fat Albert license. This book was called The Sinister Strange, and it was advertised as the Fat Albert gang learning how to prevent child abduction. Another combination of tape and book has surfaced called Divorce: Through the Eyes of a Child. This tape doesn't appear to have a licensed property behind it. No evidence has surfaced of VHS storybook adaptations of this series, and it remains one of the most obscure Tele-Story releases.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Punky Brewster: Not All Rainbows are Golden	Found	Found
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: The Sinister Stranger	Found	Found
Divorce: Through the Eyes of a Child	Lost	Lost

Unconfirmed Productions

In addition to the confirmed produced properties, there are a few that were licensed by Tele-Story, but it is unclear if they were ever produced. The back of Tele-Story books for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids contained mentions Tinosaurs. However, no book titles are mentioned. it is possible that the other licensed properties were also used exclusively for Straight Talk for Kids, whether they had their own series or not. No Tele-Story paper books, Tele-Story audio cassettes, or Tele-Story VHS storybooks for Tinosaurs have resurfaced.

Title	Audio Status	Book Status
Tinosaurs	Existence Unconfirmed	Existence Unconfirmed

Gallery

The rare Dragon's Lair cassette (courtesy of dragons-lair-project.com).
The rare Space Ace cassette (courtesy of dragonslairfans.com).
The list of Italian-language fairy tale cassette tapes that Superscope released in the 1970s.
The list of Portuguese-language fairy tale cassette tapes that Superscope released in the 1970s.
The tape listing from the back of the booklet for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Four Eyes.
The tape listing from the back of the booklet for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: Rebop for Bebop.
The front of the third Fat Albert book, which was not mentioned on either of the other two books.
The back of the Fat Albert book, which mentions licensed books from Space Ace, Dragon's Lair, Punky Brewster, and Tinosaurs.
Rare book back from "Rumplestiltskin", which clarifies the total number of bible stories, the total number of fairy tales, and the total number of books in the Alice in Wonderland mini-series.
The tape listing from the back of the booklet for Growing Up Smarter: Learning the Calendar.
The cover art for Golden Girl: Beware the Spider's Bite (courtesy of ghostofthedoll.co.uk).
The cover art for Golden Girl: Still Waters Run Dangerous (courtesy of ghostofthedoll.co.uk).
The Straight Talk for Kids tape titled Not All Rainbows are Golden featuring Punky Brewster.
The Straight Talk for Kids tape titled Divorce: Through the Eyes of a Child