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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide today announced the sale of the much beloved UK animated pre-school series, 3rd & Bird! to Canada's Treehouse. Aimed at 3-5 year old children, Treehouse will premiere the series on Monday, September 7 at 6:25 p.m. ET/PT. It will subsequently air weekdays at 6:25 p.m., Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.

3rd & Bird! was created by Josh Selig and is produced in London and New York by his company Little Airplane Productions. The supervising producer of the series is Heather Tilert, former producer of The Wonder Pets!

Created in bold and colorful photo-puppetry animation – a style of animation uniquely created by production company Little Airplane – the vibrant treetop community of 3rd & Bird! is alive with singing, whistling and dancing. Each beautifully crafted episode is filled with music and songs revolving around the lives of Samuel and Muffin Lovebird and their friend Rudy, who live, learn and play in the branches of a beautiful old tree. Through the stories told in the series about diversity, tolerance or perseverance, it helps children to develop social skills that are integral to the functioning of a healthy community.

Each episode sees Samuel and Muffin encountering a problem relevant to the pre-school age, such as making a new friend, learning a new skill or going somewhere for the first time. Though covering important social issues, the program is also clever, playful and full of comedy.

Creator Josh Selig says, "I am really thrilled and excited that 3rd & Bird! has found a home on Treehouse. It is such a wonderful channel and, as any preschooler knows, birds do belong in trees!"

Fisher-Price is currently the master toy licensee for 3rd & Bird! Under the multi-year master toy license, Fisher-Price has global rights (excluding Asia) to develop pre-school, infant and toddler toys including electronic and non-electronic plastic figurines, toys, vehicles, playsets and feature and standard plush.

3rd & Bird! is 50 x 10 episodes with one double episode, a 20 minute Christmas special. The deal was brokered by Linda Steele, VP Program Sales, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide Canada, Susanna Pollack, Children's and Children's Business Development, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Worldwide Americas and Brenda Nietupski, Director of Programming for Corus Entertainment/Treehouse & Discovery.

NOTES TO EDITORS
About Little Airplane
Founded by Josh Selig in 1999, Little Airplane Productions created and produced The Wonder Pets! for Nick Jr., Go, Baby! for Playhouse Disney, Oobi! for NOGGIN (winner of a 2001 Gold Parents' Choice Award) and 3rd & Bird! for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's CBeebies. Additionally, Josh Selig was the Head Writer for Little Bill on Nick Jr. He has received ten Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street, and was the Resident Producer of the historic Israeli/Palestinian Sesame Street co-production (winner of the 1998 Japan Prize). Josh Selig writes a weekly column for Kidscreen Magazine called "Planet Preschool" which can be read at . In 2008, Little Airplane was honoured to receive a Crain's Small Business Award. For more information about Little Airplane Productions please visit .

About Treehouse
Treehouse, seen in over eight million homes across Canada, offers premium preschool programming and a rich co-viewing environment for children and their parents. Delivering a strong balance of educational, values-rich and entertaining programs, Treehouse delivers high-quality children's series from Canada and around the world. A parent-trusted brand, Treehouse’s highly interactive website, TreehouseTV.com reaches over half-a-million moms per month.

Sarah Takenaga/Amy Mulcair

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