Ben 10, Bob the Builder and Postman Pat!

Great new titles in all three series from Egmont

Scroll down for new Bob the Builder and Postman Pat titles

BEN 10 Ben is the #1 programme on Cartoon Network; Ben is a 10-year-old kid who finds an alien watch in a crashed meteorite. It enables him to transform into 10 different alien beings with unique powers and abilities all while keeping his 10-year-old personality!

Ben 10 is an American animated television series created by "Man of Action" (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The pilot episode aired on December 27, 2005, as part of a sneak peek of Cartoon Network's Saturday morning lineup. The second episode was shown as a special on Cartoon Network's Fridays on January 13, 2006, on which the first and second episodes were shown back-to-back. The theme song for the show was written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Moxy. The show revolves around Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and his grandfather Max. During the start of their summer camping trip, Ben is nearly hit by an alien pod that fell from space and crashed next to him. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device, called the Omnitrix, stored inside. The device attaches to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien lifeforms, each with their own unique powers, quite similar to DC's "Dial H for Hero" comic. Although Ben realizes that he has a responsibility to help others with these new abilities at his disposal, he is not above a little superpowered mischief now and then.

In the first season, the plot mainly focuses on the villain Vilgax, an evil alien warlord who wants to use the Omnitrix to conquer the galaxy. Injured at the start of the season, he sends various drones to get the Omnitrix until he is healed. After he is fully healed, he attempts to retrieve it himself, only to be stopped by Ben, Gwen and Max. Furthermore, it is hinted throughout the season that Max knows more about aliens than he lets on, culminating in the revelation that he and Vilgax had fought previously. A more subtle plotline involves Ben being forced to "grow up" and learning to use the Omnitrix responsibly, with particular emphasis on that point in the episode "Kevin 11".

The second season mostly follows a "villain of the week" format. The few plot-centric episodes focus on Kevin, a super-powered teen with the power to absorb different types of energies, who meets Ben in the first season. Having inadvertently allowed Kevin to absorb the Omnitrix's ability during their first meeting, Kevin serves as an antithesis to Ben. A sociopath, Kevin eventually morphs into a hideous amalgam of Ben's original ten forms and blames Ben for it. Vilgax also returns in the finale, teaming up with Kevin in the hopes of succeeding where he failed originally. Again, he fails, and both he and Kevin are trapped in an alternate dimension, the Null Void. Another important event during this season is the destruction of Ghostfreak, one of Ben's original ten forms. Having escaped from the Omnitrix, he plans to possess Ben and use the power of the Omnitrix to begin his own legacy of conquest. However, he is defeated and destroyed by Ben.

The third season has a similar yet darker plot layout. Its few plot-centric episodes focus around aliens styled on traditional horror monsters that Ben acquires as new forms through their contact with the Omnitrix. Purple-colored lightning, caused by a teleportation device created by the Frankenstein-esque alien Doctor Vicktor, heralds their appearance. Vicktor, in turn, is loyal to Ghostfreak, who is resurrected later in the third season. He plots to shroud the earth in darkness with the use of a corrodium beam projected from a space station and expanded across the earth using a transmitter in New Mexico, thus allowing him to be at full power and rule over the planet. His attempt, however, is thwarted by Ben; he dies once more from direct exposure to the sun, but not before his DNA is readded to the Omnitrix.

The fourth season revolves around Ben's last adventures as summer vacation ends. The few plot-centric episodes revolve around the leader of the Forever Knights organization, Forever King, and his plans to deal with the Tennysons himself. He gathers many of Ben's enemies to serve as members of his group, the "Negative 10" to both battle the Tennysons and steal a powerful energy from the Plumber base at Mount Rushmore. Ben eventually defeats the Forever King, destroying the Mount Rushmore faces in the process.

Bob the Builder Story Library - four new titles!

The next four titles in Bob's highly collectable story library, featuring key characters and adventures from the TV series. Bob is currently on Cbeebies, BBC1/2 and Nick Jr in the UK. He's an extremely sociable builder with an intensive live events programme - he makes regular appearances at Butlins, Alton Towers, The Cbeebies tour and his own themed workshops. Join Roley the Steamroller on a woodland walk, read about Benny the robo digger's important job; follow Muck the bulldozer's exciting convoy and find out what happens when Sumsy the forklift truck has an accident... Brand new artwork with fantastic detail and realism in a proven format - the Bob Story Library is printed on recycled paper and themes embody Bob's "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" motto, encouraging young children and parents to be environmentally friendly.

Bob the Builder is a children's television character created by Keith Chapman. Bob appears as a construction contractor in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of anthropomorphised work-vehicles and equipment (all made of clay). The show is broadcast in many countries, but originates from the United Kingdom where Bob is voiced by actor Neil Morrissey. In each episode, Bob and his gang help with renovations, construction, and repairs and with other projects as needed. The show emphasizes conflict resolution, co-operation, socialization and various learning skills. Bob's catchphrase is "Can we fix it?", to which the other characters respond with "Yes we can!" This phrase is also the title of the show's theme song, which was a Comic Relief hit in England.

Humans

• Bob the Builder - is a construction worker and head of his own construction yard. He is the namesake of the show and also its main character. Some of the problems in the show arise from Bob's habit of forgetting to turn his mobile phone on. He is the owner of Pilchard the Cat.
• Farmer Pickles - is a nearby farmer who sometimes helps out with Bob's projects.
• Spud - is a scarecrow (male voice; catchphrase: "OK, Farmer Pickles" & "Spud's on the job!").
• Wendy - is Bob's business partner who runs the office and keeps the business in order, and often organizes tools and equipment. An underlying romantic tension between Bob and Wendy is hinted at in several episodes.

Machines

• Benny - is a darkish pink excavator (female voice; catchphrase: "Unreal, banana peel!")
• Dodger - is a lightish blue milk machine, owned by Meg and carries milk. His horn makes honking sounds. (male voice; catchphrase: "Dodger Delivers").
• Dizzy - is an orange concrete mixer and one of the youngest in the yard. She is eager, curious, and easily excitable (female voice; catchphrase: "Brilliant!").
• Jackaroo- is a blue pickup truck.
• Lofty - is a blue crane who isn't very confident; he is hesitant and timid, but with the encouragement of the team comes through in the end (male voice; catchphrase: "Uh... yeah, I think so!", usually said in response to the question "Can we fix it?").
• Muck - is a red bulldozer with additional dumping bed who thinks before he acts and often gets in trouble for it, but finds his way back (male voice; female voice in US dub; catchphrase: "Muck to the rescue!").
• Packer - is a red pickup truck, owned by Farmer Pickles. (male voice; catchphrase: "Pack me up and watch me go-go").
• Roley - is a green steamroller, rounds out the "Can-Do Crew" (male voice; catchphrase: "Rock and roll!").
• RV - is a light blue crane machine belonging to Bob's Dad. (male voice; catchphrase: "Amazing RV, thats me!").
• Scoop - is a yellow backhoe loader and the unofficial leader of all the machines (male voice; catchphrase: "No prob, Bob!").
• Scoot - is a black & yellow snowmobile, owned by Tom (male voice)
• Scrambler - is darkish blue quadbike (ATV) (male voice; catchphrases: "Awesome!" and "Scram to the Valley")
• Skip - is a yellow skip-carrier (male voice)
• Sumsy - is a maroon & yellow striped forklift Tractor, owned by Farmer Pickles (female voice; catchphrase: "I can pack 'em, I can stack 'em!")
• Travis - is Farmer Pickles' cyan tractor. He helps out the crew when they need it and keeps an eye on Spud the scarecrow.
• Trix - is a purple forklift; belongs to J.J. (female voice; catchphrase: "Easy peasy!")
• Tumbler - is a green, yellow, and nice concrete mixer. (male voice; catchphrase: "I'm a Rumblin' and a Tumblin')
• Zoomer - is a purple, Bobsville snowmobile (male voice; seen in 'Snowed Under')

Animals

• Bird - is a bird, Roley's best friend
• Hamish - Molly's parrot
• Humpty - is a a prize pig, owned by Farmer Pickles.
• Pilchard - Bob's pet cat and considered a part of the team. However, she's often sleeping when she's needed.
• Scruffty - a dog, owned by Farmer Pickles.
• Squawk - Another bird, friend of Bird
• Tommy - Mrs. Potts' turtle

Postman Pat's Wonderful Word Book

Pat is now airing on the BBC until 2010! Over 700,000 terrestrial viewers watch the series daily. Pat has been sold to over 65 territories, including the USA. In this fantastic Wonderful Word Book, join Pat and Jess as they travel around Greendale, and see how many familiar words and faces you can spot along the way! There are also lots of new words for you to discover as you visit the farm, go to the train station and peek inside Postman Pat's house! Young children will have lots of fun recognising familiar words and developing their vocabulary with the help of Postman Pat and Jess.

Postman Pat is a British stop-motion animated children's television series produced by Woodland Animations. It is aimed at pre-school children, and concerns the adventures of Pat Clifton, a postman in the fictional village of Greendale (inspired by the real valley of Longsleddale in Cumbria). The animated series was originally screened in 1981. John Cunliffe wrote the original treatment and scripts, and it was directed by animator Ivor Wood, who also worked on The Magic Roundabout, Paddington Bear, and The Herbs. A second version of the series was made and shown from 2004, which expanded on many aspects of the original series. Each episode followed the adventures of Pat Clifton, a friendly country postman, and his "black and white cat" Jess, as he delivers the mail through the valley of Greendale. Although he initially concentrates on delivering his letters, he nearly always becomes distracted by an issue of one of the villagers and is usually relied upon to resolve their problems. Notable villagers include the postmistress: Mrs. Goggins, Alf: a farmer, Miss Hubbard, who is nearly always seen out on her bicycle and the local handyman: Ted Glen. Jess the cat (voiced in the second series by Donald Sinden's niece, Milly Sinden) is very vocal in every episode, commenting on the actions and follies of the human characters with a varied range of meows.

Characters

• Pat Clifton — Village Postman (Postman Pat) (1981-)
• Jess the cat — Pat's pet (1981-)
• Mrs Goggins — Postal Mistress, first name unknown (1981-)
• Bonnie the dog — A fluffy white dog adopted by Mrs Goggins (2005-)
• Sarah Gilbertson — schoolchild, daughter of Dr Gilbertson (1991-)
• Katy Pottage — schoolchild, Tom’s twin sister, daughter of Julia Pottage (1981-)
• Tom Pottage — schoolchild, Katy’s twin brother, son of Julia Pottage (1981-)
• Charlie Pringle — schoolchild, son of Mr. Pringle (1981-)
• Lucy Selby — schoolchild, daughter of PC Selby (1991-)
• Mr Pottage — father of Tom and Katy Pottage, husband of Julia Pottage first name unknown (1981)
• Julia Pottage — mother of Tom and Katy Pottage, wife of Mr Pottage (1981-)
• The Reverend Peter Timms — The vicar (1981-)
• Alf Thompson — farmer, husband of Dorothy Thompson (1981-)
• Dorothy Thompson — wife of Alf Thompson (1981-)
• Bill Thompson — schoolchild son of Alf and Dorothy (1981-)
• Ted Glen — handyman
• Rebecca Hubbard — Nearly always seen out on her bike (1981-2002)
• Amy Wrigglesworth — The vet (2005-)
• Pumpkin the pony — Amy's pet (2005-)
• Sam Waldron — mobile shop owner (1981-2002)
• Granny Dryden — first name unknown (1981-2002)
• George Lancaster — farmer (1981-2002)
• Peter Fogg — farmer (1981-2002)
• Dr Sylvia Gilbertson — mother of Sarah Gilbertson (1991-)
• Police Constable Arthur Selby — policeman, father of Lucy Selby, can be called PC Selby for short or Arthur (1991-)
• Major Forbes — owner of Garner Hall, first name unknown, mentioned in 1981 (1991-2002)
• Sara Clifton — wife of Pat, station cafι waitress from 2004, surname not mentioned until 2004 referred to in 1981, but first name and surname not mentioned (1981-)
• Julian Clifton — schoolchild and son of Pat and Sara (1991-)
• Jeff Pringle — teacher (1981-)
• Ajay Bains — railway owner, husband of Nisha Bains (2003-)
• Nisha Bains — station cafι waitress, wife of Ajay Bains (2003-)
• Meera Bains — schoolchild and daughter of Nisha Bains (2003-)
• Nikhil Bains — baby (2003-)

Vehicles

• Pat's van — Driven by Postman Pat. (1981-)
• Ted's Truck — Driven by Ted Glen and based on a mid 30s Bedford Truck. (1981-)
• Dr Gilbertson's car — Driven by Dr Gilbertson and based on a Morgan Plus 8 (2005-)
• PC Selby's Car — Driven by PC Selby and is based on a Rover P6. (1991-)
• The Greendale Rocket — Driven by Ajay Bains. (2003-)
• Amy's 4x4 — Driven by Amy Wrigglesworth based on a 2002 Range Rover. (2005-)
• Sam's Van — Driven by Sam Waldren and is based on a Bedford Minivan. (1981-2002)

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