Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Most people know the first verse of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but this version contains all five verses from the original poem by Jane Taylor which was first published in 1806 under the tile of 'The Star'. The words were first published with music in 1834 and borrowed the melody from Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" A french tune from 1761 which is also used for The Alphabet Song, Baa Baa Black Sheep and even has an arrangement written by Mozart.

We wanted to make a completely different take on the song and have featured lots of different animals who are mainly nocturnal and therefore would be up at night to watch the stars in the night sky.

Here are the ones we have featured:

Mole:
Moles can be found In North America, Europe, Asia and Africa but strangely there are no moles in Ireland. Moles are active underground day and night but are more active when it's quiet.

Porcupine:
The word porcupine means "quill pig" in Latin; however porcupines are large rodents and have no relation to pigs whatsoever! They are the third largest rodent in the world after the beaver and capybara and the porcupine we have featured is the African Crested porcupine.

Dragonfly:
Dragonflies have been on the planet for more than 300 million years and some ancient dragonflies had wings that were 2 feet across. Most dragonflies are active during the day, so like our one, head off to bed when the sun sets.

Moth:
Not all moths are nocturnal but because moths are attracted to light, they are easy to spot at night when they visit a light you may have in the garden.
Only one type of moth caterpillar eats wool, but then don't eat at all when they turn into adult moths. Hopefully our woollen felt moth will not get eaten by a real one!

Armadillo:
Armadillos are from America, they sleep in burrows during the day and come out at night to forage. The one featured in our song is a nine banded armadillo but there is also a three banded armadillo that can roll up into a ball and as a result was made the mascot of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Snail:
Snails have been on earth for more than 600 million years. They are most active at night and eat plants but will also eat chalk, limestone and the plasterboard stored in my garden!

Slow Loris:
Slow lorises are found in South and Southeast Asia and are a nocturnal primate that have big eyes to find food in the dark. The name 'loris' is Dutch and means 'clown', which probably comes from the facial features that help to define the species. They move slowly but can travel around 8km in one night.

Cat:
Cats are nocturnal which is why you your pet cat may sleep all day but then venture out for adventures at night. The one featured in our animation is a silver grey tabby cat.

Slug:
Slugs are gastropods and mainly come out at night. They use their rasping tongues to make holes in leaves, stems, buds, flowers, roots, corms, bulbs and the tubers of plants as many a gardener can attest.

Barn Owl:
Barn owls are found all over the world and are known for screeching rather than hooting. As owls cannot move their eyes like we do, they have to rotate their entire head to be able to see what's going on, up to 270 degrees.


Video Credits:
Produced by Sarah Simi & Ed Hartwell (Woolly Vision)
Animation and Direction: Ed Hartwell
Art Direction: Sarah Simi
Animal puppets by Leeanne Bell
Set elements by Laura Gardener (Little Egg Designs), Leeanne Bell and Sarah Simi
Music Recorded and performed by Steve Pretty
Sung by Gemma Storr