When you hear me clapping to this song, I want you all to clap along.

Overview

“The Do-Along Songbook” is an entry from the World of Teddy Ruxpin Adventure Series. It was released for the original Worlds of Wonder, Playskool, and Yes! Entertainment Teddy Ruxpin talking toys. Like other entries, such as “Grundo Springtime Singtime”, this story is notable for being primarily a musical compilation with a focus on songs in which listeners can participate.

Value

“It’s more fun when you share songs and activities with friends.”

Summary

“When Grubby struggles in telling his own story, Teddy instead suggests they sing some of their “do-along” songs, which allows them to sing and dance along. They are joined by Gimmick who teaches them how they can all “be an Octopede”, and Teddy even invents his own song, “The Teddy Hop”.

Synopsis

The listener is greeted by Grubby singing “Come Dream With Me Tonight”, but before he can begin a story, Teddy arrives home, which makes Grubby nervous. When Grubby tries his best to tell his own story, Teddy instead suggests they pass the time by singing some of their “do-along songs”: songs in which “we can do stuff while we’re singing”. They begin with “Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet”.

Grubby wants to sing “I’m an Octopede”: a song in which the participants kick their “left four legs” and their “right four legs”. Teddy reminds him that most people have only one left leg and one right leg, making it hard to follow along. Lucky for them, Newton Gimmick arrives with a solution.

Gimmick suggests that by getting down on your hands and knees and having someone get down on their hands and knees behind you, you can pretend to have four left legs and four right legs. If you don’t have anyone to play with, you can pretend to be “half an Octopede”. Excited to try this new idea, the group sing “I’m an Octopede”.

Gimmick’s knees are tired for all the kneeling and kicking, and he suggests a song they can sing sitting down. Teddy decides to sing a round. After explaining what a “round” is, Teddy begins singing while the others follow (“A Round”).

The next song is what Teddy calls “an answer song”, in which he sings something and Gimmick and Grubby sing it back (“La-Dee-Da”).

Ready to move around again, Grubby asks Teddy for another “jumpin’ around kinda song”. Teddy starts to make up a song on the spot, repeating the word “hop” over and over again as he jumps up and down. Instinctively, Grubby and Gimmick begin to mimic him, leading to them singing “The Teddy Hop”.

After the final song, Grubby asks if he can do the honors of saying goodbye to the listener and even tries to imbue a positive message as Teddy often does. He gets carried away, and Teddy cuts him off as they say goodbye.

Songs

• "Come Dream With Me Tonight" (Introduction)
• "Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet"
• "I'm An Octopede"
• "A Round"
• "La-Dee-Da"
• "The Teddy Hop"

Trivia

• This story includes an introduction of “Come Dream WIth Me Tonight” sung by Grubby, taking the place of Teddy’s traditional introduction.
• While the Fobs are not mentioned by name, they are shown in the illustrations and provide backup vocals for the songs.
• Phil Baron, the voice of Teddy Ruxpin, wrote the lyrics for the songs in this entry.
• In order of production, this is the first story released for the 1st and 2nd Generation Worlds of Wonder Teddy Ruxpin talking toy to feature the entire “script” in the book, complete with song lyrics. To this point, the series consisted mainly of small bubbles of selected text on each page with a focus on the illustrations. Including the full “script” of each story would be a format adopted for virtually every subsequent incarnation of Teddy Ruxpin, hoping to foster a love of reading in the listener.