Blue's: Phonics

Blue's: Phonics is the 7th episode of Blue's Clues from Season 2.

Characters Present

 * Blue
 * Steve (North America)
 * Sidetable Drawer
 * Mailbox
 * Mr. Salt
 * Mrs. Pepper
 * Paprika
 * Snail

Summary
Steve and Blue do some play on words.

Recap
As we head inside to visit Steve, he is reading a chapter book named "A Really Great Book". When Steve heads in the bedroom, the word "STEVE" is seen on the back of his green striped shirt. Blue wants Steve to read her a book based on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. After reading, Blue refuses to read Steve's book, so he asks what other book should Blue read. So Steve has to play a words game of Blue's Clues to figure it out. Steve draws a "P" on the paw-print and it popped off the screen. Steve goes to Sidetable Drawer to get his notebook. After getting his notebook, the word "NOTEBOOK" is seen on on the back. During the song of how to play the game, he reads the book he was reading earlier. So after singing, Steve starts to look for clues. He finds the first clue on a picture of a moon in a different book, so Steve draws it in his handy-dandy notebook. Later, he heads into the kitchen. Mrs. Pepper asks Steve to assist her and Mr. Salt with their grocery shopping. Paprika is hungry. They find milk, bread and juice for Paprika. Paprika has some juice from a baby bottle. Steve waves goodbye to Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper and Paprika. Steve tells the viewers that "Book" starts with "B". Door starts with a "D". Curtain starts with "C". Steve finds another "C" word, "Cow". As Steve starts to say C words like cake, caterpillar, carburetor, cantaloupe and Capobianco, he finds the second clue on a picture of a cow. So he draws it in his notebook. During the Mailtime segment, Steve gets the viewers to read the words in the mail-time song. Mailbox comes in and spells Steve's name. Mailbox has lots of letters for him as in "letters of the alphabet". Mailbox had another kind of letter. Inside the video letter, two girls visit the library and read a story called If You Give Your Mouse a Cookie. After that, Steve returns to the bedroom. Blue and the final clue is on the word "JUMP". Steve writes the word in his notebook. After sitting in the thinking chair, he puts the three clues he found together. Steve wants to know if the moon could jump, but that answer is weird, because the moon can't jump. But the cow could jump. The kids study the three clues and the answer revealed to be the story "Hey Diddle Diddle", because Blue wants to read it. Then, they head back into the bedroom, with Steve carrying Blue's book, which is "Hey Diddle Diddle". He says that the illustrated picture from the story are good clues, which are a moon, a cow and the word Jump. As Steve reads the story to his friends, the cat plays a fiddle. Then a cow jumps high enough to the moon. Also the little dog laughs so he could see such sport, and at the end the story the dish and spoon run away. As Steve sings So Long, subtitles of the lyrics are seen as a tiny ball bounces as Steve sings the lyrics. After singing, he catches the small ball in his pants pocket as the episode ends.

Trivia

 * The authors, other staff and companies associated with the books "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "Corduroy" and "The Rainbow Fish" all receive "Special Thanks" credits. "Corduroy" is one of the books shown in the intro.
 * Tanya Hamilton directed the Video Letter segment.
 * The others were "Magenta Comes Over," "What Does Blue Want to Build?," "What Was Blue's Dream About?," "Blue's Senses" and "The Lost Episode!."
 * The Greenburg sisters, Julie and Jessica, were Steve's Friends in the episode.
 * When Steve sang the So Long song, the ball bounced on the lyrics, a tribute to the Screen Songs cartoons made by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios.
 * Additionally, this may also be a reference to various sing-along videos.
 * Snail who is hidden in three places in every episode, is very easy to find one time in this episode because she has a label.
 * This happened again in "Let's Write!"
 * The other two times she appears, she is not labeled.
 * The Picture Said Call Magenta from "Blue Goes to the Beach," "Adventures in Art" and "Blue's Story Time."
 * This episode is the first of two available as a bonus on the "Blue Takes You to School" DVD.
 * This is the last episode Blue barks no from What Experiment Does Blue Want to Try?, Pretend Time, What Does Blue Want to Do with Her Picture?, What Does Blue Want to Build?, Blue's Senses, Steve Gets the Sniffles, Snack Time, What Game Does Blue Want to Learn?, Adventures in Art, Blue Wants to Play a Game, Blue's Story Time, Draw Along with Blue, Hide and Seek, Animal Behavior! Occupations, Tickety's Favorite Nursery Rhyme, What Time Is It for Blue?, The Grow Show!, Blue Wants to Play a Song Game, What Was Blue's Dream About? & What Is Blue Trying to Do?.
 * During the Mailtime song, Blue holds up some cue cards that has words so that we can sing along with Steve.
 * In this version of the Mailtime song, the viewers yell out "Mail!" at the end instead of Steve.
 * This episode is also called "Pre-reading" if you look on the back cover of the ABC's and 123's VHS.
 * Some of the ideas used in this episode come up again in "Words" and "Let's Write!".
 * When Steve says No, No, I 'don't think it is clue before finding it, this phrase is similar to what he says before finding the third clue in Blue's Favorite Song No, I think it's a piano.
 * This is the another episode where No! from Snack Time is heard.
 * The Clues effect can be heard later on the Blue's Room episode Little Blue Riding Hood.
 * The 3rd episode of "It's a Clue!" line in Blue Goes to the Beach and What Story Does Blue Want to Play?.

Goofs

 * Angela Santomero is credited as Angela C. Santomero.
 * Jenna Marie Castle is credited as Jenna Castle.
 * During the Mailtime song, when Steve turns around and sees Mailbox, his STEVE letters on his shirt are missing.