Stella and Sam

Sam tries to make his old sweater special before passing it down to Fred. Sam has outgrown his knitted pullover. Stella gives him an old one of hers, imbuing it with an exciting past that makes it extra special. Now Sam is inspired to pass down his old sweater to Fred, but to make it a worthy hand-medown, it needs some adventures. Regardless of the sweater’s daring escapades, Fred doesn’t like wearing it. The rejection is disappointing, but Sam’s spirits are boosted when a robin uses the sweater’s stray yarn to build her new nest./Stella has to get Sam out of bed in time for a special breakfast. Stella wishes Sam would rise-and-shine. She wants him to join her for a special breakfast, but she’s not supposed to open his bedroom door when he’s sleeping. Stella guilefully succeeds in getting Sam out of bed - now she just has to find him. Hide-’n-Seek antics ensue and after Sam has had his fun, they head downstairs and arrive at the breakfast table just in time for a rainbow light show.

Fred helps Stella and Sam track down a missing scarf. Sam’s scarf goes missing while he and Stella are frolicking in a leaf pile. Fred is the first suspect in the disappearance, but then other clues lead Stella and Sam across the meadow to the neighbouring farm. Ultimately, Fred leads the kids to the culprit - Pattycake, a barn cat with an inclination for mischief./Stella helps Sam prepare for his first backyard camp-out. Camping out in the backyard is lots of fun, but if you’ve never spent the night beyond your cozy bedroom, it’s a bigstep to take. Stella does her best to gently introduce Sam to the interesting things that inhabit their world after sunset. As the evening turns from twilight to moonlight, Sam gets comfortable being outside. In fact, he’d like to join Stella and sleep in the tent too.

Sam wishes he was bigger but discovers being small can behandy sometimes. Sam spills all the dog biscuits while trying to get them down from a shelf that’s too high. It’s another reminder that he’s not as big as he wants to be. Stella assures him he’s growing all the time and shows the progress he’s making on the family growth chart. When the two of them are pretending to be giants, a toy cow gets stuck under the veranda--a tight spot only accessible to someone Sam’s size./Sam and Owen discover different ways to have fun with boxes. Owen has a wagonload of big empty boxes to share with his friend, Sam. They have hours of fun converting them into buildings and bulldozers. The trouble is, none of their cardboard creations can withstand Owen’s rambunctious style of play. In the end, Owen has a box that’s worth keeping and Sam has a box that’s more fun if it’s busted apart.

Muddy Fred needs to get cleaned up but hates having a bath. Fred gets dirty playing with Sam in the garden. It becomes a problem when he tracks muddy paw prints through the house. Fred needs a good washing, but the very mention of the word bath sends him whimpering off to hide. Stella and Sam have to come up with a way to get the reluctant pup in the washtub./Sam pretends to be a superhero but comes to Fred’s rescue for real. When Sam watches Stella pretend she’s a superhero, he wants to be one too, but has trouble with his rescue technique. In the meantime, Ivy shows up and the two girls become a superhero duo. Sam’s attempt to get involved in a make believe rescue goes awry and he doesn’t want to play anymore. Then Fred gets trapped under the lawn sprinkler and Sam comes to his rescue, showing how fast and fearless he really is.

Sam learns to skate with the help of a snowman. Stella wants Sam to go skating with her. Instead of admitting he’s afraid of slipping on the ice, Sam says he has to sit with Fred and keep him company. Stella proposes making a snowman that can doggy-sit for them. Stella and Sam bring the snowman to life through make-believe play. After sharing some wintertime fun, the snowman asks if he can slide on the ice with them. Sam puts on his skates to help Stella push the snowman around on a toboggan. Having someone to lean on, keeps Sam steady on the ice./A heavy snowfall creates a winter wonderland for Stella and Sam to explore. Stella and Sam wake to a winter wonderland of fresh, deep snow. Heightening the sense of excitement, Stella proposes an expedition to the North Pole. As they embark on their journey they’re joined by Owen, who’s eager to travel by dogsled. However, Fred isn’t husky enough to haul anything, so Stella ends up pulling the toboggan. Their encounters with Arctic wildlife include a baby polar bear the size of Fred. He goes to the top of the world with them and then crowds onto the toboggan for the fast-flying trip back home.

Stella and Sam venture downstairs in the dead of night to search for Fred, and a missing kite. As bedtime approaches, Stella and Sam reflect on their fun filled day of kite flying. Fred liked it too, but never got to enjoy the satisfaction of catching the kite to wrestle with it. It’s an obsession that creeps into his doggy dreams. When Sam wakes up during the night and finds Fred missing from his bed, he asks Stella to lead a search downstairs. With Stella’s help, Sam gets used to the strange shadows and odd noises that pervade their house at night. In the end, kite debris leads the kids to the where abouts of Fred./Stella’s school project inspires a faraway quest to see a Chinese Dragon. Stella and Felix create a colourful school project about China. It fascinates Sam. Especially the picture of a Chinese Dragon. Sam wants to see a real one and Stella is more than happy to make it happen. She loads everyone into Dad’s rowboat and off they go to the far side of the world. Beyond a bamboo forest, the kids stand atop the Great Wall of China. Much to Sam’s surprise and delight, a Chinese Dragon approaches through the mountain mist. Felix invites Stella and Sam to join him beneath his improvised dragon costume and the trio of friends weave and wind their way home across the meadow.

Stella’s make-believe animal safari leads Sam and Owen to monkey around. The day is hotter than an African savannah, so Stella pretends that’s where they are and takes Sam and Owen on a Safari. They observe a lion, a hippopotamus and the rare and elusive Stellaphant that has a stocking trunk and red curly hair. The boys get into the act too and cavort around the yard, behaving like their favourite animals. Thanks to Stella’s pretend camera, they have pictures of all the wildlife they encountered on their exciting trip./Stella has a remedy for Sam’s stubbed toe, silly soup with funny ingredients. A misstep mishap leaves Sam with a stubbed toe. Dr. Stella examines the injury and can see it’s going to take more than a bandage to make Sam feel better. She writes a prescription for laugh-a-bit soup. The recipe is simple - find ingredients that induce laughter and mix them together in a soup pot. Their concoction of underpants, squeak toys and a tickle feather turns out to be just what the doctor ordered to cure Sam’s sore toe blues.

Sam loses a treasured memento he brought back from his trip to the beach. Sam finds a pretty stone on the beach that’s too special to leave behind. It becomes a memento of that enjoyable day as well as a make-believe friend that fits in his pocket. Sam calls it, “Skippy”. When Skippy goes missing, Detective Stella assures Sam that she’ll find it. Her playful search for clues leads them to the laundry basket where Skippy is hiding in another pocket./Stella strikes a deal with a tree to get back Sam’s toy airplane, stuck high in its branches. When Sam’s toy airplane gets stuck high in a tree, he asks the tree to give it back. Acting as interpreter, Stella informs Sam that the tree wants to keep it. But the tree reconsiders when Stella offers to grant it three wishes. After scratching its bark, giving it an adventure and celebrating its birthday, the tree fulfils its side of the bargain.

Sam hopes for wet weather so he can try out his new rainboots. It’s the perfect sunny day for a trip to Stella’s make believe beach. But Sam wants wet weather so he can try out his new rain boots. According to Stella’s whimsical weather predictions, there’s no rain in the forecast. It puts a damper on Sam’s day until Stella comes up with the idea to make believe a rain cloud has arrived./Sam wants to perform in Stella’s music concert, but doesn’t have an instrument to play. Stella and Ivy plan a concert in the meadow where they’ll play their recorders. Sam wants to take part, but doesn’t play an instrument. He is a good talent scout though, and finds various animals around the meadow who are willing to add their unique voices to the performance. When the concert is about to begin, a conductor is needed and it turns out that Sam has a natural talent for the job.

Stella takes Sam and Owen to an imaginary planet where kiwi fruit grows. Sam and Owen sample every food on a snack platter except the kiwi fruit. It is unusual-looking, and according to Stella, so is the planet it comes from. She sends the boys on an intergalactic trip to see for themselves. With space alien Stella as their tour guide, the boys encounter many new and interesting things on Planet Planella, including a kiwi vine./Sam befriends a cricket and helps it find a new home. When Sam brings some toys in from the yard, he discovers a cricket living inside his favourite truck. Sam befriends the happy little chirper and with Stella’s help, finds it a better house. But when the cricket stops chirping, Sam cantell it’s not happy anymore. After Stella finds some cricket companions, Sam’s little friend starts chirping happily again.

A funny game of Follow-the-Leader helps Stella and Sam find their lost ball. While playing catch, Stella and Sam’s stray ball inexplicably disappears. Stella initiates a fun way to find it by thinking the way a ball would think. Their bouncing and rolling is noticed by Owen and he joins the merry search. A game of Follow-the-Leader ensues and when it’s Fred’s turn to be followed, the kids are led straight to the lost ball./The neighbour’s cat disappears after participating in the kids’ magic show. Stella becomes a magician and conjures up some entertaining illusions for Sam and Owen. They’re amazed and mystified and beg Stella to teach them how to perform magic. Armed with magic wands, the boys make the reluctant cat, Pattycake, disappear. Stella convinces them that Pattycake has turned into a bunny and helps the boys reverse their magic trick.

Sam hopes Fred has enough talent to join Stella’s circus, but can an old dog learn new tricks? Sam is surprised and delighted when Stella starts a circus and bills him as the sensational, Somersault Sam. Wanting Fred to be part of the act too, Sam tries to teach him a trick. But Fred is a dog who likes doing things in his own way at his own pace. In the end, Fred’s hidden talents are revealed when he jumps for joy over a dog biscuit./Stella takes Sam on a fairy tale quest in search of a good ending for her unfinished storybook. Stella creates a storybook with herself and Sam as the main characters. The only thing it needs now is a good ending. Stella takes Sam on a fairy tale quest for inspiration. Playing the roles of Wind Queen and the valiant Sir Sam, the two kids work together to free the wind, held captive in a dragon’s cave. The make believe play gives Stella the fairy tale ending she was looking for.

After being surprised with a card and gift for Brother’s Day, Sam makes plans for Sister’s Day. There’s a Father’s Day and a Mother’s Day, but Sam didn’t know about Brother’s Day. It’s actually an invention of Stella’s, and a reason to surprise Sam with a homemade gift. Sam decides the next day is Sister’s Day and secretly makes a macaroni necklace. But it’s a challenge keeping his surprise from Stella and keeping his necklace from his pasta-loving dog. It turns out, the best surprise of all is waking Stella early enough to see a spectacular sunrise./Stella helps Sam make friends with a fawn that he surprised in the meadow. While playing hide-and-seek in the meadow, Sam scares away a fawn. He hopes to see it again someday. Stella takes Sam to a sunny glade where the fawn apparently lives, but it’s not at home. While they wait, Stella teaches Sam a favourite deer game called “Antler Ring Toss.” They don’t see the fawn, but Sam draws a picture for him and posts it on a tree. The next morning he’s surprised and delighted to see deer tracks around the picture.