Purple Puzzle Tree

UPDATE:  I recorded them on youtube: 

When I was a child, I was consumed with a record and book series titled:  The Purple Puzzle Tree.
Yes, I am dating myself, as I did mention "record" series.  You remember, the big 33 record albums from the 1970's?  I LOVED my Purple Puzzle Tree series!  I listended to them many times almost daily for years!

This series consisted of 6 record sets including 36 story books of children bible stories written by Norman Habel.  He was asked to write 36 stories for a grade school (Bethel Primary School, in St. Louis).  My Dad had worked for Ligouri Publications, and they sold the series for Concordia Publishing House.  Well over a million copies were sold!

I listened to them so often, that still today I have the song memorized and sing it every time I think about it!  "God had a puzzle plan, a plan for you and me!  To fit together piece by piece, in his purple puzzle tree.    Tiger, tiger, tell me do you fly? Do you slink around the ground or soar about the sky? God made tigers, God made you and me, to fit together piece by piece in a purple puzzle tree. ... You will find the pieces fit, much to your surprise, when you learn to see God's world through laughing children's eyes."

When I was pregnant with my first son, I remember heading home to gather the series so that I could share it with my own children.  Much to my dismay, my mom no longer had the books, but she did have the records, so I spent an entire afternoon searching for a record player, so that I could record the records onto cassette tapes so I could play them in the car!  (I know, I'm still dating myself...)  

I have tried to find copies of the books, but unfortunately they are hard to come by as a series and to purchase them individually (if you can find them), can be very costly.   And today, for the life of me...I CAN'T find the cassette tapes!  I know they HAVE to be around here somewhere!

In my research today, I realized Concordia Publishing House stopped printing the orig., but now the Lutheran Church of Australia is taking the initiative to revive The Purple Puzzle Tree as a DVD with Norman Habel, now fifty years later, as The Old Storyteller sitting in front of a huge purple tree with leaves that bear images from the stories.  

Here is a link to one of the stories that Norman is working to revive.  I am sad to know that only the first 12 books are available to purchase on dvd.  I really hope someday to find the book series!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ehXF5Ex1Bc

Oh....how I want my little girl Jessica to experience these wonderful bible stories as I did!