Features

Good books, old friends

Details

By Kara Kvasnicka

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

Hits: 273

It seems as though Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls to accompany Johnny Gruelle's stories and plush Winnie-the-Pooh characters to accompany A.A. Milne's stories have been around forever. Now, licensing the rights for their most popular storybook characters to be made available as toys has become a regular practice among publishers.

You can bring Norman Bridwell's big red dog to life by buying a stuffed Clifford to go along with a Clifford book, Madeline dolls are available to go with Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline stories, and a whole host of monster dolls can make a child feel he or she has stepped into Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.

One of the newest storybook characters to take on plush proportions is Dinosaur Bob from William Joyce's Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo.

HarperCollins' Laura Geringer imprint published the book in 1988 and reprinted it this year no doubt to capitalize on what they hope will be the success of the Dinosaur Bob toy available from Artwork.

I discovered Bob at the Borders' store in Ann Arbor where I was on a mission to find the perfect picture book to give my small nephew for Christmas. Getting to Borders was particularly arduous that day. Some popular folk singers were giving a concert in the State Theatre across the street, so the only parking spot I could find was atop a multilevel ramp.

I had brought along a friend who is (to put it mildly) a reluctant shopper and who was not happy about having to walk down several flights of stairs to get to the sidewalk. (I have a philosophical aversion to using elevators in parking structures.)

Borders was filled with other shoppers seeking literary holiday gifts. We nudged our way into the children's section where we peacefully browsed through an array of holiday books until there was a sudden avalanche of dolls and stuffed toys from the shelf above us. (I'm certain this event only increased my friend's love of shopping!)

We weren't hurt of course, just a bit stunned and embarrassed. Then out of the "rubble" Bob smiled up at us and the whole ordeal of this shopping venture was suddenly worthwhile. I snatched him up along with the matching book, knowing, after a brief perusal of the book's contents, I had found for my nephew the perfect toy and book combination to nurture his love of the written word.

Toy companies have produced all sorts of plastic and stuffed dinosaurs to satisfy children's endless fascination with them, but to me, most of them look cold, clinical and sometimes intimidating.

Not Bob. He stands only 10 inches off the ground and is about 18 inches long. I do not know what species of dinosaur he is supposed to be, although most 3-year-olds could probably tell you. I only know he is very green, sports a red baseball cap with his name on it and has a warm, amiable smile. How he came to be and his many other attributes are revealed in the book.

Written for children 4 to 8, the story introduces us to the Lazardo family of Pimlico Hills: Doctor and Mrs. Lazardo, their son Scotty and daughters Zelda and Velma.

The Lazardos' two favorite things are travel and baseball. Dr. Lazardo explains: "Travel is adventure. Adventure makes you homesick, and baseball makes everything A-OK."

They return from each of their adventures with an "amazing treasure." That treasure on their return from an African safari is the dinosaur they named Bob after Mrs. Lazardo's Uncle Bob to whom they think he bears a striking resemblance.

Bob is friendly and fun. In return for such favors as carrying them "down the Nile in style," the Lazardos give him bedtime snacks consisting of "two peanut-butter and bologna sandwiches and four hundred double Dutch chocolate cakes."

Like most rarities, Bob becomes famous when he arrives in Pimlico Hills. But he is resented along with all the Lazardos' other treasures by the jealous mayor's wife Mrs. DeGlumly. His unfamiliarity with Pimlico Hills culture and customs naturally leads him into a series of adventures which land him in trouble.

The Lazardos stand by him. But only after joining the Pimlico Pirates, the town's baseball team, as both right and left fielder, and helping them turn around an infamous losing streak, is Bob truly accepted by everyone in Pimlico Hills, including Mrs. DeGlumly.

After helping the Pimlico Pirates win their first game in history, he becomes a hero worthy of The Ballad of Dinosaur Bob written by Zelda Lazardo. To the tune of "Auld Lang Syne," the townspeople sing their praises to Bob: "He's mesozoic and heroic and he's really green."

Joyce combines adventure, humor and heroics in simple, rhythmic prose and charming illustrations which will endear him to children and adults alike. Likewise, the serene "greenness" of Bob will make a pleasant contrast to your child's purple Barney or red Clifford.

The book has been featured on PBS' Reading Rainbow television series and is available in local libraries.

Obviously, authors and publishers hope to make money by licensing the rights to their storybook characters to toy companies. But if the resulting toys help increase children's interest in books and reading, I'm all for them.

Kvasnicka was East Village Magazine news editor from 1985 to 1989 and has been the magazine's research consultant since 1989. She has a master's degree in information and library studies from the University of Michigan and has worked for the Genesee District Library since 1989.

• < Prev
• Next >