Arthur Knows That a Nose Needn't Pose Many Woes

I am fond of Arthur the aardvark. He's a charming lad, and creator Marc Brown's connection with Erie is such that I almost feel compelled by civic duty to support him in any way I can. And it doesn't hurt that he twice shared his show with Art Garfunkel. Anyway, the Arthur books and TV series are imaginative yet incredibly relatable. Most kids can find, amongst Arthur's group of friends, someone who strikes a chord with them.

In the 25th anniversary edition of Arthur's Nose, we get some insight into how Arthur has evolved into a character of such enduring popularity. There's a note of appreciation from Brown, a page of trivia about the characters, pictures of Arthur at six points in his progression - always eight years old, but looking significantly different as the years go by. There are also photographs of Brown and his family and comparative pictures of Arthur and his gang. We have an original manuscript of this book and sketches that are held up in comparison with finished pages. Finally, there's a letter to the reader from the coordinator of children's services at the New York Public Library featuring her observations of how kids interact with the books.

The book itself is very simple, with few sentences on most pages. The illustration style is very different than what is found in modern Arthur books, in which it is very easy to forget that these characters aren't human. Here, Arthur does not look human at all. He looks like a strange creature with a very long nose. That is the subject of this book, of course. I don't blame Arthur for feeling frustrated with his nose, but after all, that's just the way aardvarks are. Still, what if it doesn't have to be that way?

Arthur decides to go to a rhinologist and get a new nose. Never mind that a first-grader would never be able to just walk into a doctor's office and ask for a nose job. Arthur is determined, and he tries on all sorts of noses for size. It makes for an entertaining couple of pages, though I would imagine affixing an alligator or toucan nose to an aardvark would be very tricky business. What nose does Arthur eventually choose? Well, anyone familiar with the later books might guess he just chose to have the thing lobbed off with no replacement. Over the course of twenty-five years, his prominent nose is reduced to a couple of pin prick nostrils. But here, at least, Arthur learns to take pride in his facial features, strange as they may be.

It’s strange to see Arthur’s class, as he is only in first grade, so Mr. Ratburn, who teaches third grade and is the teacher I’m used to, is nowhere to be found. Instead we have Ms Yollanda, who looks like an older version of Francine, who is the only one of Arthur’s friends I recognize. The others are a bear, a stork, an owl, a giraffe and a pair of cats. All of the pictures look rather crude compared to the smooth Arthur illustrations of today. Nonetheless, there is a simple, nostalgic charm about this book that make it endearing.

It was a long journey from Arthur’s Nose to the Arthur stories of today. If nothing else, I sure am glad Marc Brown took that first step.