My Little Town Makes a Guest Appearance in Arthur's Teacher Moves In

In Erie, Pennsylvania, my hometown, Arthur the aardvark is a big deal. We haven't a host of celebrities to boast about, so we pay extra attention to the color-coded security system Tom Ridge designed, we sing along loudly every time Train comes on the radio and we cluster around our televisions to watch Arthur on PBS. Or maybe that's just me. But Marc Brown has been good to our town. There was the exhibit at the Erie Art Museum featuring his work, the Youtheatre production for whose writing he gave special permission, the giant Arthur wandering around CelebrateErie! in search of kids to pose with for pictures.

There is even the occasional odd reference to little ol' Erie in his books and series. I caught one a couple months ago when, in the Christmas special, Arthur and his friends go to the movies at the Millcreek Mall, where I have worked on and off for several years. I caught another when I snagged Arthur's Teacher Moves In, based on an episode of the show, from the library last week.

Poor Arthur is distressed to discover that his teacher, Mr. Ratburn, is houseless after an excess of snow caused his roof to collapse (a likely scenario here in blizzardy Erie!). It's not empathy for his teacher that causes Arthur such pain, however; it's the fact that his mother has invited him to stay with them for a few days. Tormented by visions of walking in on Mr. Ratburn in the tub, he borrows intellectual books and posters from the Brain and anticipates one of the most miserable weekends of his life.

What a surprise, then, when Mr. Ratburn - whom pesky D.W. calls everything from "Mr. Ratbite" to "Mr. Ropeburns" - actually turns out to be cool, fond of cartoons and magic tricks and disposed to wear t-shirts around the house. Unfortunately, just when Arthur is thinking this invitation wasn't such a bad thing after all, Monday rolls around, and he scores an A on a difficult math test. Suddenly everyone - even faithful Buster - is accusing him of receiving preferential treatment. Is there any way out of this new mess?

This book reminds me of an episode of Jakers! in which Piggley's strict teacher, Mr. Hornsby, calls at his students' houses for dinner, starting with Piggley. Oh, 'tis a fate too horrible to be imagined... or is it? Ironically enough, I got my picture taken with both Arthur and Piggley downtown over the summer... At any rate, it teaches the worthwhile lesson that teachers have lives just like the rest of us.

The Erie reference is slight, just a sticker on Mr. Ratburn's suitcase, but it made the book, with its detailed, funny illustrations and cute story, all the more enjoyable to me. Marc Brown has been good to our town. And our town has been good to Arthur's many fans, even if they don't know it.