Do you know Arthur the Aardvark?
Yellow sweater? Round glasses? Best friends with a bunny?
If you do, you might recognize him from PBS Kids, where new episodes of his TV show, Arthur, ran for 28 years.
The series began in 1996 and didn’t end until 2022. Over 25 seasons, Arthur and his friends Buster, Muffy, Francine, and Brain got into hundreds of adventures around Elwood City. If you remember seeing new episodes of Arthur on your TV, it might surprise you to learn that Arthur is actually 50 years old.
That’s right! Arthur is based on a picture book series by author and illustrator Marc Brown. The first book was published all the way back in 1976. Is Arthur older than your mom and dad?
You also might not have realized that Arthur is an aardvark. Aardvarks are found in exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa.
But Arthur doesn’t really look like one, does he?
But in Arthur’s Nose, the original book, he had a longer snout, more like the real animal. Over time, his design changed. By the time the TV show began, Arthur looked just like how we know him today.
If you want to start all the way at the beginning, check out Arthur’s Nose. If you want to read the story that inspired the very first episode of Arthur, read Arthur’s Eyes. We have many different Arthur books in the collection at DeKalb Public Library, come check out our collection and let us know your favorite Arthur book!
Give us a call at 815-756-9568 ext. 3350 if you have any questions!
