Arthur's Nose

Arthur Adventure Series

by Marc Brown

Arthur doesn't like his nose so he went to get a new one. Which did he choose? This is a fine lesson for young ones to learn that differences are nice and that we should be happy with ourselves just the way we are.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Classics, Fantasy, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Arthur Book. He is drawn very differently than what he is after the 80s and on. His nose looks like an anteater’s nose and you can easily tell what animal he is. Marc changed the nose throughout the time he has drawn him and his nose has gotten shorter and shorter and cuter. This book is all about his nose. He is embarrassed about his long nose that disturbs the classmate in front of him. He goes to a nose doctor to change it and decides to keep his nose.

Honestly, I think I like these lovely drawings so much better to the glossy ones that are now published that look very highly computerized. I like the hand drawn quality.

The nephew thought Arthur looked funny with that nose. He then loved seeing all the noses Arthur tries on and he thinks he should get the chicken nose. That tickled him the most. He gave this 3 stars.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur the aardvark is two years older than Garfield the cat and he's changed just as much since his debut in 1976. Arthur first appeared in Arthur's Nose by Marc Brown, an appropriate and funny title for a cover sporting a typically shaped aardvark, but a little disturbing in thinking of what Arthur looks like now.

Brushing aside 20-20 hindsight for the moment, I want to look at the first edition book because that's the version I read. It's part of the K12 collection at Holy Names University that I cataloged for my MLIS internship. The book has probably sat there unread since the Education Department brought Sr. June's collection over from wherever they used to keep them to be housed in the main library.

The cover art is typical mid 1970s. It's done in browns, oranges and pink. Artistically it's firmly planted in the year it was published.

And there in the middle of the cover, framed in gold (or puke yellow) is a nerdy aardvark in an orange and yellow striped shirt and pocket protector. For fans of the more recent incarnation of Arthur, the only familiar details are the eyes and the rounded ears.

So Arthur's in school with some vaguely familiar looking friends. It's easier to tell through squinted eyes who the are. The entire cast seems to have transformed over the years. He's being teased for his nose and decides to do something about it.

Rather than treat the situation like a no bullying lesson from the get-go, Arthur decides on rhinoplasty to fix his problem. Being an animal in a world of anamorphic animals, Arthur's choices are beaks, trunks, and so forth. As those would all look even more ridiculous on his face than his current nose, he decides against the operation. As it stands by itself in the absence of all other Arthur books, it's a cute story with a solid message.

But wait! Look at modern day Arthur. Where the heck is his nose? By the 1980s, Arthur has morphed into his modern day form. If the moral of the story was be happy with what nature / genetics has given you, then where's his nose?

The disappearance of Arthur's nose in later books and in the PBS series calls into question the ending of Arthur's Nose in the same way that The Magic School Bus: Going Batty makes it clear that Ms. Frizzle is actually a vampire.

[Allie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an aardvark named Arthur. In the story, Arthur is self conscious of his nose. His friends at school give him a hard time about his nose. Arthur then goes to the doctor to change his nose, but decides not to follow through, because his nose is what makes him, him. This is the very first book in the Arthur collection. Arthur and the same group of friends in this story are seen in the rest of Brown's books that follow in the series. This book is fun to read and look at the illustrations because as time went on, the illustrations of Arthur change drastically through the years. The Arthur books teach great life lessons for children, such as the message of self acceptance mentioned in this book.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for those considering a nose job.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny, the old school Arthur illustrations scared the heck out of my kids. However, after reading the story, they sympathized with Arthur and were no longer afraid. Arthur sure has come a long way, though. It's really cool to see these early versions of all the characters.

[Ronyell · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Arthur’s Nose” is the first “Arthur” book created by Marc Brown and it is about how Arthur wants to change his nose since it makes him feel uncomfortable about himself. “Arthur’s Nose” may seem a bit too old-fashioned for the younger generation who has not read the older “Arthur” books, but it is still a classic children’s book that everyone will read for many years.

Marc Brown has done a great job at writing the story as he describes the trials of being different from a child’s point of view. Arthur’s dilemma about changing his nose is similar to kids who want to change their hair or their clothes in order to fit in with the other kids. Of course, I will not tell you what happens at the end, but the message about being yourself no matter what is true for many kids who want to fit in. Marc Brown shows that being yourself is important and that you do not have to change yourself to feel happy, but you can feel happy just knowing that you possess something that makes you unique from the other kids, such as Arthur’s nose.

“Arthur’s Nose” is a wonderful book about being yourself and accepting other people’s difference, even though this book may seem a bit too old-fashioned for some children to handle. I would recommend this book to children of all ages, since the older children would enjoy the dry humor in this book and the smaller children would enjoy the cute story.

From my Epinions review: http://www99.epinions.com/review/Arth...

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have read many of the books featuring the lovable aardvark named Arthur by Marc Brown and although our girls have grown out of them, they bring back fond memories.

I discovered this book in our local library's book swap bin and I was a bit surprised to see the way that Arthur is depicted in this book. Just like with the Garfield series, the main character morphs significantly over the years.

I guess I didn't realize just how much he'd changed (especially once he became famous and got his own PBS show) until I read this book.

Still, the story is just as familiar as any of his later tales, and I am sure this book will appeal to beginning readers. His desire to change a part of his body because others picked on him is something that many children will be able to relate to.

Arthur's visit to the rhinologist (who is, of course, an anthropomorphic rhinoceros) is humorous and I love the images of the various noses he 'tries' on. I like the ending, even if it is quite predictable.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the 25th Anniversary Limited Edition of this book from the library, and you know, that's special. 25 years of Arthur. Described on Wikipedia as an " eight year old anthropomorphic brown aardvark who lives in Elwood City", Arthur is a pretty good role model for children. He handles a lot of difficult situations with grace and approbation that even us adults could learn from his ways. It's interesting to see how Arthur has 'anthropomorphically' changed over the years, which is showcased in the introduction to the Anniversary edition.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always thought it a little ironic that the hero of the series that started with Arthur's Nose has had a shrinking nose throughout the years. Still, the classic is good, and most of the immediate characters are recognizable, even to a 2 year old.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long impactful series has to have started somewhere. Arthur has never been a series that I've been connected to - not in print, not on tv. But this was fine. It is interesting that at some point, Arthur's nose design completely changes - just not in this book. 3.5 of 5

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

To check out my review: http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com

I never grew up with Arthur. I will repeat myself again, I NEVER grew up with Arthur. I admit that the show was impactful for the generation before me and my generation but I grew up in the age where kids stopped watching PBS and replaced it with cable for their daily dose of 90s cartoons.

A great example is I praise Sesame Street for teaching children how to read, develop friendships, and other important fundamentals that parents sometimes fail to explain and Sesame Street teaches them effortlessly but sadly I disliked Sesame Street as a child. If you didn't watch Sesame Street by the time you reached 3 years old then you will never get hooked into the show and its concepts of learning.

I have seen Arthur a couple of times when I was elementary school but I never fully grasp the concept that the show is basically replacing humans to animals. I forgot how I embarked on Arthur again but I found out that they were books before they became a television show and I decided to read the first published book! This special edition provides major insight into Arthur and how the author's life experiences are reflected onto the page.

One thing I have to admit is Arthur in this book looks nothing alike to his animated self and it was interesting to see how he changed over the upcoming decades which I am glad that he changed for the better.

I desperately wanted to give this book an five star rating but the only issue I had was they wrapped up the story too quickly and I do not know if it's because of the time period in which this story was written or on the writers part. Arthur does not like his nose and wants to replace it. Automatically you know how the ending is going to be and while it is obvious it lacks timing in delivering the humorous lines. It's a nice read to discover how Arthur originally looked and how he has impacted three decades of children through the animated show.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a longtime fan of the Arthur cartoon series on PBS (a guilty pleasure), although I had never read any of the books. But they've been so super successful, I was interested to see how it all began. This 25th Anniversary edition of the series' first entry gave me that chance; plus it has extra material by the author, telling about what inspired him to write that first book about the young aardvark and his friends and family. I'm still a fan, but I have to admit if I was a kid just discovering this first book, I'm not sure it would leave me wanting more. (Thus, only a two-star read.)

In the story, Arthur doesn't like his nose. He doesn't like the way it looks or the fact that it gets in the way when he plays games. And his friends think it's funny. He decides to change it, and goes to the rhinologist for advice. The rhinologist has him "try on" pictures of other noses to see if one of them suits him better. Well, of course, you know Arthur doesn't end up changing his nose. And that's it. Not the most scintillating of tales. But the pictures are cute and funny, and it's definitely nice to see how Arthur and his pals have changed over the years.

[Kathryn Sublett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story could be used to teach (or remind upper elementary) students that pointing out differences in appearances in a negative way can hurt someone's feelings. Students will learn to love themselves and appreciate the way other students look in their class. The saying "out of the mouths of babes" applies to the ideas expressed in this book. Children do not have a filter for their thoughts so it is important for them to learn how to think before they speak in elementary.

The main character, Arthur, contemplates getting a nose surgery to replace his enormous nose. He uses pictures of other animal noses to determine which nose would look best. Kindergarten students could use this part of the book to explain similarities and differences among the animals that belong to the other noses. After reading this book the teacher could set out food preferences of the animals and let the students match it to the corresponding nose. Also, you could get students to match the nose of the animal to its offspring (duck/duckling).

[Shannon Brasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthurs Nose is the first book in Marc Brown’s Arthur series, which follows Arthur the aardvark. In this book, Arthur decides he does not like his nose and wants to change it. This book is about loving yourself and being confident in how you look because as Arthur learns in the end, he just isn’t himself without his nose. Young children will like the simplicity of this book as well as the pages when Arthur visits the rhinologist and tries on all the different animal noses. I enjoyed this book more than the modern Arthur books because the animals are more accurately depicted than the modern cartoony versions. Overall, this book is a good book to read to children and seems good for emergent readers to read as well.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So when I was a kid I obsessively collected Arthur books like they where currency. I loved watching the show on PBS, my mom watch it too! I remember when I got the earlier books with the earlier art style and was really scared of it at first. Crazy considering I read Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark at the same time and didn't seem to have any problem with them. But that drawing of Arthur apparently was the last straw... Anyway still a great series and great for all ages.

[Amity · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book at Fireside the other day to add to my anteater books collection. Originally Arthur was an anteater, I guess deep down he still is, but not like in the old days.

Craig said Arthur is the Michael Jackson of Kid's book characters. Even though this first story in a series of many is about him not liking, then eventually accepting his nose, the current day Arthur has lightened in color and dramatically changed his nose. It's no longer apparent what sort of critter he is.

I thought that was an interesting insight.

[Jim Sibigtroth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book Marc Brown wrote for the Arthur series and it is useful for discussing how Arthur's appearance evolved over time. In the newer Arthur books, it is hard to imagine that he is really an aardvark but it is easy to see it in Arthur's Nose. I read something that said he changed the face so it would be easier to show expressions with the mouth. When the class is doing an author study on Marc Brown, I like to read Arthur's Nose, Arthur's Eyes, and possibly one of the more recent Arthur books.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur's Nose by Marc Brown is a great book that can teach students that it isn't okay to make fun of someone's appearance. Students will be able to realize that picking at other's because of their differences is very hurtful and can damage other's self-esteem and feelings. I would use this book when in order to eliminate bullying or to increase my student's self-esteem when I see that it is down. This book can be used for students K-3rd grade.

[Liliana Escamilla]

This is Marc Brown’s first book that started it all. This book shows just how kids can deal with problems and how making fun of someone can affect that person.

Arthur's struggles with teasing help him prevail and become a better person. This book is a perfect example for students to learn that teasing is not the way to treat people.

With this book you can allow children to have compliment charts and they can use it whenever they want to give someone a compliment.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the Arthur series is usually a really cute and neat series. This probably was one of the more earlier ones. The charactors are all drawn differently than we are used to. However, this book helps children to understand to be comfortable with the way they look. I would still read this again, it's just not the normal Arthur the kids are used to seeing.

[Jesse Freedom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not going to rate this book because I don't know whether to rate this as a book in itself or as a book in a part of a series. As a book in itself, this was good, because he learns to be happy with his nose. As a book in part of a series, this was awful, because he clearly does change his nose at some point.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has to be one of the first Arthur books written! It's funny to see how Arthur's nose has evolved (shrunk!) over the years. A good book but I think the later Arthur books have a lot more substance to them.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, let me get this straight. This is a book about someone accepting their big nose. It’s a good story.

BUT... as Arthur becomes more and more popular, the book series, the PBS show—his nose is drawn smaller and smaller? Does he even have one anymore? What kind of message is that?!

[Kristen Dutkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur comes to like his long nose in this children’s book.

Love the older illustrations of Arthur and friends.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur is self-conscious about his big nose and wants to change it.

This picture book introduces the character Arthur. One would never know from the cartoon series or the later books that Arthur was originally an aardvark instead of a brown bear. His nose has all but vanished.

Here in the first story in the series, the reader meets Arthur who dislikes and is embarrassed by his long nose. While his family tries to reassure him, his classmates are less than kind about his appearance, and Arthur decides to do something about his nose.

He visits a rhinologist, who is a rRhinoceros, to have his nose surgically altered. After trying on a slew of sample noses, Arthur decides to keep his original nose after all.

This picture book promotes self-acceptance and body positivity.

Ironically, Arthur’s appearance was modified in subsequent stories to make him more appealing to a wider audience, and he lost the long nose that inspired the original book. Personally, I like the aardvark nose and the less polished illustrations.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this story by itself is decent and has a solid message which speaks to children who are unhappy about how they look, I feel I have to call the author on saying one thing and then acting in a different way. For how are we supposed to think Arthur's nose is okay the way it is, if he keeps changing the shape of it in subsequent books, making it shorter, and less 'strange' (more attractive?)?

The problem I'm sure stems from the artist viewpoint. The way it's drawn originally is hard to get exactly the same when drawn over and over again. The newer 'nose' in future books is a simpler design, easier to replicate.

But what this looks like is that the author also thought Arthur's nose was something which wasn't 'fine' just the way it was, and needed to change. It makes one question a little bit the message of the book, which is unfortunate as it's a good story when taken in the context of being the only book about Arthur at the time this was published.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this was the first Arthur book, and you can tell by how different Arthur looks in this book compared to the later books and even the cartoon. The book is about Arthur being self-conscious about his nose and wants to get a new nose. He gets bullied in school by his friends for his nose and goes to the "rhynologist" for his new nose. I guess the book teaches kids to love themselves no matter how they look, but it also reinforces the idea that kids and humans are shit and will bully you for being different and weird. Its a very short book, and can be read in probably 2 minutes or less. Personally though, i like this Arthur look better than the current, more well known "bear" looking arthur.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I read to mark off a list on list challenge and this was about the title character Arthur who has a right conker of a hooter that is massive and then he gets the old sniffles and annoys others who are clearly impatient of the health and body features of people who are not themselves.
Anyway to cut a short story even shorter, and really I guess this is a spoiler but there is not that much to spoil, Arthur decides he has a great nose and so there is a bit of the old accept yourself as you are in there. All average stuff from the world of Arthur.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry, I can't get past the irony that the character of Arthur eventually DID change his nose. Completely defeats the purpose of the book.

And even if we erase everything about the Arthur we know today, it's still a really short and ugly book with a terribly didactic message. I'm glad the author improved.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The very first of the Arthur books. Arthur feels self-conscious about his nose and thinks about changing it but decides that with any other nose, he wouldn't be him. A nice story about appreciating what you have. It's also interesting to see how different the early Arthur illustrations are from the later published books.