Arthur and the 1,001 Dads: A Marc Brown Arthur Chapter Book 28

"Arthur and the 1,001 Dads" is another in a series of great Arthur TV Storybooks written by Stephen Krensky. In this story, based on a fourth-season "Arthur" television story, Arthur and his friends are worried because it seems that once again, Buster will not be attending the annual Elwood City Father's Day Picnic. (Which, like most "all Elwood City" events, seems to include only Arthur and his friends and family, even though Elwood City is known to be a very large town.) Buster's Mom and Dad are divorced and so he doesn't get to see much of his Father. (That is, until "Postcards from Buster" came along, but this was written rather before then. Arthur and his friends are stumped about how to help Buster, until they decide to seize upon an idea of D.W.'s that Arthur had previously considered rather dopey. If Buster's own father can't attend the picnic, they'll get him a replacement father, just for that day. This leads to a series of comic misadventures in which they try to find father-substitutes for Buster. Meanwhile, Buster grows more and more irritated at their attempts, as he's told them repeatedly that he has plans, but they just don't listen, especially Arthur. The following may be slightly spoilerish, but really doesn't give away too much: There are a few differences between this story and what's shown on TV, but nothing that hurts the story in any way. They mainly revolve around the things that Arthur and his friends try in getting Buster a replacement Dad. In the TV show, the Arthur gang attempts to get Pickles the clown to be Buster's temporary Dad. In the book, they consider the clown idea, but discard it because they feel it would make Buster stick out. Also, in the TV show, the Brain builds the LLAF (life-like automated father) out of parts from the cat he used to trick "Buster - Cat Saver" in a previous episode. In the book, it's called RALF (clever, could be pronounced like "Ralph") and although Buster mentions he built it from a project he was working on, there is no direct-reference to Cat Saver. Overall, another great Arthur TV storybook offering from Stephen Krensky. Serious and poignant at times, but also with much of the show’s trademark humor.