Silly Tobo, it's the Eighties!

Know what's funny about many of the books written in the eighties? The theme: everyone is awesome. Everyone is a winner.

Everyone.

Even the klutzy kid who was so bad at elementary school track and field that she was given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be the official photographer (complete with sticker that said "Press").

You know, I never saw those pictures afterwards. Come to think of it, I'm not even certain the camera had film...

A-hem.

Today's story is called "Tobo Hates Purple". What's it about? So glad you asked.

This is a tale of Tobo, some kind of child circus clown (seriously, that's as close as I can figure, based on the odd drawings). Tobo also happens to be purple. All purple - from the tips of his pointy hair to his prune-y purple toes - purple, purple, purple. Heck, everything he wears is purple. And he hates it. Purple, that is.

So why not put on different colored clothes?

Because that doesn't make for good conflict, that's why!

Tobo's being purple actually makes sense, because his mom is blue and his dad is red. But for some reason, Tobo has a total meltdown about not liking to be purple anymore. But mom tells him to buck up and go to school (clown school?) anyway.

So he does.

And all day he's in a horrible mood. People think he's sick, but really - he's sick of being purple.

So his BFF shows up at the end of the day and offers to paint him a different color. He's all, "OMG, totes!"*

They go to the BFF's and she paints him every color under the sun, but none of them feel right. And do you know what happens next?

You do if you were raised in the eighties! I feel a whole lotta self-acceptance coming on (ooh, it tingles)!

Yes. Tobo realizes that purple is the best color for him to be. He goes home and all is well. The end.

My issues with the book:

1. I'm not sure whether it's the age of the book/quality of the printing, but Tobo is really more dark blue/brown in many of the pictures.

2. Tobo is kind of a jerk when he says "how ugly orange makes me look." DUDE! Your BFF is ORANGE. NOT cool.

3. The author/illustrator's head floating on the back cover. No foolin'. It's just there, all stare-y and oddly coiffed. No neck or anything - just a floating head.

4. The art and writing aren't awful. That said, I think another writer could've written the story better, and another artist could've drawn it better. IMHO.


Overall, it's an eighties book. When I have kids, I'll probably end up reading it to them at some point. And then I'll get all misty-eyed and start rambling about Fraggles and Popples and Rainbow Brite and She-Ra. And the kids will turn out the lights and leave me sitting alone in the dark, feeling good about myself and remembering how awesome everyone is.

Even Tobo.

Out of ten bookmarks, this one earns a solid five.

*OK, so maybe he didn't say it in those EXACT words. But that was the gist of it.