Where's Wally?, published in the United States and Canada as Where's Waldo?, is the title of the first book in the Where's Wally? series, published in 1987.[1]
 First edition | |
| Author | Martin Handford |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Martin Handford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Where's Wally? |
| Publisher | UK: Walker Books; US: first Little Brown, then Candlewick Press |
Publication date | 18 September 1987 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 26 |
| ISBN | 0-316-34293-9 |
| OCLC | 15109312 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H1918 Wh 1987 |
In the book, Wally travels to everyday places, where he sends postcards to the reader (which are the pictures in the book), and the reader must locate Wally in the postcard.
The book became an instant best-seller.
Where's Wally? was re-released in October 1997 in a special 10th anniversary edition form.
The location of Wally was changed in each picture and additional characters were added for the reader to find (Woof, Wizard Whitebeard, Wenda, Odlaw, the Wally Watchers, and others).
The Wally series is quite evocative of an earlier children's book titled Where's Wallace? (by Hilary Knight), in which a red-headed orangutan escapes from the zoo and "hides" in highly detailed picture panoramas, including beach, department store, circus, stadium, and museum.
Scenes edit
- In Town
- On the Beach
- Ski Slopes
- Camp Site
- The Railway Station
- Airport
- Sports Stadium
- Museum
- At Sea
- Safari Park
- Department Store
- Fairground
Controversy edit
In March 1993, Springs Public School in Long Island, New York banned Where's Wally from the school library due to a parent's complaint that a topless woman can be seen sunbathing in the upper right corner of the "On the Beach" scene.[2] Since then numerous other schools and libraries have also banned the book,[3] and it ranks #87 on the American Library Association's list of the most frequently challenged books of the 1990s.[4] In the 1997 special edition re-release of the book, the beach scene was slightly edited and the topless woman is wearing a bikini top.[5][6]
References edit
- ^ Valdez, Nick (2021-07-12). "One Piece to Launch Crossover With Where's Waldo". Comic Book. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ "School bans 'Waldo' book after complaint of nudity". Toledo Blade. 1993-03-29. p. 10 – via news.google.com.
- ^ Rossen, Jake (2016-03-10). "Waldo's Topless Beach Scandal". Mental Floss. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- ^ "100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999". Banned & Challenged Books. American Library Association. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ^ JenA (2017-09-13). "Banned Book Week: Where's Waldo?". East Lansing Public Library. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- ^ Quindlen, Anna (1993-04-07). "Public & Private; The Breast Ban". New York Times. p. A-23.
