Franklin and the Baby

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
Memorial University of Newfoundland.

These Franklin books are TV tie-ins, based on episodes of the animated
television series. While the author statement reads “based on the
characters created by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark,” each book
actually has different authors. The illustrator, Nelvana, is an
entertainment production company that also markets Babar and Rupert.
Given this background, it’s not surprising that these storybooks
depict Franklin and friends as cartoon characters with minimal
expression, and the stories have a formulaic style.

Franklin and the Baby describes Bear’s anticipation of becoming a big
brother, and his subsequent adjustment to the reality of an infant
sibling, rather than a playmate. Franklin Says Sorry deals with a
confidence betrayed and how the magic words “I’m sorry” repair the
damage. Both stories are slight, and the resolutions lack any ingenuity
or surprise elements. They are simple lessons in interpersonal
relations. In all, this is a disappointing literary direction for
Franklin, who has now joined the ranks of mass-marketed characters. A
marginal purchase for libraries or schools.