Nostalgia Nook: Wishbone

Two PBS shows dedicated to books back-to-back? Why not? Especially as I’ve said before—I’m a bibliophile!


“Wishbone” is the main character, a Jack Russell terrier with a BIG imagination. He can also talk but only the audience can hear him. Wishbone is owned by middle schooler Joe Talbot (Jordan Wall), who is being raised by his widowed librarian mother Ellen (Mary Chris Wall). Being surrounded by books, Wishbone becomes a bibliophile as well and often compares the situations Joe and his friends encounter to the books he’s read. Joe’s friends are David Barnes (Adam Springfield), a budding scientist and inventor, and Samantha “Sam” Kepler (Christie Abbott), an athlete with a heart of gold.

Also inhabiting Oakdale, an idyllic American suburb in Texas (where the show was filmed), is a cast of characters. There’s Wanda Gilmore (Angee Hughes), the Talbots’ artsy neighbor who has a love-hate relationship with Wishbone. (To be fair, he does have an affinity for digging up her flower beds). She has a flirtation with Bob Pruitt, Joe’s English teacher—who is the one we see the most when focusing on school episodes. David’s parents and his sister Emily play roles in some episodes as well as Sam’s dad, especially when he takes over the local pizzeria in the second season. Other characters made guest appearances as the plot dictated, though one—Adam Sanchez—returned as a regular character in the second season (albeit playing a different character than Season 1).


When Wishbone thinks of the books he’s read, he imagines them being acted out. The production used a troupe of local actors to help bring these characters to life. And they were really good actors. It was fun to see who would be in a particular episode. They were also good sports, having to pretend to understand a dog as Wishbone plays the male lead in every story he tells. He’s been Odysseus, Robin Hood, Mr. Darcy, Ivanhoe, and many many more.


As you can see, the show covered many different types of classics. They also didn’t shy away from some of the more adult aspects of the books despite being marketed to kids. Like the burning of Esmeralda in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” or scenes of battle from “Ivanhoe” or “Joan of Arc.” It also didn’t shy away from death, but nothing too, too graphic.


Let’s look at a usual episode, shall we? How about the one where Wishbone was Robin Hood? The story starts with Joe at school with Sam and David. It introduces a cafeteria worker who is really popular with the children. One day, they find her loading food into her trunk. She feels all the school’s leftover food is going to waste and can be used by a local shelter. Joe helps her load her car but then the Vice Principal comes running out to stop them. The principal is out of town and hasn’t approved of this plan. But Joe and the lunch lady decide to do it anyway.


She loses her job and Joe is incensed. He leads his fellow students in a protest, boycotting lunch and then going outside to wait for the principal so they can get the lunch lady her job back. The vice principal is not pleased and does the worst thing you can do to a kid—he calls Joe’s mother. Ellen comes down but assures her son she is proud of him. The vice principal is a bit surprised. Even more so is the principal. After all, she comes back from some conference to find the student body waiting outside along with a devoted employee who is no longer an employee. She hears what happened and promptly gives the lunch lady her job back, as well as approval for the program to donate the uneaten food to the soup kitchen. And she wants a word with the vice principal.


All through this, Wishbone imagines himself as Robin Hood. Fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham, wooing Maid Marian, and annoying Prince John by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. He gets threatened and there’s a price on his head, but he continues doing what he knows is right. In the end, he is rewarded for it when the rightful king returns to England.


The writers did very good jobs trying to mirror the storyline with that of the novel they were re-enacting. Like the idea of a haunted library for “The Phantom of the Opera.” Or an out-of-control science project for “Frankenstein.” Some didn’t reflect the novels, but those were usually because the story was being narrated by a guest. Or in the case of “The Tempest,” the play was being acted out by the kids for a school play or something of the sort.


Another thing that impressed me was the fact that the show was not afraid to tackle religious stories. Well, Judeo-Christian stories that is. Wishbone became David and St. Juan Diego in two different episodes. They also did some stories from other cultures, though not as many as they could’ve, I’ll admit.


But the producers still managed something remarkable—they made books fun. I mean, even though I loved reading already, it made me want to read Pride and Prejudice before I was ten. It took me a few years, but I finally read it and it is now one of my favorite books.


Thank you, Wishbone.


Next month: Hercules