Obscurity of the Day: Children's Tales

This obscure Sunday series is aptly described by its title. The McNaught Syndicate feature was designed to appeal to the younger set, featuring multi-part stories that were meant to interest elementary school readers. In addition to original material, some stories were adapted from contemporary children's books, others from classics, and yet others featured well-known animated cartoon characters.

The information on this series has been terribly hard to track down because it ran in very few papers. This wasn't really a reflection on the quality of the material, though. The strip had two problems that made it unappealing to editors. First, it was offered only in half-page and tab formats in an era when most strips were being run as thirds. Second, because the stories were always multi-parters, the strip could never be bumped from the comics section to accommodate an ad (a problem that also hastened the downfall of Sunday continuity strips).

It took me the better part of a decade to get the story list as complete as you see below, but its been worthwhile as a number of famous illustrators made their only Sunday funnies appearances in this feature. Later in the run the big name talent disappeared and most stories were written and drawn by the ever able Frank Bolle.

I would be VERY interested in hearing from anyone who knows of any earlier or later stories in this series. As far as I know the list below represents the complete run of the feature, but only because this is all I've been able to track down.

Start	End	Title	Writer	Artist
10/17/65	10/24/65	The Little Red Caboose	Marian Potter	Tibor Gergely
10/31/65	11/14/65	Sylvester The Mouse With The Musical Ear	Adelaide Holl	N.M. Bodecker
11/21/65	12/5/65	Tinker And Tanker In Africa	Richard Scarry	Richard Scarry
12/12/65	12/19/65	The Night Before Christmas	Clement Moore	Frank Bolle
12/26/65	1/9/66	Paul & Arthur Search For The Egg	Anne Rockwell	Anne Rockwell
1/16/66	1/23/66	Where's Willie?	Seymour Reit	Erik Blegvad
1/30/66	2/13/66	Jeremiah Octopus	Margaret Stone Zilboorg	Hilary Knight
2/20/66	3/6/66	The Dragon In The Clock Box	M. Jean Craig	Kelly Oechsli
3/13/66	3/20/66	The Happy Man And His Dump Truck	Miryam	Tibor Gergely
3/27/66	4/10/66	Borka - The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers	John Burningham	John Burningham
4/17/66	5/1/66	Tobias And His Big Red Satchel	Sunny B. Warner	Sunny B. Warner
5/8/66	5/22/66	Henry The Uncatchable Mouse	Sidney Simon	Nola Langner
5/29/66	6/5/66	Pear-Shaped Hill	Irving A. Leitner	Bernice Myers
6/12/66	6/26/66	The King Who Learned To Smile	Seymour Reit	Gordon Laite
7/3/66	7/10/66	The Little Red Hen	Uncredited	J.P. Miller
7/17/66	7/31/66	The Log and Admiral Frog	B. Wiseman	B. Wiseman
8/7/66	8/21/66	Thumbelina	Uncredited	Gustaf Tenggren
8/28/66	9/11/66	Lolly's Pony Ride	Charlotte Steiner	Charlotte Steiner
9/18/66	10/2/66	The Upside-Down Man	Shan Ellentuck	Shan Ellentuck
10/9/66	10/23/66	Old Gray And The Little White Hen	Paul Francois	Lucile Butel
10/30/66	11/13/66	The Whale Hunt	Kenneth S. Norris	Claude Humbert
11/20/66	12/4/66	The Good Friends	Paul Francois	Gerda
12/11/66	12/25/66	The Little Stowaway Reindeer	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
1/1/67	1/15/67	Trubloff	John Burningham	John Burningham
1/22/67	1/29/67	The Animals Search for Summer	Natha Caputo	Gerda Muller
2/5/67	2/19/67	Kangaroo & Kangaroo	Kathy Braun	Jim McMullan
2/26/67	3/12/67	A Pickle For A Nickel	Lilian Moore	Susan Perl
3/19/67	4/9/67	Noisy Nancy Norris	Louanna Gaeddert	Gioia Fiammenghi
4/16/67	4/30/67	A Dog's Life	Mido	Gerda
5/7/67	5/21/67	Runaway John	Leonore Klein	Sunny B. Warner
5/28/67	6/11/67	Around The Corner	Jean B. Showalter	Roger Duvoisin
6/18/67	7/9/67	Anna Amelia's Apteryx	Mary O'Neill	Burt Groedel
7/16/67	7/30/67	The Saggy Baggy Elephant	K. & B. Jackson	Gustav Tenngren
8/6/67	8/27/67	Little Boy With a Big Horn	Jack Bechdolt	Aurelius Battaglia
9/3/67	9/17/67	Honey-Duck	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/24/67	10/8/67	Mister Dog	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
10/15/67	10/29/67	The Seven Sneezes	Olga Cabral	Tibor Gergely
11/5/67	11/19/67	The Bear Who Became Sheriff	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/26/67	12/10/67	Did You See What I Said?	Shan Ellentuck	Shan Ellentuck
12/17/67	12/24/67	A Snowflake For Christmas	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/31/67	1/14/68	Gwendolyn and the Weathercock	Nancy Sherman	Edward Sorel
1/21/68	2/4/68	Little Yip-Yip And His Bark	Kathryn & Byron Jackson	Tibor Gergely
2/11/68	2/25/68	Scuffy The Tugboat	Gertrude Crampton	Tibor Gergely
3/3/68	3/17/68	Mrs. Ticklefeather	Dorothy Kunhardt	J.P. Miller
3/24/68	3/31/68	Home For A Bunny	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
4/7/68	4/21/68	The Big Brown Bear	Georges Duplaix	Gustaf Tenggren
4/28/68	5/12/68	The Merry Shipwreck	Georges Duplaix	Tibor Gergely
5/19/68	6/2/68	The Sailor Dog	Margaret Wise Brown	Garth Williams
6/9/68	6/23/68	Little Peewee	Dorothy Kunhardt	J.P. Miller
6/30/68	7/14/68	Benjamin Budge and Barnaby Ball	Florence Parry Heide	Sally Mathews
7/21/68	8/4/68	Not This Bear!	Bernice Myers	Bernice Myers
8/11/68	8/25/68	The Elves and the Shoemaker	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/1/68	9/15/68	Sam and the Impossible Thing	Tamara Kitt	Brinton Turkle
9/22/68	10/6/68	The Note That Wouldn't Play	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
10/13/68	10/27/68	The Princess And The Pea	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/3/68	11/17/68	The Cow Went Over The Mountain	Jeanette Krinsley	Feodor Rojankovsky
11/24/68	12/8/68	Mister Puffer-Bill	Leone Arlandson	Tibor Gergely
12/15/68	12/22/68	The Twelve Days of Christmas	traditional	Frank Bolle
12/29/68	1/12/69	Fun For Hunkydory	May Justus	Sue D'Avignon
1/19/69	2/2/69	Scotty and the Story-Teller	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
2/9/69	2/23/69	Hazel Was an Only Pet	John Hamberger	John Hamberger
3/2/69	3/16/69	Peter Potamus	Carl Memling	Hawley Pratt, Bill Lorencz
3/23/69	4/6/69	The Golden Egg	Margaret Wise Brown	Lilian Obligado
4/13/69	4/27/69	Thistle	Era Zistel	uncredited (Frank Bolle)
5/4/69	5/18/69	Ruff and Reddy Go To a Party	Uncredited	Harvey Eisenberg, Neil Boyle
5/25/69	5/25/69	The Fox and the Crow	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
6/1/69	6/15/69	3910 16th Avenue	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
6/22/69	7/6/69	Mushmouse and Punkin Puss, the Country Cousins	Jay Freeman	Peter Alvarado, R. Jacobs
7/13/69	7/13/69	My Shadow	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
7/20/69	7/27/69	Wally Gator - Guess What's Hiding at the Zoo?	Eileen Daly	Mel Crawford
8/3/69	8/17/69	The Day of the Trucks	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
8/24/69	9/7/69	Rumpelstiltskin	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/14/69	9/21/69	We Like Kindergarten	Clara Cassidy	Eloise Wilkin
9/28/69	9/28/69	The Horse and the Lion	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/5/69	10/12/69	Sam the Firehouse Cat	Virginia Parsons	Virginia Parsons
10/19/69	10/19/69	The Kid and the Wolf	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/26/69	11/9/69	Doctor Dolittle Stops the Bullfights	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/16/69	11/30/69	Percy the Plain Old Spruce Tree	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
12/7/69	12/21/69	A Christmas Carol	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/28/69	12/28/69	The Hare And The Tortoise	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
1/4/70	1/11/70	When I Grow Up	Ilse-Margret Vogel	Ilse Margret-Vogel
1/18/70	2/1/70	Doctor Dolittle - The Dog Ambulance	Uncredited	Uncredited
2/8/70	2/22/70	Ricochet Rabbit - Showdown at Gopher Gulch Bakery	Patrick Hagen	Al Anderson, Peter Alvarado
3/1/70	3/15/70	Snagglepuss - The Way To Be a King	William Johnston	Art Seiden
3/22/70	4/5/70	Touche Turtle and the Fire Dog	Jean Lewis	Mel Crawford
4/12/70	4/19/70	The Tiny Tawny Kitten	Barbara Hazen	Jan Pfloog
4/26/70	5/3/70	The Boy With A Drum	David L. Harrison	Eloise Wilkin
5/10/70	5/10/70	The Lion and the Mouse	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
5/17/70	5/31/70	The Siren Hound	Patricia Boyd	Frank Bolle
6/7/70	6/14/70	The Wonderful School	May Justus	Hilde Hoffmann
6/21/70	6/21/70	The Cat and the Mice	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
6/28/70	7/12/70	Huckleberry Hound The Rainmaker	Uncredited	Uncredited
7/19/70	7/19/70	The Fox And The Grapes	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
7/26/70	8/9/70	Peter Potamus and the Pirates	Jean Lewis	Howard Forsberg
8/16/70	8/30/70	Cinderella	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
9/6/70	9/13/70	The Trophy	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
9/20/70	10/4/70	Touche Turtle	Carl Memling	Bill Lorencz, Norm McGary, Al White
10/11/70	10/25/70	A Gift For Ted	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
11/1/70	11/15/70	The Duck and the Leaves	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
11/22/70	12/6/70	The Sleeping Beauty	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
12/13/70	12/20/70	The Night Before Christmas (1965 reprint?)	Clement Moore	Frank Bolle
12/27/70	1/10/71	The Lazy Fox and the Little Red Hen	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
1/17/71	1/31/71	Prairie Pup	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
2/7/71	2/21/71	Matilda the Cow	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
2/28/71	3/14/71	Hansel and Gretel	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
3/21/71	4/3/71	The Special Mister Reggie Frog	Linda Moggio, Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
4/10/71	4/25/71	Clever Trevor and his Bag of Tricks	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
5/2/71	5/16/71	The Funny Little Squirrel	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
5/23/71	5/30/71	The Boy Who Couldn't Rhyme	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
6/6/71	6/20/71	The Crabby Crab	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
6/27/71	7/11/71	Jack and the Beanstock	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
7/18/71	8/1/71	Clever Trevor and the Forbidden Island	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
8/8/71	8/15/71	A Short Dog Story	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
8/22/71	8/29/71	My Own Room	Nick Meglin	Frank Bolle
9/5/71	9/12/71	The Snappy Turtle	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
9/19/71	9/26/71	Errol Digs Adventure	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
10/3/71	10/10/71	Goldilocks and the Three Bears	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
10/17/71	10/24/71	The School of Fish	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
10/31/71	11/7/71	A Ride In Space	Linda Moggio	Frank Bolle
11/14/71	11/14/71	The Paper	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/21/71	11/21/71	That's Why	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
11/28/71	11/28/71	One Track Mind	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/5/71	12/5/71	The Easel	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle
12/12/71	12/19/71	A Snowflake For Christmas (reprint of 1967 story)	Frank Bolle	Frank Bolle