I'm after the name of a children's book available in the late 1970s
(possibly very early '80s). It was a picture book and, as I remember
it, featured some sort of explorer or professor in a pith helmet
(possibly with a big moustache and nose). He was hunting for some sort
of creature and every page featured made-up monsters in alphabetical
order. I seem to remember that there was a recurring creature, black
and furry, with a beak-like face. I'm quite sure there many other
books by the illustrator, and that I'm sure I saw a child's computer
game just a few years ago featuring the illustrator's artwork,
including the beak-faced creature. Can you help?

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 12 Aug 2005 14:19 PDT

Does the cover artwork of this book look familiar?

http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/157768687XBT.html

---

Clarification of Question by dinoboyrex-ga on 15 Aug 2005 00:01 PDT

Yes, that's exactly it!

I'm glad to have been able to help you identify your book! Your
description reminded me of Mercer Mayer's delightful illustrations.

BestPrices: Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-A-Zoo
http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/157768687XBT.html

More "Professor Wormbog" merchandise may be found here:

Amazon All Products Search: professor wormbog
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-4829995-8512119

Some info about the author/illustrator, Mercer Mayer:

James Madison University: Mercer Mayer Teacher Resource File
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/mayer.htm

There have been several computer games featuring various characters
created by Mercer Mayer. Here is one:

My Game Outlet: Mercer Mayer's The Smelly Mystery CD-ROM
http://www.mygameroutlet.com/mercer-mayers-smelly-mystery-cdrom.html

I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Fast answer and spot on first go.