Boston Cream used to be my favorite doughnut until ARNIE rolled around. The original ARNIE picture book released the year my daughter was born and it was an instant hit in our house! I couldn’t get enough of the Ringy-Dingy-Doughnut-Making-Thingy™, Arnie’s owner Mr. Bing, and the humorous pastry asides sprinkled thru the story like so many…erm…sprinkles.
Arnie’s creator, Laurie Keller, wrote three chapter books about the delicious doughnut and now she’s circled back to a younger audience with HELLO, ARNIE!
Hello, Laurie! This is Arnie’s 5th book! When you wrote the first book, did you realize that you had a character worthy of multiple stories and genres?
No, I never thought about doing another book about Arnie. But when I decided to try my hand at writing a chapter book, my editor suggested writing one about Arnie. I wasn’t sure that could work—I figured his story had been told now that he was happily settled in as Mr. Bing’s doughnut-dog—but once I started playing around with it, I saw he was ready for some more adventures! And his latest story, HELLO, ARNIE! is more of a prequel to the original book for younger audiences.
I’m so glad you decided to write the chapter books about Arnie… Because we also got Peezo the pizza slice!
Why do you think Arnie is such a successful character?
Yes, Peezo! He evolved as I started writing the chapter books. I didn’t have a plan for a new BFF for Arnie but I’m glad he appeared—he has a wacky pizza-nality!
I’m not totally sure why kids like Arnie but perhaps because he’s very child-like himself. He has a natural exuberance for life but experiences ups and downs like we all do. And maybe just because he’s a DOUGHNUT! Who doesn’t like a good doughnut?
Of course, everyone LOVES doughnuts. They might love them so much, they want to BE a doughnut! I understand for the release of the book, you’ve re-imagined some children’s book creators in delicious, deep-fried forms. Care to share?
Absolutely! I was going to make about 20 “donut portraits” of some author/illustrator friends and a few teachers and librarians just for fun to celebrate the release of HELLO, ARNIE! but I got on a “roll” and ended up with over 40 (yours included, Tara Eclair)!
I am HONORED! And stuffed with cream! (The flower between my teeth is a nice touch.)
Here are the others! See if you can guess their authorly identity!
Do you think you’ll create any more ARNIE books?
Unless he gets eaten, I think I might!
We would all love that!
HELLO, ARNIE is a little different from the style of the original ARNIE book. Could you explain how and why you made the change?
Yes, it’s quite a bit simpler! The original Arnie story has quite a bit of text and also many asides (they’re not an integral part of the story, they’re just added jokes and banter). So many times over the years librarians and parents have told me that they love Arnie’s story but that it takes a long time to read since kids will never let them skip any of the asides! That’s kind of a fun problem really, but it can be difficult when it’s being read aloud for story-time or bed-time and and time is limited. So when I got the idea of making a “pre-quel” I decided to address that problem and make it a simpler/quicker read. As a result that skewed it to a slightly younger audience which I kind of liked since most of my books are in the 4-8-ish age bracket. That being said, I still tried to keep the humor in line with Arnie’s other books with the hopes that it would still appeal to a broad range of readers.
And I can attest that ARNIE is the same goofy guy with dozens of pastry friends, including one very special addition. It’s a mega meta delight and I’m certain that audiences will eat it up! (The book! NOT ARNIE HIMSELF!)
Thanks, Laurie, for sharing this adorable new ARNIE with me and Tara Eclair.
Hmm…I’m suddenly very hungry!
If you are, too, blog readers, leave one comment below.
A random winner will receive a copy of HELLO, ARNIE!
The winner will be chosen at the end of the month. Good luck!
66 comments
Comments feed for this article
October 2, 2020 at 10:54 am
katiemillsgiorgio
How fun! Thanks for sharing!
October 2, 2020 at 10:56 am
danielledufayet
Looks like a deliciously fun book! Congrats!
October 2, 2020 at 10:57 am
Carol Gwin Nelson
Sounds like a fun book for all the little (and not so little) donut lovers out there! Thanks for sharing the journey.
October 2, 2020 at 10:59 am
Chelle Martin
Great idea doing a prequel. Sounds like a fun book. Your drawings are adorable. Maybe Arnie needs a book for fall with a pumpkin donut friend?
October 2, 2020 at 11:07 am
Lori Eslick
Such a sprinkled with love funny dough-nut herself!! Love Laurie, so glad that younger readers get into the story too! I’ve the good fortune to be a doughnit image created by Laurie too! Sharing on facebook too.
October 2, 2020 at 11:11 am
TerriMichels
Made me giggle with a smile! thank you.
October 2, 2020 at 11:15 am
Christina Shawn
I’m excited to read this book! How wonderful that Arnie appeals to such a wide range of children!
October 2, 2020 at 11:16 am
Jan Zovickian
Hmmmm. I guess you can write about ANYTHING!!!! ❣️ Mom
>
October 2, 2020 at 11:17 am
Linda
I love the look of Cinnamon Twist Charise. So funny!
October 2, 2020 at 11:18 am
Cathy Ballou Mealey
OMG – your donut celebrity authors are perfection!
October 2, 2020 at 11:36 am
katieschon
Sounds adorably delicious! I love that the style changed for younger audiences.
October 2, 2020 at 11:44 am
Sylvia Mary Grech
A delicious book! Hmm, makes me want to go out and get my Boston Creme.
October 2, 2020 at 11:59 am
Kelly Jaques
My three kids loved Arnie! Many fond memories of reading it and laughing together!
October 2, 2020 at 12:40 pm
Sarah Tobias
I love seeing all the famous author doughnuts. Tara Eclair is perfect for you Tara. Can’t waitto read this one. I wonder if Chris O’Dowd will read it online.
October 2, 2020 at 12:45 pm
Ashley Bankhead
This looks so fun!
October 2, 2020 at 12:50 pm
Margaret Zotkiewicz
This story reminded me of my very first job in a bakery. We could eat all the donuts we wanted! Congratulations!
October 2, 2020 at 12:57 pm
Eileen Mayo
Yay for another Arnie book! I love all the Laurie Keller books. Maybe she can do a follow up to Potato Pants next – eeeeeee!
October 2, 2020 at 1:09 pm
mariagianferrari
This looks as deliciously funny as its predecessors! Congrats, Laurie!!
October 2, 2020 at 1:14 pm
Kassy Keppol
Thank you for sharing
October 2, 2020 at 1:25 pm
Elizabeth S Harris
I want to meet Arnie!!!!
October 2, 2020 at 1:51 pm
Rita
Sounds delicious! I can’t wait to dig into this fresh story! 🙂
October 2, 2020 at 2:02 pm
Jilanne Hoffmann
Laurie does such a great job with ensemble cast PBs! Looking forward to drooling over this one!
October 2, 2020 at 2:34 pm
Susan
I read Arnie to my class and they eat it up!
October 2, 2020 at 2:39 pm
Lisa Riddiough
I have mine with coffee, please. Can’t wait to read it!
October 2, 2020 at 3:06 pm
Mary Lou
Actually, I’m pretty Old Fashioned myself, with just a hint of glaze. Pick me out of the tray! My granddaughter needs to eat, I mean, meet you!
October 2, 2020 at 3:27 pm
KATHLEEN WILFORD
Congratulations on the new Arnie picture book! I love it already. Yum!
October 2, 2020 at 3:52 pm
Sheri Radovich
Congratulations and sounds like a fun group of books for chapter and picture that I need to look up and read more about. Thanks for sharing and keeping me in the loop.
October 2, 2020 at 3:54 pm
kathydoherty1
Super cute!…including Tara Eclair.
October 2, 2020 at 4:33 pm
chardixon47
I have some Arnie on my bookshelf. I avoid eye contact if at all possible. Oh, for some fun yum! Congrats on the new book! I look forward to eat–reading it!
October 2, 2020 at 4:43 pm
bgonsar
Awesome to see how this has grown from 1 book.
October 2, 2020 at 4:49 pm
Amy M.
I’ve had library patrons clamoring for Arnie. I’m glad to see he’s got more adventures coming. 🙂
October 2, 2020 at 5:36 pm
Michele Helsel
Looks delicious! Big fan of Potato Pants! Got it at the library, read it, went online to immediately order it! Love, love! Congratulations on your chapter books!
October 2, 2020 at 6:21 pm
RebeccaTheWriter
Omg! This looks like a delicious story! Can’t wait to read it. Congrats!
October 2, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Sue Sutherland
What a delicious tale! Congratulations!
October 2, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Mirka
So excited to hear aoout this new Arnie book!
October 2, 2020 at 8:56 pm
seschipper
“Do-nut” want to miss reading this one!!!!! 🙂
October 2, 2020 at 8:57 pm
marty
Must check out the chapter books. Didn’t realize Arnie starred in so many different stories! Good for him. And thanks, Laurie, for giving us such a fun funny character. Look forward to this newest adventure.
October 3, 2020 at 1:38 am
Suzanne Lewis
Love the silliness of these books–so creative and fun!
October 3, 2020 at 6:33 am
Sara Fajardo
This book looks like so much fun!
October 3, 2020 at 6:39 am
58chilihed13
After reading this in the wee small hours, I had to go out to the 24/7 Kwik * Star and buy doughnuts! None of them as cute as Arnie, but fun and tasty just the same! Marvelous stories!
October 3, 2020 at 9:40 am
Laura Gehl
We love all the other Arnie books and can’t wait to read this one!
October 3, 2020 at 10:44 am
Marcia Berneger
So glad you’ve expanded the audience to younger kids. They love doughnuts, too and Arnie is so much fun!!
October 3, 2020 at 10:54 am
Becky Scharnhorst
Arnie is such a great character! In fact, he’s one of my daughter’s favorites. I can’t wait to tell her he has another book coming out! Thanks for the fun post!
October 3, 2020 at 11:31 am
mirareisberg
I’ve been following your work for a long time and always love it. You’ve created a wonderful character with legs for Arnie and can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
October 3, 2020 at 3:59 pm
Shaunda Wenger
I love Arnie. So happy to see he is getting another book! Your donut characters for some of our favorite authors and author-illustrators are all equally adorable and begging for a book of their own. Congratulations on this latest success!
October 3, 2020 at 5:32 pm
Ashley Congdon (@AshleyCCongdon)
Arnie sounds like a delightful donut 😊.
October 3, 2020 at 5:36 pm
Judy Sobanski
Arnie is a favorite character of mine! I’m looking forward to the prequel!
October 3, 2020 at 6:13 pm
Rebecca Van Slyke
Hello, Laurie! I’m glad we’re getting a prequel to Arnie’s story!
October 3, 2020 at 6:41 pm
Stephen S. Martin
You can not have too many donuts, and they have no calories if you don’t eat the hole.
October 4, 2020 at 12:17 am
michele rietz
I’m a huge Laurie Keller fan! Congrats on this book! It looks wonderful!!
October 4, 2020 at 12:41 am
Shauntrell Leaks
Arnie sounds very interesting 😄.
October 4, 2020 at 11:56 am
aliciaminor
Unfortunately, any food that tastes good is bad including but not the least, donuts. However, it is good when it comes to writing picture books and winning a prize. Congrats Laurie and more donuts book ideas to come.
October 4, 2020 at 1:03 pm
Darcee Freier
Five books about a doughnut. That’s impressive. Obviously I’ve missed out. I need to read some Arnie books. Congrats!
October 5, 2020 at 6:39 am
Christy Wrenn
I loved reading your story and how you developed your ARNIE serIes. I am a fairly new writer in the children’s picture book genre. I would love a copy of any of your books to add to our academic library children’s book shelf. New education teachers learn by reading and reviewing books to read to their future classes.
October 5, 2020 at 8:38 am
Lucky Jo Boscarino
Tara Eclair for President!
October 5, 2020 at 10:06 am
mjchawk
A book with a donut as the main character! And one with pastry friends! You had me at hello.
October 5, 2020 at 12:47 pm
Lori Alexander
We are huge Arnie fans! Can’t wait for his next picture book.
October 5, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Susan Howard
OMG! I loved reading Arnie the Doughnut with my kids. I still have it in my library to read with future grandchildren. My oldest did a book report on it and we made a really cute Arnie out of construction paper and multi-colored puffy paint sprinkles! Please keep Arnie alive : )
October 5, 2020 at 6:50 pm
Tina
Tara, your donuts are so cute! You made my day! Congrats to you and Laurie. Best, Tina
October 5, 2020 at 8:18 pm
Jill Purtee
I don’t know ANYONE who doesn’t love a donut!
October 6, 2020 at 10:41 pm
Meredith Fraser
These doughnuts are so cute and hilarious. Congratulations to you!
October 7, 2020 at 12:47 am
lillyarts
Love your Arnie stories, and love the funny new characters!
October 8, 2020 at 11:58 pm
Karan Greene
How exciting to have a prequel that is also perfect for a younger audience! Can’t wait to read it!
October 18, 2020 at 8:30 pm
Susan Johnston Taylor
Congrats, Laurie! This book looks adorable.
October 21, 2020 at 1:20 pm
JC
Such a cute book! I have never seen such cute looking donuts, I love it! Congrats!
October 31, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Shar
I definitely am going to read all these with my doughnut-loving daughter. I LOVE the doughnut author portraits. They are so fun!