A few weeks ago I took a trip down to Portland to attend the annual PLA (Public Library Association) conference and also visit with the founding Bob Books author/illustrator team, Bobby and John Maslen, a.k.a Mom and Dad. It’s been over 30 years since the Bob Books first began so it made sense to me to capture this story on video in documentary format while we were all together.
My first step was looking through the Bob Books archives. It was as much fun as going through Grandma’s attic, looking through all the mysterious boxes. My explorations uncovered a treasure trove of newspaper and magazine articles – many more than I expected. It was great to see the old photos of Mom and Dad wearing all their Bob finery. Dad has a special top hat with the Bob logo on the front that is particularly noticeable.
The Catlin Gabel School in Portland is an important part of the story so we decided to film on location. The sun is not assured in early spring in Oregon, but when it appears it is absolutely lovely. On the day we decided to shoot, the sun was shining coolly in the pale blue sky, the cherry trees were blooming; the grass was lush and damp. The Catlin Gabel campus is particularly beautiful with handsome wood buildings sprinkled among the trees and pastures. The Beginning School (also known as the “Beehive”) where Bobby taught, has grown and been remodeled, but retains its wonderful warm and intimate nature combined with the latest educational methods.
Allen Schauffler, who had been a new teacher in the Beehive when Bobby was writing the Bob Books, still teaches at Catlin. She coordinated our use of the Beehive and also had several comments to add to the interview.
The videographer (John Waller of Uncage the Soul Productions) selected the location, set up the lights and cameras and prepared to film. I had planned questions to keep the pace moving… but a nice surprise occurred. Their years of radio and print exposure became apparent as Bobby and John both launched into fully formed interview stories about the beginnings of Bob Books. Our videographer had been hoping to end with 20 minutes of usable footage – I think he got two hours!
The second half of the day was spent chez Maslen, photographing newspaper and magazine articles, various packaging styles used for Bob Books over the years, and B-roll film. Bobby was pleased when her young grandsons stopped by to demonstrate—on camera—their skills at reading Bob Books.
The hard part for us is finished! We captured some terrific footage. Now we must be patient while our talented editor John Waller builds a wonderful legacy video for us.
It’s very satisfying to know that the history of Bob Books is captured for posterity.
Do you have a historical Bob Books story you’d like to share? Let us know.
Next week I’ll be heading down to Portland for the 13th National 
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