posted on 10 Jul 2022

Bozo the Clown read-along books – Bozo at the Circus and Bozo Under the Sea

The character of Bozo the Clown was created in America in 1946 by Alan W Livingston as a unique children’s entertainment. At this point it took the form of highly coloured, large format story books that were accompanied by two gramophone records that, when played, read aloud the story in a way children could follow and become immersed in.

The voice of Bozo was provided by Pinto Colvig and the character was so popular that he became the mascot of Capitol Records before transferring to television – still with Colvig as Bozo – in 1949. The television exposure made Bozo “the world’s most famous clown” and his characteristic make-up became the template for plenty of imitators. It even seems likely that the current most famous clown – Krusty from The Simpsons - is an affectionately satirical take on Livingston’s creation.

I was lucky enough to come across the first two storybook/record combinations – complete with their records – at an antique flea-fair not so long ago and I was able to buy them for next to nothing.

The first and original story, Bozo at the Circus, promises talking animals, thrilling music and exciting sound effects along with a “full color picture book timed with the record”. In truth, there’s not much of a story here and if you’re just looking at the book and reading the dialogue, I think you’re only getting a pretty small portion of what the overall experience is meant to be when the record is playing in synchronicity.

The book opens with a clear set of instructions to the reader:

“Hello! Hello! I’m Bozo the Clown!

I’m going to take you on a trip to the circus.

Start on Page 1 in your picture book.

Ha! That’s a picture of me.

Now, whenever I blow my whistle,

That means you must turn the page to see the other pictures in the book….

Just follow me, Bozo, the clown

And I’ll take you to Circus Town!

Now turn the page.”

What follows are several double pages that introduce the animals of the Big Tent – lions, camels, tigers, hyenas, monkeys etc. and the entry of the Ringmaster switches us across a typical performance with acrobats, clowns, ‘Indian braves’ and the animals doing tricks (almost all of them now thankfully banned).

It’s clear the thrill doesn’t lie in the book or the inherent storyline but in the gimmickry of the sound effects provided by the record. Back in 1949 this was cutting edge technology…….

Oddly enough, for the second book/record in the series they decided to locate the action under water. Bozo Under The Sea strikes me as a weird decision but clearly Capitol were unabashed as they claim on the first page:

“FISH CAN BE AS MUCH FUN AS A CIRCUS! Bozo knows! The loveable clown tells you all about his trip under the sea in this album.”

What follows is a similar format to the circus adventure but definitely more surreal as the clown larks around on the sea bed in a deep divers suit and helmet interacting with various fish species in anthropomorphic animated cartoon fashion.

These book represent a long-gone, never-to-return entertainment for children with the promise to parents that it will keep their off-spring entertained without any input or effort from them – a precursor to wall-to-wall television or the modern video game.

Examples of the Bozo books can be found with their records on some second hand book sites but it’s likely that unless you’re very lucky (as I was) you’ll have to order them from the US and they won’t come cheap.

Terry Potter

July 2022