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Salem Press

The 1990s in America

Where’s Waldo? franchise

by Emily Carroll Shearer

Identification Children’s hide-and-find book series based on a character known as Waldo

Author Martin Handford (1956-    )

Date First published in 1987

Where’s Waldo? began a fad in children’s literature for hide-and-find-type literature and expanded throughout the 1990’s to become a popular culture phenomenon.

First published in Britain as Where’s Wally?, the series was renamed Where’s Waldo? for publication in the United States and Canada. Featuring Waldo, a character with a red-and-white striped shirt and bobble hat and accessorized with a walking stick and glasses, the book placed Waldo in a large picture and challenged children to attempt to find Waldo in the picture; in some cases, finding Waldo was more difficult, especially in one notable picture where Waldo was only identifiable by a missing shoe. Waldo also loses a number of his possessions throughout the books, and children are encouraged to find those items in the pictures as well.

Martin Handford, author of the Where’s Waldo? book series, searches for Waldo at a bus stop in London.

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Waldo was accompanied in later books by other characters; Martin Handford added Waldo’s friend Wenda, nemesis Odlaw, and dog Woof. The series expanded throughout the 1990’s to include a number of books, one with poster prints of former pictures, and one with other activities.

In 1991, thirteen episodes of a television show based on Where’s Waldo? were produced and aired by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The show was half an hour long and sent Waldo on adventures that often caused him to come into contact with Odlaw, who regularly attempted to steal Waldo’s magic stick. In an effort to also connect the television series with the books, each episode featured two snapshots that lasted a minute long and allowed children to hunt for Waldo in the still frame. This animated series lasted only one season.

The Where’s Waldo? series has had Waldo travel across the world, through Hollywood, through history, as well as through a number of fantastic locations. The Where’s Waldo? books have been widely regarded by educators as a valuable resource for children who have problems focusing on details. The series has assisted children with autism, attention-deficit disorder, and other illnesses that cause attention and concentration problems in children.

The American Library Association listed Where’s Waldo? among the one hundred most frequently banned books between 1990 and 2000. One image in Where’s Waldo? showed a woman sunbathing without a top, exposing her breasts. Parents and school administrators objected to this portrayal of nudity and banned the book.

Impact

Where’s Waldo? influenced many children growing up in the 1990’s, teaching attention to detail as well as some historical and geographic information in the guise of a hide-and-seek book.

Further Reading

1 

American Library Association. Www. ala.org.

2 

Handford, Martin. Where’s Waldo? Boston: Little, Brown, 1987.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Shearer, Emily Carroll. "Where’s Waldo? Franchise." The 1990s in America, edited by Milton Berman, Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1990_1602.
APA 7th
Shearer, E. C. (2009). Where’s Waldo? franchise. In M. Berman (Ed.), The 1990s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Shearer, Emily Carroll. "Where’s Waldo? Franchise." Edited by Milton Berman. The 1990s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.