List of Wishbone books


This is a list of children's books based on the TV series Wishbone. All were published by the series' producer, Lyrick Studios, under the imprint name Big Red Chair Books.

''Wishbone Classics''

The Wishbone Classics series features straightforward adaptations of the original stories that inspired episodes of the show, albeit with humorous commentary from Wishbone inserted in sidebars.
NumberTitleOriginal authorRetold byFirst printedRelated episode
#1Don QuixoteMiguel de CervantesMichael BurgenMarch 199611. "The Impawssible Dream"
#2The OdysseyHomerJoanne MatternMarch 19965. "Homer Sweet Homer"
#3Romeo and JulietWilliam ShakespeareBilly AronsonApril 19964. "Rosie, Oh! Rosie, Oh!"
#4Joan of ArcMark TwainPatrice SeleneJune 199610. "Bone of Arc"
#5Oliver TwistCharles DickensJoanne MatternJuly 19963. "Twisted Tail"
#6The Adventures of Robin HoodAnonymousJoanne MatternJuly 199624. "Paw Prints of Thieves"
#7FrankensteinMary ShelleyMichael BurgenSeptember 199617. "Frankenbone"
#8The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeRobert Louis StevensonJoanne Mattern and Ed ParkerSeptember 199620. "Mixed Breeds"
#9A Journey to the Center of the EarthJules VerneBilly AronsonOctober 199618. "Hot Diggity Dawg"
#10The Red Badge of CourageStephen CraneMichael BurganDecember 199631. "A Terrified Terrier"
#11The Adventures of Tom SawyerMark TwainStephen FuentesDecember 19961.–2. "A Tail in Twain"
#12IvanhoeSir Walter ScottJoanne MatternJanuary 199713. "Sniffing the Gauntlet"

''The Adventures of Wishbone''

The Adventures of Wishbone follows the structure of the TV series, switching back and forth between Oakdale and a story of which Wishbone has been reminded. Several are novelizations of television episodes, while others adapt stories not featured in the TV series.

''The Super Adventures of Wishbone''

The Super Adventures of Wishbone consists of five double-length books in the style of The Adventures of Wishbone.

''The Wishbone Mysteries''

The Wishbone Mysteries books depart from the structure of the TV series, no longer including Wishbone imagining himself into a story, but exclusively following Wishbone and his human friends in Oakdale. In each book, Joe, Sam, or David reads a novel or short story, with the events of that story inspiring them as they solve a mystery in the present day. In the second book, Joe discovers a box of his late father's favorite mystery stories in their attic, which supplies many of the books he reads throughout the series.

''The Wishbone Super Mysteries''

Similar to The Super Adventures, The Wishbone Super Mysteries consists of four double-length books in the style of The Wishbone Mysteries.

''Wishbone: The Early Years''

Wishbone: The Early Years is aimed at much younger readers than the other series, and as such are much shorter. The books share the structure of the TV series and The Adventures of Wishbone, but are set several years prior to the TV series, featuring a younger Joe and Wishbone as a puppy. All six are based on folktales or myths and are named directly for the story they adapt.

2000–2001

From 2000 to 2001, new series were launched, all credited to author A. D. Francis: Wishbone Adventures, Wishbone Mysteries and Wishbone: Tales of a Pup. A total of nine books were published before all of the series were canceled.

''Wishbone Mysteries''

NumberTitleInspired byRead byFirst printed
#1To Sniff a ThiefThe Amateur Cracksman by E. W. HornungSamJuly 2000
#2Wishbone's Halloween MysteryMarch 2001

''Wishbone: Tales of a Pup''

Unlike The Early Years, the Tales of a Pup books were not directly titled for their source material, and two of the five were not based on folktales but rather a short story and a novel.
NumberTitleInspired byFirst printed
#1Wishbone and the Glass Slipper"Cinderella"July 2000
#2Wishbone and the Forty Thieves"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"July 2000
#3Wishbone's The Nutcracker"The Nutcracker" by Alexandre DumasAugust 2000
#4Wishbone in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollSeptember 2000
#5Wishbone and the Dancing Princesses"The Twelve Dancing Princesses"June 2001