> I couldn't stand the horrible little creature when I was a child, but he is definitely a British classic of children's books. He has gone through numerous political-correctness induced changes -- the bad guys in Toyland used to be the golliwogs, which (since nobody even in *my* generation has probably ever seen a golliwog) were rag dolls with black faces and woolly hair, and hence are racist caricatures. Golliwogs have since been eradicated from the face of the earth and from Noddy stories too.

I know what golliwogs are, mostly because I know a little bit about antique doll and toy collecting. I recall the first thing I thought when I saw a picture of one was 'I bet Black people hate those things...it would certainly explain why I've never seen one'. Personally, I always thought golliwogs were just supposed to be weird fantasy creatures that just *happened* to have black faces...especially with a name like that. I mean, you don't hear frogs complaining that C.S. Lewis's Marsh-wiggles are racist and anti-frog.

On a somewhat-related note, I remember an article in a doll collecting magazine I used to get in which a featured collector mentioned she also collected Golliwogs. She said she thought they were adorable...which struck me as unusual. I'd see why someone would want to collect them, since they're hard to find, but they hardly strike me as adorable.

Qua "to each his own" rtz