Little Critter

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Little Critter as he appeared in the first story.

Little Critter is the title character of a children's book series created by Mercer Mayer in 1974. Its title character is a rodent-like... critter of some sort, who narrates the majority of his own stories. The first book involved him trying to make special things for his mother. Later on, his father and grandparents are shown as well, and he gains a little sister. The books were the subject of several adaptations in the 1990s, including "Living Books", or CD-ROM versions which featured narrations of the books over Easter Egg-laden stills of each page. Later on, Mercer tried to make a series called LC and the Critter Kids based off an older Little Critter, but it didn't work. A full list of the books can be seen here.

Tropes used in Little Critter include:

• Animated Adaptation: Just Me and My Dad was made into one. Also, the story Just For You was adapted into a "Golden Book Video" title in 1985 (as part of Mercer Mayer's "Herbert the Timid Dragon and Other Tales"), which narrated the story over stills from the book with simple limited animation effects. In 2000 it was announced that Nelvana was working on developing a television series based on the property. Apparently at least a couple of scripts were written, but it never made it to television and nothing has been heard since.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Little Sister.
• Art Evolution: Somewhere along the way, Little Critter and family lost their slightly capybara-like faces (pictured above), morphing into a more generic rodent face with a bulbous nose.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animals/Foot Focus: Nearly every book seems to have a few foot shots. The characters are generally seen barefoot, though they are often fully dressed otherwise.
• Cartoon Creature: Just what is Little Critter anyway?
• Darker and Edgier: Critter Kids.
• Funny Animal: Entire cast.
• Furry Confusion: In Just Go to Bed, Little Critter pretends to be a rabbit. It could be justified in that he might have been pretending to be another person who just happened to be a rabbit -- like a child pretending to be another person.
• Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Little Critter's grandma is in great shape for her age. She looks better than his mom.
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: For a while, Little Critter wore only overalls.
• Improbable Species Compatibility: One character in Just a Little Different has a turtle father and rabbit mother.
• Licensed Game / Edutainment Game :
  • The franchise is fondly remembered for its Living Books releases.
  • IOS Games: 11 books have been chosen to be released as interactive books for iOS Devices.
• Long Runner: 25 years in 2009.
• No Name Given: To Little Critter or his family.
• Playful Otter: LC and the Critter Kids introduced a surfing otter named Slick Rick. Otters sometimes show up as background characters in the main series as well.
• Potty Failure: Little Sister had two in the book The New Potty. The first time failing to go to the potty at all and getting the sand in the sandbox wet, and the second time missing the potty and getting the floor wet instead.
• Spin-Off: LC and the Critter Kids. These books added a ton of new characters and attempted to target a slightly older audience (one book has LC and the gang facing a cursed mummy in a museum). While this series is largely forgotten, some of the characters have been assimilated into the main Little Critter series.