Wheedle on the Needle

The Wheedle is the title character of a popular children's book by author Stephen Cosgrove. The character eventually evolved into a popular mascot generally associated with the city of Seattle.

Wheedle on the Needle (Serendipity Books, 1974), written by Stephen Cosgrove and illustrated by Robin James, was about a large, round, furry creature called the Wheedle who lived in the Northwest. Bothered by the whistling of workers first settling the city of Seattle, the creature was unable to sleep and became irritable, eventually moving to Mount Rainier to escape the noise. The Wheedle slept there peacefully for many years, his red nose blinking, until the region's growth brought people- and their whistling- to his doorstep once again. In an effort to silence the noise, the Wheedle gathered clouds in a large sack atop Mt. Rainier, returned to Seattle, climbed atop the Space Needle, and threw them into the sky to make it rain. With their lips wet from precipitation, the city's residents were unable to whistle, and the creature once again had some peace and quiet. Upset, the people sent the mayor to try and convince the Wheedle to stop the rain; when the creature explained his problem, the mayor had a giant pair of earmuffs constructed to muffle the disagreeable warbling. When they were presented to him, "The Wheedle placed them over his ears, and smiled for the first time in years." In appreciation, the Wheedle gathered up all the clouds, put them back in his bag, and fell fast asleep - and once again, his big red nose began to blink. The book ends with a short poem: There's a Wheedle/On the Needle/I know just what/You're thinking/But if you look up/Late at night/You'll see/His red nose blinking.

In 2002, a second edition of the book was published. The story was significantly rewritten, generally matching the existing illustrations, but entirely eliminating environmental themes present in the original story and altering it so that the Wheedle was not native to the Seattle area.

In 2009, after battling with Penguin US for over 15 years, the rights to the book Wheedle on the Needle reverted to Cosgrove. Under a new agreement with Sasquatch Books of Seattle, Cosgrove has created a third edition which returns to the tone and themes of the original book, while making some revisions for quality. The new edition was released in Spring of 2010. The Wheedle is now back home, in Seattle.

There were also two other children's book featuring the Wheedle, entitled "How to plant a Bunch of Stuff" and "How to Cook a Bunch of Stuff." The cookbook for kids features a pictorial; essay of the Wheedle demonstrating how to cook a "bunch of stuff" and to appreciate what their mothers do in the kitchen. The cookbook was by Stephen Cosgrove with recipes by Nancy Roberts. The garden book was by Stephen Cosgrove with planting tips by Ed Hume.

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Wikipedia