The iconic Arthur Read made his TV debut 30 years ago

(From left) Dora Winifred "D.W." Read, Allen "The Brain" Powers, Arthur Read, Muffy Crosswire, Jane Read, and Sue Ellen Armstrong celebrating Arthur and Muffy's birthdays from "Happy Birthday Arthur" in 1996. WGBH Educational Foundation, WildBrain and Marc Brown Studios hide caption

This is part of a special series in which NPR looks back at its coverage of major news stories from the past.

Which long-running cartoon features this protagonist: he's got round ears, an iconic yellow sweater, and a snarky little sister?

If you immediately pictured an animated, 8-year-old aardvark, you've likely heard of Arthur Read, a character who made his TV debut 30 years ago on Oct. 7, 1996.

But before the bespectacled third-grader made his way onto our screens and into our hearts, Arthur's first home was in the world of books.

The author of the Arthur books is Marc Brown, a writer and illustrator who was raised in Erie, Pa.

Although Brown was interested in art from a young age, after graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1968, he pursued a string of different jobs working as everything from truck driver to to short-order cook to assistant professor.

Brown says he got the inspiration for Arthur when his son Tolon asked for a bedtime story about a "weird" animal. The first weird animal that came to mind? An aardvark. From there, Brown wrote and illustrated his first picture book depicting an aardvark named Arthur. This animal, with its long anteater snout and small ears, starred in Arthur's Nose , published in 1976.