Dino Bob

Abilene, Texas

Artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade probably knew he'd ruffle some feathers when he created "Dino Bob," a sculpture based on the 1988 children's book Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo. Bob (the artist) sculpted Bob (the dinosaur) as if nibbling on an old VW Beetle, suggesting both Bob the dinosaur's fondness for chewing automobiles and Bob the artist's fondness for reworking old junkers into art.

Dino Bob was perched on the roof of a parking garage overlooking Abilene's highbrow Grace Museum. His foes threatened him with demolition in 2007, saying he was an inappropriate neighbor for a historical building. But the schoolchildren of Abilene mounted a "Save Dino Bob" campaign, and the sculpture was moved to the roof of another parking garage, this one overlooking the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature.