Barney

TV Dinosaur

A six-foot purple dinosaur, Barney stars in the children's TV show Barney and Friends. The character got his start in 1987 in direct-sale videos created by Dallas teacher Sheryl Leach. The tapes caught the eye of the Public Broadcasting System, who put Barney and Friends on the air in 1992. The big purple dinosaur quickly became a public phenomenon, joining Mister Rogers and Jim Henson's Muppets as PBS stars. Barney is a cuddly Tyrannosaurus Rex; he often is joined by his chums Baby Bop (a baby Triceratops) and her brother B.J. (a Protoceratops). He starred in a 1997 feature film, Barney's Great Adventure.

Other figures popular with young people include Dr. Seuss, Winnie the Pooh, C.S. Lewis and Pippi Longstocking.