Parley’s physical features remained fairly constant, although there were a few minor variations and additions. Sometimes he was shown holding a wooden crutch instead of a cane, or resting his foot, wrapped in large white bandages, on a soft chair. These specific characteristics were by no means accidental; Goodrich fashioned Parley as an intensely human character with distinctive mannerisms that would appeal to children. Here Parley is surrounded by attentive, yet playful, children in the mood that Goodrich himself brought to his writing:

[I] imagined myself on the floor with a group of boys and girls, and I wrote to them, as I would have spoken to them.

Boston Public Library, Rare Books & Manuscripts