Meet the Night Buddies Characters
The Borough is full of unusual characters, and John and Crosley seem to meet more of them with every Program. Start with John Degraffenreidt and Crosley, the bright red crocodile at the center of the Night Buddies adventures. Then meet the friends, inventors, shopkeepers, oddballs, and troublemakers who help make every after-lights-out Program a little stranger. Each character below can keep a short piece of the first-person voice already used on the Night Buddies website, with a brief conventional description added so new readers can quickly understand who they are.
Start with John & Crosley
JOHN DEGRAFFENREIDT
“Hey, guys, Cros an’ me an’ all the others thank you for checkin’ us out. I’m John, okay? The young kid with no middle name that’s featured in all the Programs. (That’s the Night Buddies word for adventures.) If ya really need ours!”
John is the young human adventurer featured in every Night Buddies Program. When he isn’t ready to sleep, Crosley appears and the two head out into the Borough on nighttime adventures. John’s dedicated page can tell the fuller story of his friendship with Crosley and his connection to author Sands Hetherington’s real son.
CROSLEY
“Welcome t’ the Night Buddies organization! Me an’ John are here for just one reason: t’ be your Program guides! We promise t’ scare ya an’ keep ya awake an’ make ya laugh (Yerk! Yerk!). Ya may awready know I’m a hog about pineapple cheesecakes, right? An’ if ya know that, ya know I’m bright red all over—the only crocodile in the world like that. Join us on our first Program an’ you’ll find out why!”
Crosley is John’s bright red crocodile Night Buddy and Program guide. He loves pineapple cheesecake, carries unusual gadgets made by his brother Crenwinkle, and is always ready to lead John into another strange nighttime mystery
Friends Around the Borough
BIG FOOT MAE
“Hey there! I’m the biggest woman you ever seen an’ that’s a fact! Me an’ Johnson make all the pineapple cheesecakes there is in the world, an’ I guess I’ve got so I can’t stand the sight of ‘em no more. Brother Crosley an’ me conduct a whole lot o’ business, an’ I can always call on Brother Crenwinkle when I got a problem too. John, he’s a real smart kid. With the biggest roundest brown eyes!”
Big Foot Mae and Johnson make the world’s pineapple cheesecakes. Mae does plenty of business with Crosley, knows Crenwinkle, and recognizes that John is a smart kid.
CRENWINKLE
“Hello. You haven’t met me, have you? I’m Crosley’s brother Crenwinkle and I’m a genius. (Hk!) I run the Night Buddies Headquarters from a hidden location and hand out Program assignments. I’m also a wizard and make all of Crosley’s whatchamacallits. (Wuk!) Sorry, I do hiccup a lot. Goodbye for now; we’re certain to meet before long.”
Crenwinkle is Crosley’s brother, a self-described genius and wizard who runs Night Buddies Headquarters from a hidden location, assigns Programs, and makes Crosley’s whatchamacallits.
FAST FANNY FARNSWORTH
“Hi, guys, I’m somebody you definitely want to know. That’s because I run the All-Night Emporium that sells and services far-out flying machines. There couldn’t be any second Program without me. I really love working with John and Crosley, but Crosley does drive me nuts sometimes!”
Fast Fanny runs the All-Night Emporium, where far-out flying machines are sold and serviced. She becomes especially important in Program Two and works closely with John and Crosley.
RODNEY OGLESBY
“Halloo, lads an’ lassies. I’m the fat guy with the sauerkraut an’ jellybean hot dog cart. (I own the secret recipe, don’t ya see.) I’m also an expert with far-out flyin’ machines. That makes me a huge deal in Program Two!”
Rodney runs a sauerkraut-and-jellybean hot dog cart and is also an expert on far-out flying machines, making him an important part of the second Night Buddies adventure.
BIG HUGE LONNIE
“Hi, sleepyheads, or not! I don’t need t’ tell ya about Crosley’s thing for pineapple cheesecakes, do I? Well, guess what! I run a sure-enough pineapple cheesecake stand in the Borough, an’ Crosley’s my number one customer! (Also my number two, three, four, and five.) We really depend on each other, an’ you’ll see a lot of me in Night Buddies, Impostors and One Far-Out Flying Machine”.
Big Huge Lonnie runs a pineapple cheesecake stand in the Borough, where Crosley is an extremely loyal customer. He appears prominently in Book 2.
MISS DRUSILLA STOCKBRIDGE
“Hello, children. I’m a gentlewoman of a certain age, and I sold mole milk in Subway Station Eight for years until the demand for it ended. Now I deal in party favors. I can have any sort of party favors delivered to your home by tomorrow afternoon. Horses, bicycles, balloons, anything!”
Miss Drusilla Stockbridge once sold mole milk in Subway Station Eight. She now deals in party favors and can arrange an unusually broad assortment of deliveries.
Villains, Impostors & Other Problems
IMPOSTOR
“Who I am is for me t’ know an’ yew t’ find out!”
IGUANA GANG
The Iguana Gang is a recurring source of trouble in the Night Buddies adventures. They are especially important to Book 4, where the gang takes to the sky in a modified school bus and causes chaos around the Borough.