OXNARD : Dinosaur Mural Has Earth Day Message

A group of cartoonists painted a dinosaur mural at the Esplanade Mall in Oxnard Tuesday to encourage children to read and recycle in honor of Earth Day.

Cartoonists Across America has been touring the country for five years painting murals with slogans such as “Read. Avoid Extinction.” and “Recycle. Avoid Extinction.” The nonprofit organization donates the works to libraries, community centers, schools and literacy programs.

“The murals stay in the community,” said Phil Yeh, the group’s founder. “It is to let them spread the message for reading and recycling.”

The mural painted Tuesday will go to Laubach Literacy of Ventura County, a Ventura-based group with 150 volunteers.

The mural attracts attention, said Lolita Wiggins of Laubach Literacy. “This is something we need because we need people to be more aware of the problem in Ventura County.”

The brightly colored murals are 4 feet by 8 feet and depict a typical day at the beach for cartoon dinosaurs named Dewey, Dinah, Dallas and Theo. Because the dinosaurs are environmentalists and book lovers, the foursome is taking a break to read, said Yeh, who created the characters.

The dinosaurs are also featured in a series of comic books and will be in an upcoming children’s book called “Theo the Dinosaur.” Based in Santa Barbara, the band of 14 cartoonists has painted 363 watercolor murals.