Only a handful of characters people the world of The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek. Of the lesser characters, Professor Harris, a comic figure, is described as small and almost gaunt, with a face peeling from sunburn behind thick-lensed glasses. Although stereotypically absent-minded and eccentric, the professor is very learned in psychology, as well as paleontology. Towards the twins he is kind and patient, answering their many queries. The old horse, Daisy Belle, inherited along with the ranch because she was deemed too worthless to auction, has become the only friend for Joey and Joan, who kindly make allowances for her infirmity.

Their mother, Mrs. Brown, is an archetypal maternal figure known almost entirely through her maternal duckings of concern or outrage. Repeatedly Mrs. Brown voices her concern about feeding, clothing, and housing her children; warm-hearted, she also makes the professor, who is always...