Humor Books

amazing collection of course. purchased it on amazon in 1996 for twenty bucks when i was in middle school. fairly sure it played a major part in my alienation as a twelve year old, as it caused my weirdo sense of humor to flourish greatly. absolutely amazed it sells for hundreds of dollars. guess i should have taken better care of it, eh? i cut up the cover to put it on my wall. silly twelve year old.

This comic inspired me so much when I was in high school. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious and well-done it is. SUCH a shame it costs so much, because it's one of the things you'd like to share with the entire world. I wish I would have taken better care of mine...not that I would ever sell it anyway. I keep coming back to it over and over again, and I'm alomost 29 now. There is so much artistry and humor going on in every single panel. It's like a cornucopia of non-sequitor humor, jabs at cheap American culture, and sheer unadulterated cartoony mayhem. If you don't laugh out loud, over and over again, there is something seriously wrong with you. Plus, there are so many little fun extras (Fizzball, the Road Trip game, Sam & Max explain our Bizarre Universe). Get it and you'll be glad you did.

A re-issue has pretty much been confirmed which will most likely contain everything in this book, plus all the missing comics including the new webcomic. With all that it'll probably bring the page count alot closer to 200.
Otherwize it's an awesome book, but I wouldn't pay as much as people are selling it for. I don't blame them though. It's a rare item and rare items have high prices.

I don't pretend to know what legal situation/absolute insanity is preventing the re-release of this nugget of genius, but I beg you for the love of all that is holy: DO IT! PLEASE!

This is one of the funniest things I have ever had the good fortune to read. I borrowed it from a friend over 10 years ago, and I now wish I hadn't given it back (I don't see this guy much anyway...). From time to time, I'll try to explain this comic to someone, and the vacant, unfamiliar stare I get in reply is absolutely heartbreaking. Whomever it is that has the authority to reprint this, I am literally begging you to do so. I will gleefully pay upwards of $50 for a reissue, especially if it has some little tiny extra, like an introduction from Purcell; a bundt cake recipe, or just a couple of new sketches. I'm desperate, and $200 for a comic just feels dirty (though I confess, I've considered digging out the credit card for this).

Please.

I love Sam & Max, A 5 STAR collection to be sure, and know for a fact that this collection is soon to be reissued. To those sellers who are charging UPWARDS OF $300 (?!!) for this little black and white 160 page book, YOU MAKE ME SICK! For that much money, I expect the book to be delivered to me in a frikkin' gold plated briefcase by an armed-to-the-teeth Secret Service agent. I HOPE YOU NEVER MAKE A DIME, you bottom-feeding nostalgia vampires.

Wow!! This book is so different from other books. The humor, wit, and details feel very real. There are parts that also remind me of her music so it's nice to see that connection.

Just the mention of those chocolate chip pancakes made this worthy of five stars. =:o)

I chuckled over "Do you want me to go beat her up?" Oh my Lord that whole ruined-wedding-day scenario just killed me! Just one example of an evil, conniving MIL. I was taken by the fact that the setting is only 1.5 hours south of where I live (by the way, does the novel mention Amy's Ice Cream parlor?).

"She was my wormhole to the future." - I LOVED this!

I found the family dynamics endearing, the realistic bantering filled with warmth and humor. This is the kind of premise I'm always drawn to, a family unraveled by conflict and their journey back to "normal." That Belyn though...hoo-whee! Looks like this is one family that's going to have their hands full! So I'm anxious to see how this plays out.

Very well done, Marilyn!

The thing I liked most about the selection is that it promises interesting characters & situations with plenty of humor. The characters and situations are ordinary enough that they could be from next door, yet somehow quirky and unexpected, and this combination promises plenty of twists in the upcoming story. Who doesn't have a relative or friend who, like Jimmy, is always asking too much? But Jimmy's jailbreak and the presumptuousness of leaving his daughter with Jacob and Laurel certainly is not ordinary.

The character development is good, considering the brevity of the selection. Each turn of events lets us see another facet of the personalities of the main characters. The first person point of view gives us a particularly clear window into the mother, Laurel. I enjoyed the insight into Laurel's feelings about her under-appreciated role as wife and mother.

As an Austinite, I liked the references to local places. The fitness fetishes of the father, Jacob, and the daughter, Suzanne, are common in Austin - what do you expect from the home of Whole Foods?

I can't wait to read the rest!

Happy, sad, quirky, normal, uncomfortable, loving... all the opposites and paradoxes of family life. I was surprised that, in so short a time, I could actually CARE about what was going to happen to some of these characters. If the ins and outs of relationships are labarynthine, then this excerpt hits the corridors at a full run. Very enjoyable.

François Rabelais in his irreverent and influential sixteenth-century novel Gargantua and Pantagruel writes "[t]he satirist is correct when he says that Messer Gaster--Sir Belly--is the true master of all the arts. . . . To this chivalrous monarch we are all bound to show reverence, swear obedience, and give honour" (pp. 570-571). "Discontented Season" is clearly the modern successor to that notion of food as literature. And, what of the humble pancake? This metaphor for life, that we, as unformed batter, full of potential and unknown ingredients, are heated by the crucible we call "the human experience"and turned into something greater than our sum parts, something delicious. While a French writer might have attempted to elevate the reference by using crepes,this use of the good, old American pancake is the perfect vehicle for this portait of domestic suburban lifestyles. Bravo!

American or Canadian pancakes (also known as hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks in the U.S.) contain a raising agent, usually baking powder, and contains different proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk, which create a thick batter. Cinnamon and sugar can be added. This batter is either ladled or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a circle about ¼ or inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side of the pancake, at which point the pancake is ready to be flipped. These pancakes, very light in texture, are often served at breakfast topped with maple syrup, butter, peanut butter, jelly, jam, or fruit. Many of the characters in this novel could be served with fruit.

While I am not familiar with this promising young author and merely coincidentaly share her last name, I feel as though I know her....from her prose, her words. This work is fierce, yet tender, much like pancakes. I think I may have gone to the Original Pancake House with the author one time and although we both ordered "pancakes", hers did, in fact have chocolate chips in them, and mine did not.

"Books have led some to learning and others to madness" Petrarch. This book accomplishes both. I learned a lot and was mad that I could not read more.We can smell what Marilyn is cookin' in the kitchen, and await seconds.

Good:
This book has an amazingly solid plot, written by someone who ascribes regular human emotion and behavior to his characters. Every character in the book is relatable, gives the reader much more to care about in the story.

Larry has the technical stuff down pat. He should-- the guy owns a machine gun shop, and is probably the most knowledgeable guy in Utah on what he does.

The bad:
Lots of syntactical and grammatical errors. I know this was guerilla published, but a lot of syntactical errors should not have made it through. There were two errors that cropped up quite frequently:
1) Misplaced commas; and
2) Usage of "their" as a gender-neuter possessive. A sample would be: "If a person does this action, then their right to drive is revoked." A 'person' is singular, 'their' is for plural.

I'm not one to let bad grammar get in the way of a good story though. I'll buy the sequel when it comes out, and I'll recommend this book as well.

I recommend starting to read this book on a Friday - or some day when you don't have to do anything the next day. That way, when you can't put it down and have to stay up all night to finish it, you'll be able to sleep in...

This is a fun, fast paced read that is very hard to put down. I enjoyed all the charactors and the references to "real life" movies, people, and events. There is enough weapon info to keep the gun people happy, but not so much that those of us who don't care about the differences get bored or frusterated. The ending was predictable, but not exactly. There were still a few surprises. Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of monsters-this would make a great action movie.

Loved the book. It was funny, action packed, and I have recommended it to quite a few friends, some of whom have already started to recommended it to their friends. All of us agree, a superb book.

However, most of us were very annoyed by the typographical errors. Bad comma use got to me, and at least twice quotation marks were used when no one was speaking. Hope the author keeps writing, it was completely worth it.

I recently read Monster Hunter International by Larry Corriea. I have to tell you I waffled on buying this book. I mean I had this fear of Night of the Living Dead, Zombie Apocolypse stuff that was poorly written and didn't fit into anything that interested me. But, I read some of the reviews and I picked up on Larry's website and I thought I would take a shot at it. So, I duly brought up my Amazon account, and ordered the book. At the same time, I was ordering a bunch of other stuff so I thought of it as kind of a impulse buy.

Best impulse buy that I ever made. The book is a page turner, and one I had a hard time putting down. There is little or no, slow spots in the read. From the first few pages this thing moves the plot along quickly and efficiently, introducing characters as necessary and providing just the right level of detail to set the visuals of the situation.

Is the plot predictable? Maybe at times but for the most part it twists and turns, and just when you think it is going to go straight on for a bit, it pulls a wild left turn and zig zags all over the place.

Larry pulls in aspects of many different historical cultures and weaves them almost seamlessly into the story telling . Sorry Larry, there were a couple of abrupt points so you don't get the full seamless comment. However, I think that they abruptness may have been appropriate to the scene on occasion.

I wish I could write a story that is half as entertaining, and half as well written.

This is a damn fine book that you need to go out and read.

I first saw this in my school library, and after reading a bit I decided to buy my own copy as it was so good. It is kind of like a short biography of Larson combined with special features like his earliest cartoons that weren't published and others he decided not to publish for various reasons. He includes annotated versions of some of his best cartoons, which make you think "Oh, so THAT'S what he meant..."

It's like a Larson bible. You need it.

Gary Larson has one of the sickest, most demented senses of humor and we are all better for it. In this book, he describes some of the major points in his development as a cartoonist. There is not a great deal of insight into his mentality, although he does include some of his cartoons that were rejected as being in too bad of taste. Those are of course the most interesting ones in the collection.
If you love the slightly macabre touch that Gary Larson expresses in his "The Far Side" comic strip, then this is a book you should read. It all started in a music store and the rest is twisted history.

I would totally recommend this book for anyone who would like some insight into the mind of the man who brought us the Far Side as well as anyone with an interest in the cartooning industry.

My favorite part being a section of mistakes made when the cartoons were published, for example, when his caption was switched with one from Dennis the Menace (my childhood nemesis, by the way). The result is hilarious.

The first Farside reads, "Lucky thing I learned to make peanut butter sandwiches or we woulda starved to death by now" as a family of snakes sits around a table for dinner. The first Dennis the Menace reads, "Oh, brother!... Not hamsters again!" as he and his friend walk through the house holding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The second Far Side reads, "If I get as big as Dad, won't my skin be too tight?" (not very funny but...) The second Dennis the Menace reads, "I see your little, petrified skull... labeled and resting on a shelf somewhere." Said as Dennis looks Thoughfully at his mother. REally Funny!

Great book. Get it!

So you've got the massive two-volume "Complete Far Side" and figure you're all set, Gary Larson-wise. If so, you're a few cows short of a herd, because you need this book to round out your collection. It's not just a collection of his comics. The book has a discussion of how his career as a cartoonist got started and has examples of his previous effort, a one-newspaper comic in the same style as "The Far Side." It goes on to show particular cartoons, with his comments on them, both positive and negative, on how they worked, where ideas came from or even the mechanics of drawing them, amongst other criteria. He also shares some sketchbook drawings, some of which led to final, published comics and some which did not. (One of the latter, about a frontiersman named Jeremiah and rhubarb, would have been a good one.) And he discusses how editing had sometimes unexpectedly changed his cartoons, and he relates the letters from people about specific cartoons, some very negative as you might imagine; for certain ones, he engages in a detailed discussion of what he tried to do, contrasting this with how others saw it upon publication. Larson also shares some UNpublished panels, some of which are hilarious. There's also a giant picture of a louse. He ends with a generous helping of his favorite panels, some in color. All in all, it's a lot of fun, and it gives a lot of insight into how Larson went about creating his famous comic that so many of us miss seeing in our newspapers daily.

This book is fantastic. I've had it for years and just re-discovered it. It's essential for any far side fan because it's more than just a compilation. I think it may even be a good introduction if you're just learning about the far side from the calendar (since the panel strip isn't in circulation anymore). If you'd like to own one book but aren't sure which to buy or where to start, start with this.

This book may perhaps not meet your expectations regarding content: I expected to see the uncles in their own habitat, surrounded by the debris of compulsive hoarding, at one with the world they had created. Lidz does not show this world: instead, he shows mainly the two uncles who live outside asylums at odds with the outside world, fumbling their beyond-quirky way through the landscape of New York.

That difference could make or break your interest in the book. Which do you want to read about, two curmudgeons at home in the nest they have created or two outcasts in society? I'm not saying that either narrative pathway makes for a bad or good book; I merely suggest that, before you read, you be prepared for what you will be reading. You might also consider that the four uncles of the title really refers mainly to two uncles; one of the others makes a single cameo appearance, and the other uncle gets a bit of space toward the end.

Lidz takes slow steps in childhood, telling ancedotes about his times with the two main uncles. These humerous takes are made forceful because they are told against the backdrop of his mother's long, ultimately fatal bout with cancer, a narrative that underpins the first half of the book. You thus have two strong narrative themes in the first half: the bumbling uncles (and the question of how on earth they function) and the sick mother (and the question of how on earth she manages to hang on to life).

The book becomes rockier in the second half, beginning when Lidz is an adolescent and his father remarries. Time speeds up considerably and without warning: you go from the slow ascent of the roller coaster to the rapid descent, and, narratively speaking, it's a rocky ride. It does make some narrative sense to speed up this second half, but it's too much too quickly and thus disconcerting for the reader. The second two uncles are introduced rapidly and don't receive as much analysis as the other two.

The book goes on to wrap up (incompletely) too quickly as well. It's as if when one uncle dies, another uncle is plugged in to take his place, and, what with the uniqueness of the uncles being emphasized, it doesn't work in the narrative. Lidz's attempt to introduce his recording techniques is also akwardly introduced, though I don't know how he could have done it more smoothly.

All in all, though, it's a good book. The strong first half does much to make up for the weaker second half, and the character's personalities make for excellent dialogue throughout. Lidz is an excellent prose writer who simply needs to pace himself a bit better; the writing itself is commendable. Recommended.

Heard the taped version of UUNSTRUNG HEROES by Franz
Lidz, the author's tale of growing up in what might charitably
be called a dysfunctional family . . . it consisted of him and
his sister, their parents, and their father's four brothers who
played an even more significant role in his upbringing when
his mother died.

If you ever thought your family was strange, wait until you meet
this group of eccentrics . . . for example, one brother thought
Mickey Mantle was out to get him . . . another collected
shoelaces . . . how Lidz, who became a writer for SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED, managed to escape the lunacy is beyond
me.

The fact that he grew up on Long Island, not far from where
I was raised, made the book even more interesting to me . . . that
and the narration by John Turturro . . . the actor's work greatly
aided in my enjoyment of UNSTRUNG HEROES.

This story although sadding at times kept me giggling and laughing at the antics of these uncles based on the real-life uncles of the author. I can see why it was made into a movie--it is a ball of fun and yet heartbreaking in others and down-right silly at times--in the end you come to feel as if you KNOW these men and the rest of the family and you feel slightly sad that more people don't look at the world through their eyes, but instead are so quick to judge those considered "different". I hated to see it end---a great, great story!!!

The author possesses fierce intellectual honesty, and his prose has a bare, involuted rhythm that is almost hypnotic. Very, very funny.

I could show you a sentence in Unstrung Heroes as elegant in its implications as the binomial theorem, and another as economically sphinx-like as the square root of minus one. The declarative sentence, Franz Lidz makes you suppose, is perhaps a writer's highest achievement.

Yes, the judicial system needs an overhaul! On the flip side, there are some real jerks out there - good throne material!

Yes, when the book arrived, I was headed to the bathroom. And the book has been enjoyable reading while I'm otherwise busy. The one to three page stories make for the right amount of diversion.

I've read through most stories twice now.

The Stella Awards is a good read, but I can't see how people are doing the thing they are doing to other people for just money. Is this what we are coming too.

The cases decribed make very interesting reading. And it is unbelievable that they are true. It makes it hard to review the book. On one hand, the cases are entertaining because they are incredible...making it fascinating reading. On the other hand, the fact that these ridiculous law suits are real is totally frustrating and sadly disappointing. While reading them I am so utterly disgusted by the behavior of these people and what our society/legal system allows that I have to stop reading. It is infuriating that these lawsuits are even filed let alone heard in court. Filing frivolous lawsuits should be considered a crimial act! Good book...but watch your blood pressure...read at your own risk.

Named for the woman who sued McDonalds after she spilled coffee on herself this book is filled with weird but true lawsuits that you have to read to believe.

Some of the suits in the book include:
1. A girl who sued the school system she was at because they wanted to have other kids be Valedvictorian along side her

2. A guy who sued the school system because he got an A on a prject instead of an A+

3. A mom who sued people because her drunk over 21 year old son decided to pass out under a running car and died

and many more interesting stories that will keep you entertained for hours

It's all been said before by other 5-star reviewers...and I crave other comics from Tatsuya Ishida - he is very good, too good for syndication, even!

Ever since Calvin and Hobbes left the comics scene, I've been hard-pressed to find another comic that really hit home with situations I can relate to. Nothing is sacred to Ishida, since he makes fun of everything from God and the devil, to the ongoing battle of the sexes.
I recommend this highly. =)

Always with things popping up, this web comic has always entertained me. Some are just a giggles while others make you wanna laugh out loud. I love keenspot comics, I've been reading them for about 5 years now. Sinfest is one of my favorites of all time. Just how the characters interact is so priceless and well thought out. How the random stuff can turn into a delightful story line. You won't find this at your local book store. Fun for the whole family(if you like corrupting your children that is).

Quality comic, which I highly recommend. However, you can purchase the books for only $15 on the author's cafepress.com page. He has a link to it on sinfest.net.

Sinfest is the best web-only comic I've read. I've been reading Sinfest since 2002 and I'm surprised that it's still not syndicated.

This book contains comics from 2000 and 2001. Tatsuya Ishida's art has improved since then, but even his older material is good. The Sinfest comics are all online, so you can check it out and decide for yourself if you like it before you buy.

If you love C&H, you'll like this book. For me, Calvin is like pepperoni pizza... when it's good, it's really good, and when it's bad, it's still good.

Unfortunately, I say it rather cynically.

My, there are so many monsters peopling this strip. The kid's a monster. His parents are monsters. The tiger's a monster. The teacher's a monster. The babysitter's a monster. And the only character who's not a monster (and more of a victim) is naturally enough, a young girl who is never bad or gets into any trouble. And the strip, while a rugrat's fantasyland, also smacks of extreme adolescent rebellion.

The strip is so overrated even after its demise a decade ago that it's been ensured that no cartoonist alive or yet to be born would ever create a strip as well-worshipped as it is for all eternity to come. So why not just remove the whole comic section from the news for good?

This book combines material from both Yukon Ho! and Weirdos From Another Planet!. Perfect to read with a blanket and a cup of tea on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It lifts my spirits up and makes me laugh, even when there's no one around. Really, that could be said about any Calvin and Hobbes book, though!

Whether the collection is the "Indispensible" or "Essential" or "Quintessential" Calvin and Hobbes, it doesn't really matter. Watching this hyperactive, hyperimaginative child and his willing though wise accomplice, Hobbes, take on evil babysitters, Susie Derkins, the class bully and all creatures (real or imaginary), is a pleasure and laughter without stop. "The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes" is another in a long list of the great comic work of Bill Watterson. This is an indispensible/essential/quintessential collection for all Calvin and Hobbes and humor fans!

Calvin is a beam of light, a dinosaur, Spaceman Spiff, a pollster on the election of new parents, a robotic explorer from Jupiter (in search of chocoloate) -- well lots of things. He's all the best and all the worst a boy about five can be, and that covers a lot of ground.

If the others around him never quite see things Calvin's way, that's really not his problem. Hobbes will always understand, and generally offer some understated commentary on events. I prefer not to say too much about Hobbes. It's really best if you let him introduce himself.

This book is a treasury of daily and sunday color strips. It captures a part of one of the best strip comics ever. If you already know C&H, you'll surely want this collection. If you missed the strip when it was still in the papers, this will give you a wonderful introduction.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood, and Calvin offers his for your enjoyment.

//wiredweird

Good book (every parent should read), great condition for used book. Very effecient in deleviery.

I listen to Sheri on 'Bob and Sheri' and have loved her sense of humor for years. The book is LOL funny. She brings the challenges of trying to make a crazy life with kids look like what we're told is a 'normal' family into life as it really is.

Kudos, Sheri, and thanks for all the laughs!

While searching through Amazon's Bargain Books, I came across "Be Happy or I'll Scream!: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family and Life" by Sheri Lynch. With a title like that, I couldn't resist buying it.

Sheri is a woman who had a less than pleasant childhood and yearned for the perfect family, the kind she saw on TV sitcoms. Even after she was married and had children of her own, somehow she still had not achieved that "perfection". She decided that over the course of the year, they would become the ideal nuclear family. Her course of action - THINK yourself happy, REMEMBER they're growing up so fast, ADAPT to the challenges and PLAN for adventure or T.R.A.P. for short.

In the end, she realized that happiness has to be pursued, that it doesn't just end up on your doorstep. "The real fun of life isn't waiting to be found in the biggest or flashiest or most spectacular places but in the small, quiet, mundane moments that disappear when you're not looking. Those are the things that can't be scripted or bought. They can only be seen and felt and remembered." So very true!

Her wit and humor left me truly laughing out loud! I highly recommend this book!

[as reviewed on my blog "My Personal Reviews"]

This is a quick read and Sheri's humor is great. I truly enjoyed the book!

to listen to Bob and Sherry, you'll love this book. My mom did and was happy to get it for her B-day. She read it all in like a week.

Forgive me if my review runs a bit on the sappy side, but I grew up with Calvin and Hobbes, and I sometimes think they are among the best friends I've ever had. Bill Watterson's comic is gentle, sincere, and magical. At its core it is an examination of what it means to be human, and the value of friendship. Watterson's philosophy of the comic strip was that it should be based around characters rather than gags; we should feel as though we know the protagonists as real people, rather than as interchangeable vehicles for jokes. That comes through on every page, even from the very beginning. Calvin's world has a cast you can probably count on two hands, but every character (except possibly Moe, the bully) has at least a hint of fully-rounded personality. Watterson's world is one of simple pleasures shared with good company.

As with any comic strip, the first collection is rather crude in pretty much every aspect--the drawings, the humor, the personalities--but as a prototype for what would come later, it is not without its own charms. Even at this stage I would hardly call Calvin and Hobbes a forgettable, generic strip. It still has heart and a sense of profundity, even if Watterson had not yet figured out the most effective way to illustrate these things in his strip. It's interesting to see the origin of Hobbes (even if this version was discarded later), the genesis of Calvin's relationship with Susie (the love-hate romance, which will later be toned down, is at the forefront here), the first appearance of Spaceman Spiff, the introduction of a then-unnamed Rosalyn, and so forth. Also, early Calvin and Hobbes are somehow a bit more adorable here than their later incarnations, but you didn't hear that from me.

In an age of disposable comics, Calvin and Hobbes is one of the few childhood experiences of my life that I can actually appreciate more with age. I would not find it an exaggeration to say that Watterson's perspective of life heavily shaped my own, as I find myself much less concerned with superficiality and the plastic culture of Hollywood than many of my reality-TV-addicted, Nike-sporting, iPod-blasting peers, and more appreciative of the little things in life that we tend to take for granted. All Calvin needs to be content is a good friend and a search for adventure, and even as I grow, kicking and screaming, into adulthood, I find I can still relate.

I ordered this item and received it within a week. Very good timing.

I love this book!When my friend got a Calvin and Hobbes book, I did'nt really like it because it was not in color. But once I got this book I loved it! I colored in the ilistrations so now I don't have ANY problems with this book! I want to collect all of the Calvin and Hobbes books, but right now I only have 4. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes funny books. They are so good my dad reads them! Other good Calvin and Hobbes books are Revenge of the Baby-Sat,Scientific Progress Goes Boink, and Attack of the Deranged Muntant Killer Monster Snow Goons. Well, I guess that's it. BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!

This is a funny book about a kid named Calvin and his stuffed tiger named
Hobbes. They do funny stuff and they have adventures. Calvin is a funny six year old. Hobbes is a smart tiger! YOU NEED TO READ IT!

This is the second of three little books, published in the UK, that contain the exact material of the very first Calvin and Hobbes book. I bought this book thinking it had something new in it, but I didn't realize it contained the same material as a book I already had.

It's probably a better investment just to go ahead and buy the first Calvin and Hobbes book (titled Calvin and Hobbes). Everybody loves C&H; who doesn't know a little boy somewhere "just like Calvin"?