Humor Books


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Humor Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Humor
The Asperger Parent: How to Raise a Child with Asperger Syndrome and Maintain Your Sense of Humor
Published in Paperback by Autism Asperger Publishing Company (2002-10-15)
Author: Jeffrey Cohen
List price: $21.95
New price: $12.67
Used price: $12.47

Average review score:

This book helped me to be less judgmental...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-25
I have a friend whose kid is always disrupting parties, play dates, conversations etc. I used to think "Why does he act like that?" Can't they DO something... My friend recently confided in me that her son has Asperger's syndrome. I felt TERRIBLE for thinking so unkindly about her son. I got the summary of this book at ParentsDigest and learned about his condition. It's so true that the more I know the more compassionate I can be. Glad I took the time to find out more.

Awesome must read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-22
This was my first book on Asperger's. It is an awesome must read book for anyone that deals with Asperger's. It has truly helped my husband and myself. I would recommend this to anyone!

good supportive book for parents (and professionals)
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-08
The Asperger Parent by Jeffrey Cohen provides a much needed source of emotional support for parents of children with Asperger Syndrome. It would be especially helpful for a parent whose child has been recently diagnosed. Mr. Cohen is very readable, and obviously has worked through a lot of his feelings about raising a young child with Aspergers. He presents simple topics in humorous terms that every Asperger Parent can appreciate. I found myself alternatively laughing and crying, but consistently relieved to have my feelings validated in print. I would recommend this book to both parents and professionals who want to know what it really feels like to have a child with Asperger Syndrome. While, you may not get any hard and fast answers to your problems here, you will get a good, solid sense of what you and others have to deal with to get the best out of life for yourself and your child!

Funny book for a serious topic
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-20
This is a very funny book. I see a lot of my son in the stories told in this book so it is very easy to relate to. This book is great if you are feeling alone like you are the only one who has a child that doesnt "act normal" or if you have a new DX and feel over whelmed.
This is not a good book if you are looking for a "How to raise your child" book. Like the auther says this book is not about your child it is about YOU.
Many thanks to Jeffrey Cohen for sharing his story with us!

(((((HUGS))))
Lori

Very helpful
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-07
I got the item in no time and I have found the info in the book to be very useful.

Humor
The Big Book of Hell
Published in Paperback by HarperCollins Entertainment (2004-09-20)
Author: Matt Groening
List price: $26.85
New price: $16.80
Used price: $18.03

Average review score:

Not nearly as awesome as the simpsons
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-27
I am a big matt groening fan so I bought this. One out of every 10 was funny and the others...

This book is awesome
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-17
This book is really funny,and yet so realistic (apart from the talking bunnies). You can definitly see some simalarities between the charactors in the Simpsons and the characters in the book. I plan on buying all 5 books

One of Greoning's Best
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-28
I must say, Big Book of Hell is 10 times better than Huge Book of Hell. Funnier, less preachy, bigger, and just plain better. It's honest, and extremely observant of the little stupid things we do every day. Matt's detailed descriptions of school and work are so true, I wish I would have written them. Bongo's anti-school agenda is so funny and true. The strips with the eyes and Bongo strapped in a chair are among my favorites. Another thing Big Book has that Huge Book doesn't, is that it is TOUCHING! Witness the 8 Steps of Handling a Divorce (or something to that nature). I almost cried when I read it. In some ways, its more personal than Huge Book, other times, more universal. Which is why Greoning's work (and the Simpsons) are so brilliant: touching, personal yet universal, bitter yet hilarious, observant without being fake. Big Book also has TREMENDOUS re-read value. I highly suggest anyone looking for a laugh or some delicious insight to purchase Big Book of Hell.

Groening, rhymes with complaining
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-14
It's one thing to say that life is hell and sit back and sulk. It's another thing to turn it into hysterical, scathing humor. Matt Groening's "... is Hell" series is by far the darkest and funniest exploration into our modern life. If Mark Twain were a cartoonist, this is what he would have produced. Compare these cartoons to those animated yellow people (Bart, Homer, et al.), and The Simpsons are no longer a dysfunctional family.

Hell ain't that bad
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-17
I've been a huge fan of the Simpsons since they first aired, and recently I decided to check out Matt Groening's other works. I bought this book used and it was worth every penny. The comics here are unlike any other. I particularly enjoy them because they are totally irreverent, yet honest about the state of American society today. Many of the 'School is Hell' series appear in this collection. They are my favorites--they get me through long nights of studying. It makes me wish there was a 'Life in Hell' TV series to go along with the Simpsons.

Humor
Bill Peet: An Autobiography
Published in Hardcover by Houghton Mifflin (1989-03-27)
Author: Bill Peet
List price: $22.00
New price: $12.57
Used price: $0.79
Collectible price: $60.00

Average review score:

Review of Bill Peet: An Autobiography
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-29
This is an excellent book detailing Bill Peet's life from a small town in Indiana to becoming an award-winning children's book writer/illustrator.

A wonderful biography for children and adults
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-21
I am a children's librarian and I am often perusing our collection for items that look interesting. I recently discovered an extremely old copy of "Capyboppy" by Bill Peet and absolutely loved it! As a result, I decided to look for other titles and realized we had his illustrated autobiography. His drawings are heartfelt and comforting and his (seemingly) effortless talent is stunning. His description of various parts of his life are engaging and I believe that children and adults will enjoy the book equally. I can't recommend this book enough.

Bill Peet Shines
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-09
Bill Pete started out as a daydreaming, doodling boy, and made it all the way to Walt Disney! Bill was born in Grandview and was raised in Indianapolis. He lived happily with his Mother, two brothers, and grandmother. His father was a traveling salesman, and didn't really come into his life until later. Ever since Bill was young, he loved to draw. During class, he would doodle in between the margins, and his books were a big favorite amongst the other kids when he sold them as second-hand. His childhood was fun filled, and he had some big hopes and dreams. First of all, he wanted to go on a safari and sketch the animals, but most of all, he wanted to be an artist. One day, in the summer of 1928, Bill's father returned "home" broke, travel weary, and demanding money. After arguing for many days, Bills mother gave in and paid his father. With that, his father drove away. Not long after that, Bill's grandmother tragically died, which put the family in complete shambles. They had to move, and everything changed. The Great Depression started, and Bills father kept taking money, so he kept them poor. Bill went through school well as a student, graduated, and went to college. That was when the work became harder. Bill was facing flunking some of his classes. One night, he ran into an old friend from school, and was persuaded to start taking some arts classes. Bill began painting, and it is there that he met his beautiful wife Margaret Brunst with which he eventually had two sons. He graduated with flying colors, and took a job as a painter. Finally, he realized he didn't have a steady income, and applied for Walt Disney Productions. He became a good friend of Walt Disney himself! Bill helped create many classics starting with Snow White, and going all the way to Jungle book. As time went by, Bill decided that after 27 years, it was time to leave. Bill had become attached to the company and his job, but mostly Walt. It was hard to say "good bye." About one year later, Walt Disney died. Bill went on to writing stories and illustrating them for children of all ages. They all relate to him in one way or another, but the one that felt the most connected to him was "Chester the Worldly Pig". Chester was who he was, and he had always been so. And like Chester, Pete "had grown beyond his expectations."

I can see myself in Pete sometimes. He never gave up and kept dreaming and kept his spirit alive. He has an easy flow to his writing that makes you feel relaxed and know that you're in for one heck of a good story. I loved his book for the truth that it told, and for the wonder that makes up Bill Pete. Keep dreaming, if you strive, you can reach the stars and soar beyond.

Wonderful look into an amazing artist's life
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-08
The book that introduced me to Bill Peet as a child and helped in inspiring me to push my art and chase my dreams. A must have for any lover of original Disney art or aspiring artist.

While not aimed at someone my age...
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-13
I nevertheless found it quite fascinating and engrossing.

Peet is a self-professed reluctant student, especially of English classes, but he is nonetheless quite the good writer. Peet's illustrations add a lot to the pace and feel of the book and are a joy in their own right. His stories of life in Indianapolis before World War II will be interesting to any native Hoosier (as am I).

However, the most interesting part details his jobs at Walt Disney studios. His descriptions of how they made movies in the old days as well as the insider's look at Walt Disney himself are fascinating. Peet worked on several Disney movies, including Pinnochio, Fantasia, Cinderella (he created the lovable mice) and the original 101 Dalmations.

Peet brushes over his life after he left Disney a little too quickly. I would have liked to have read his descriptions of life in the publishing world as well. Also lacking is much history of his family life.

That being said, it was still fascinating, entertaining and totally worth the reader's time.

I give this one a grade of A-

Humor
The Cartoonist's Workbook Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling
Published in Paperback by Sterling (1997-06-30)
Author: Robin Hall
List price: $13.95
New price: $6.98
Used price: $1.64

Average review score:

A lot better than it might look at first.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-30
If you quickly glance through it, it might not seem like a great book. But it's really good, it just uses simple drawings to show idea's. If you want to start a comic strip artist this is a must to add to your collection. If you want to pretty pictures by a comic book, this is to learn to create them.

Helpful, Concise and Inspiring
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-16
This book is very helpful. I've had some experience before with attempting cartooning and I've been drawing seriously for years. However, this book teaches a different method for cartooning and drawing that is different than what I've been using before and reading it inspires me again to do more cartooning.

The way he writes is just encouraging, friendly and it is quick to get to the point. He accompanies his writing with illustrations that look comfortable and accomplished. The author is obviously a capable cartoonist and it allows you to feel like you are being taught well. He assumes you know nothing and I'm certain that his methods would seem comfortable to even the most inexperienced artists.

The gag writing section of the book is interesting too but it isn't as good as the rest of his book. This is understandable given the nature of writing humor. Even though it doesn't do as well as the drawing sections, it still is the best guide to writing humor I've ever seen. Like the rest of the book, it inspires me to write humor of my own. It's shortcoming though is that unlike the cartooning section, the examples don't seem accomplished. Though the methods he teaches seem promising with practice, his own stuff is not very funny.

Regardless of the flaws in the humor-writing sections, the whole of the book is just so inviting that it makes the book a great purchase. It's a useful and fun book and I'd have gladly paid twice what I did for it.

An unexpected art resource...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-22
I've worked with fine art for years, and I was looking for a way to loosen up a little, do some simple sketching. Among art books there isn't much to choose from if you want to draw loose! I came across this book at a bookstore and I just liked the drawing style. I brought it home and within hours the looser style I wanted to achieve had emerged. If it's helped me this much, I can imagine what it would do for someone who actually wants to draw cartoons! It's a great reference for the simple basics of drawing everything from people to common objects. A great book!!!!

It was More Fun Then Work in the End!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-01
Before I finished my third book I decided it needed cartoons to visually explain some ideas (a picture is worth 1000 words) and provide humor to a tough subject. I started checking with hiring a professional artist (or student artist) to do the work. It quickly became clear the task would be time consuming, expensive and I may not get what I wanted in the end.

First, it would be difficult to find someone who would be able to take what was in my mind and transfer it to a cartoon

Second, it became painfully clear it would be expensive (even with a student artist). I wanted around twenty five cartoons drawn.

Third, some individuals wanted to discuss contracts and usage.

My best option was to learn how to draw cartoons myself. I figured it would be less expensive (only the cost of books and art supplies), and frustrating and I would get exactly what was in my brain. It would take some time to become proficient, but it sounded like a fun project. I was fortunately right.

The Cartoonist's Workbook by and a couple other books helped me learn how to draw cartoons good enough to put in my latest book.

Robin Hall's common sense approach to teaching drawing made the challenge fun. There were also a tremendous number of different sketches in the book that helped jump start ideas for potential cartoons.

Robin Hall provides many excellent sections that helps teach drawing techniques. Some the sections that I found especially helpful were: The Expressions section, The Useful Outdoor References and The Gag Situations.

After finishing my sketches, I used Adobe Elements software to polish up the work. I was very pleased with the final cartoons that went into my book...and there have been many positive comments about the cartoons from people who have the book.

Overall, this is a great resource for learning to draw cartoons!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain : How to Come Up With Jokes for Cartoons and Comic Strips

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Cartooning but Were Afraid to Draw (Christopher Hart Titles)

Good Cartoon Book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-17
the cartoonist's workbook is a great book that just about goes over every thing needed to make a cartoon. of course since the book is only around a 100 pages it doesnt go into great detail on every issue. its a great recourse as it has around 20 pages of just gag ideas, useful poses etc...

Anyways the book teaches you a very 90's looking type of cartoon which i happen to like. I would recommend this book for anyone trying to draw some cartoons. This book assumes you know almost nothing and cant draw so its for absolute begginers. i highly recommend this book.

Humor
Cow Moo Me (Harper Growing Tree)
Published in Board book by HarperFestival (1998-09-30)
Author: Stephen Losordo
List price: $5.95
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Great "Poem" for babies
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-26
We recieved a copy of this book as a present when our baby was born. Honestly, the art is not my thing at all. Its that weird collage style. So, if it was up to me, I would give this book 3 stars but my daughter absolutely loves it. She's 8 months old and always gets so excited when we read it that its on heavy rotation. I like how it teaches about animal sounds but with a fun rythem. Eventualy, you just don't notice the art that much. In the end, I am forced to give it 5 stars.

Great Rhythm! A Favorite!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-11
This book has very simple text, but my 16 mo old twins love the rhythm. They both dance around as I read it aloud and have me read it over and over again. Like other reviewers, my son laughs and dances over to look at the picture when we get to the "Bee Buzz Honey" page. We used to get this book from the library but decided we needed a copy in our personal home library.

Cute and silly
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-07
Cow Moo Me contains images of animals paired with text using a rhyming pattern to display the name of each animal and the sound the animal makes. For example, an image of a bumblebee flying around flowers is paired with the text, "bee buzz honey, bee buzz zoom, bee buzz busy, bee buzz bloom." This book would be appropriate for infants ages newborn to 24 months. The rhythmic patterns, bright colors, and familiar animals make this book ideal for this age group. In addition, the rounded edges are very appropriate for young infants who like to explore books themselves. I would recommend using this book in the library as part of a lapsit. The artwork is made of bright, colorful collages. The images are cute and silly, fitting well with the simple text.

A Fun Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-20
My 2 year old LOVES this book. He can practically recite it back to me! He laughes when we get to the Bee Buzz Honey part! Although most of the reviews are for babies much younger, my son continues to enjoy this book, in fact, even more now!

A favorite for the very young
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-08
My daughter is 7 months old and for the last month this book has been among her favorite playthings. She laughs and waves her arms when I read it to her and her eyes light up just looking at the pictures. I turn the page to "Bee Buzz Honey" and her eyes find the bee and she smiles. Not great literature, no. But a book a baby could love.

Humor
Dogfessions
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins (2008-06-01)
Author: Nikki Moustaki
List price: $19.99
New price: $8.94
Used price: $7.49

Average review score:

OMG!! CFBE!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-21
Seriously, if you love dogs, this is the cutest book ever! It really makes me miss the dog I grew up with but haven't seen in like, forever! And its such a great coffee table book because whenever I look at it it makes me feel so much better about everything even if I'm having like a really bad day! I think I'm going to get another one for my Mom for Christmas because she loves dogs too!

Simply Adorable
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-11
Dogfessions is my absolute favorite dog book of the year. It's a great book for all ages, a quick read and really captures every aspect of owning dogs. After visiting the website at www.dogfessions.com, I wish that more of the postcards had been included in the book! I just can't get enough. How about a dogfessions 2?

A Must Read for Animal Lovers!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-10
I LOVE this book! So heartwarming, adorable, silly and laugh out loud funny. Nikki Moustaki pulled off an amazing feat with this book in that she made me love dogs even more than I already do (which I genuinely did not think was possible!)

Life through K9 eyes is glorious...
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-10
DOGFESSIONS is a must-read not only for those of us who feel living with dogs makes our life complete, but it is also an eye-opening adventure for anyone who has never experienced the joy of a canine best-friend. Life viewed through the eyes of a dog is life at its simplest and finest, and DOGFESSIONS reminds us to 'take time to smell the flowers" and all those other cliches that really do in fact explain the true meaning of life and love. Life without a dog...I just can't imagine that, and after looking at the soul-filled canine eyes in this great coffee-table book, DOGFESSIONS will touch your heart and make you realize how much greater life is thanks to you four-legged best friend!

i confess- i love dogfessions
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-10
i have long been a fan of the website - www.dogfessions.com - and am so excited to have a book of all the hilarious, thoughtful and sweet dogfessions. every time i open this book, it reminds me how wonderful dogs are and that it's their world, we just live in it. (and clean up after them)

Humor
Enormously FoxTrot
Published in Paperback by Andrews McMeel Publishing (1994-09-01)
Author: Bill Amend
List price: $16.95
New price: $4.96
Used price: $2.85

Average review score:

Great!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-25
If there's one cartoon comic book you should get, it's "Enormously Foxtrot." Entertaining, witty, and comical, it's the perfect reading during your spare time. Jason continues to play tricks on his sister, Paige continues to physically torment Jason, and Peter is just a regular teenager who has an appetite of a vacuum cleaner. Meanwhile, the parents try to deal with them and their own lives and still be a happy family. This gigantic collection is enjoyable and would help you pass those long hours at home.

Never-ending Fun
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-17
I have been a faithful FoxTrot reader for years. Roger, Andy and their kids Peter, Paige and Jason are always good for a reality check with a large dose of laughter. I've got two girls and let me tell you, I see a lot of my kids in Paige with, I believe, even a healthy dose of Jason thrown in. And they have Peter's bottomless stomach. Of course, they're faithful FoxTrot readers too. I used to read the strip to them, explain what was going on, but now they get it just fine and we three all laugh together. Then my girls try and explain the strip to their dad, who pretends he doesn't get it.

The FoxTrot folks are a great family, one we sort of got used to checking up on every day, so we took the news that Mr. Amend was going to cease daily distribution of his wonderfully funny people and turn his strip to Sunday only, with a bit of sadness. Still, we have these terrific FoxTrot books to keep us going with our FoxTrot fix. Mr. Amend is to be commended for his great gift to our culture and his great gift to so many lives. I truly believe a laugh a day, helps keep the blues away and the FoxTrot gang are always good for a laugh. Heck there are a lot of laughs in the FoxTrot books. I know, I have them all and I am, along with my girls and my hubby dear, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we don't have an iguana, but my girls do have a pet gecko and, you guessed it, his name is Quincy.

Foxtrot humor at its best
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-21
FoxTrot follows a family of five through their bizzare everyday lives. Roger, the father, is a mid-level office worker, and his wife Andy is a successful columnist. Peter, the oldest child, is a high school senoir with a passion for sports but without the skill. Paige, the middle child, enjoys shopping but hates schoolwork. Jason, the youngest child, enjoys schoolwork and harrassing his sister.

Bill Amend had been writing Foxtrot for about four years when he drew the comic strips in this collection, so at this point he had refined his humor without needing to reuse any older storylines. Most of the comic strips play up the sibling rivalry between Peter, Paige, and Jason very well. The book also features a number of comic strips that feature Peter's girlfriend Denise, who is not featured as much in more recent strips, and it also includes a large number of references to pop culture. The longer storylines in the book include two vacations by the Fox family: one to an amusement park, and one to the hot desert in the summer. Amend also drew several new panels for the center of the book that show Paige's dreams about her idealized French lover Pierre. The book still occasionally tocuhes on serious subjects, too, such as when Peter experiments with chewing tobacco.

Overall, this is classical Foxtrot humor. Foxtrot fans should definitely buy this book, but even casual readers of Foxtrot comic strips will find something to enjoy in this book.

I cant get enough of it!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-01
Yet another amazing foxtrot anthology, The best word to describe it is just plain funny, this is a good long book, so the humor goes on and on.

Enormously FoxTrot. Foxtrot, All Great!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-19
I've been a Foxtrot reader for a long time and personally I think there is something suspiciously wrong with people who don't find Bill Amend's characters funny as all get out. If you want a good laugh, check out Bill in your local newspaper, or better yet, get one of the Foxtrot books. They are all great, really, they are.

Like many of Mr. Amend's fans I'm a bit disappointed he's switching his strip to Sunday-only, but fortunately I can still read him daily in the Foxtrot books. Get them one and all and you can keep right on a laughing.

Humor
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Cartooning but Were Afraid to Draw (Christopher Hart Titles)
Published in Paperback by Watson-Guptill (1994-04-01)
Author: Christopher Hart
List price: $19.95
New price: $8.95
Used price: $4.78
Collectible price: $19.95

Average review score:

Beyond the Basics
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-28
I love how Christopher Hart really delves into the hard things to draw. Like hands and feet and expressions. This is a wonderful art resource. The pictures are fun and will help you generate many of your own ideas.

This would make a great gift!

very helpful
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-08
I have never done any kind of drawing other than when I was 8yrs old for fun. I wanted to learn how to draw cartoons and this book was my first purchase on my road to drawing.

I thought the instruction was simplified for the beginning artist like me. I am very visual and so I was pleased with the tremendous amount of examples included. I also thought that the lay-out of instruction was helpful, step by step.

Over all this book was very helpful, to the point, and interesting to read. Christopher Hart kept my attention while teaching me the basics of cartooning.

thanks



Yap, good book...for the BEGINNER-beginner
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-02
Reading all the praise here, I was pretty anxious to receive this book, EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CARTOONING BUT WERE AFRAID TO DRAW. I expected to get inspired and learn techniques in writing and drawing I had not perhaps even considered before. In this respect, I can't hide my disappointment. I had not read for long before I realized that what this book had to offer would not be of much use to me. I am a self-taught cartoonist, I've been doing comic strips my entire life and all the advice this book provided I found to be completely obvious; not without relevance, certainly, but I didn't purchase this book to be told that "monsters get more effective if colorized green," or to study the contrast between a happy face and a sad face. Also, the drawings used to represent the points in the text are just about as stereotypical as they can get; I'm not saying I expected it to do the process of creating original characters and ideas for me, but in a book of this kind I find it of invaluable importance that the author is able to really inspire the reader to go ahead and make something good. After all, we've got HI AND LOIS and U.S. ACRES already, or what?

However, if you have just discovered that you got a knack for drawing and want to try it out as a cartoonist, but need guidance in the (very) main rules, this is a good book. If you have been part of this medium for a while and seek new opportunities to get inspired or learn new tricks, try elsewhere. Your own mind for instance.

Maybe not Everything, but Plenty Nevertheless!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-01
Before I finished my third book I decided it needed cartoons to visually explain some ideas (a picture is worth 1000 words) and provide humor to a tough subject. I started checking with hiring a professional artist (or student artist) to do the work. It quickly became clear the task would be time consuming, expensive and I may not get what I wanted in the end.

First, it would be difficult to find someone who would be able to take what was in my mind and transfer it to a cartoon

Second, it became painfully clear it would be expensive (even with a student artist). I wanted around twenty five cartoons drawn.

Third, some individuals wanted to discuss contracts and usage.

My best option was to learn how to draw cartoons myself. I figured it would be less expensive (only the cost of books and art supplies), and frustrating and I would get exactly what was in my brain. It would take some time to become proficient, but it sounded like a fun project. I was fortunately right.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cartooning but Were Afraid to Ask by Christopher Hart and a couple other books helped me learn how to draw cartoons good enough to put in my latest book.

Christopher Hart has done several books on drawing comics. He provides excellent common sense content, and teaches the skill very well though his words and cartoons.

Some the sections that I found especially helpful were: Expressions, How to Draw Hands, The Art of Character Design, Body Types, Principles of Layout, Layouts from a Distance, The Special Effects Lab, Explosions and more.

After finishing my sketches, I used Adobe Elements software to polish up the work. I was very pleased with the final cartoons that went into my book..and there have been many positive comments about them from people who have the book!

Overall, this is a great resource for learning to draw cartoons!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain : How to Come Up With Jokes for Cartoons and Comic Strips

The Cartoonist's Workbook Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling

Excellent
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-19
Far more detailed than the How to Draw Cartoons book by this author. There are examples of heads, eyes, noses, mouth, hands, and many other elements in good detail.

Humor
Frazz: Live from Bryson Elementary
Published in Paperback by Andrews McMeel Publishing (2005-09-01)
Author: Jef Mallett
List price: $10.95
New price: $24.42
Used price: $12.05

Average review score:

Frazz: Live from Bryson Elementary
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-15
It's a great book. I love the way you get to know more about Frazz. I also love the relationships Frazz has with some of the students and teachers.

Comics for the thinkers
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-07
I really would rate this a 7! It's also really good to see children put in a good light. All parents and teachers should read this and the second one.

Frazz: Live from Bryson Elementary by Jef Mallett
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-08
The first of the author's Frazz series, hilarious and real life from the first strip to the last. All will enjoy reading this and reliving our youth, a keen insight into the minds of the youth and all others. Read it, you will put this in your library and refer to it often.

a little-known absolute masterpiece
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-14
My first encounter with Mr Mallet's work, and definitely a case of love at first sight. I'm astonished at how deeply Mr Mallet can make his characters come alive, while still being at least as funny and deep as any other of my favourite comics.

Gotta Love Frazz
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09
If you are not familiar with Frazz (or Mr. Frazier) the Janitor at Bryson Elementary School, let me take a moment to introduce you. Frazz is a triathlete, a song writer, a poet, a literary buff and, surprisingly, a janitor at an elementary school. He is into healthy living, good food, good fun, and loves a good battle ball/eraser fight. He is the shining star of Bryson and is loved by all the kids there. He is a better teacher than some of the other paid staff at the school.

I sometimes think that Frazz is a grown up Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbs)

I really love Frazz. This collection allowed me to catch up on a lot of the old Frazz cartoons. Mr. Mallett's drawing style is very consistent from beginning to end. His humour is always gentle, loving caring, thoughtful and morally sound. The lessons Frazz provides to the kids of Bryson elementary school are deep, valuable, honest, socially responsible, healthy and usually indirect and subtle. If I take the time, I even learn new words from Mr. Mallett.

My teens also love Frazz. Then again, they like Garfield a lot too, so there is no accounting for taste.

My family and I will be reading and re-reading this collection of Frazz cartoons over and over again in the coming weeks.

Gotta love Frazz!

Humor
Going for the Bronze: Still Bitter, More Baggage
Published in Hardcover by Bloomsbury USA (2005-10-01)
Author: Sloane Tanen
List price: $14.95
New price: $1.99
Used price: $1.31

Average review score:

hilarious!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-24
These are the best books ever. I always look through it when I need a little pick me up and it always gives me a good laugh!!! Makes a great gift for somebody. I always order extras to have on hand..great last minute gift.

:-)
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10
Another great one from Sloane Tanen. Same chicks, different day! You'll love this one too!

Sad, but true!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-05
The cartoons wouldn't be so funny (except the pictures are just adorable), if they weren't so true. Sloane translates human emotions into these cute chicks doing outrageous things. Buy one for yourself and 10 to give away.

This series is hilarious!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-12
I first fell in love with Sloane Tanen's work when I read the caption above the photo: "Samantha looked around the playground in amazement. Her mother had been right. She really WAS the smartest and the prettiest."

If you thought you had to give up picture books when you graduated from second grade, have I got a treat for you! Writer Sloane Tanen and photographer Stefan Hagen take those tiny little stuffed yellow chicks you can find at Easter and put them in wickedly funny scenarios in gorgeously detailed dioramas. This is the first book in the series BITTER WITH BAGGAGE SEEKS SAME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SOME CHICKENS and it's both delightfully bitter and sunny-natured. And who can't relate to adorable little spoiled tyrant Coco who is rarely seen without her tiara and dreams "that one day she would grow up to be a benevolent queen...or a supermodel?"

The second book in the series--GOING FOR THE BRONZE: STILL BITTER, MORE BAGGAGE is equally hilarious. One of my favorite pages shows two chickens peering over the side of the Titanic while a chicken floats beneath them and one of them comments, "I don't know, the last thing he said was something about being king of the world and then I may have accidentally pushed him." No one is safe from the satire including Charles and Camilla, American Idol, and Hooters. And the photographs are so detailed that you can spend hours just noticing things in the background.

I should warn you that, due to a wee bit of naughty language, these picture books are for adults only, but Sloane Tanen has also written a children's book called COCO ALL YEAR ROUND. If you want your child to develop a deliciously dark and dysfunctional sense of humor right along with you, you can read them rhymes featuring the adorable Coco like "I walk down the street with my whole Girl Scout troop. It would have been fun had I not slipped in poop." (I'll spare you a description of the illustration on this one.)

[...]

For ladies, young and old
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-02
A followup to Sloane Tanen's earlier "Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same." This is also a hilarious look at the lives of adult females. Thanks to Sloane for these books!!! My college daughter and I laugh, laugh, laugh at these funny, situations and how Sloane has captured them perfectly with the help of some fuzzy little chicks!!!!


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