At her mother's suggestion, the girl decides to retrace her steps to figure out where she last played with the cherished bear. Anyone who has children can imagine what a labyrinthine path her search takes. First she looks under the bed, and although this crawl-space is overflowing with toys, there is no bear. Then she removes nearly every book from the bookshelf, to no avail. On and on she goes, aided by advice from her annoyed-yet-helpful older sister, until she stumbles upon so many other long-forgotten toys she loses sight of her objective entirely.
Feiffer has created such masterpieces of playful wit as Meanwhile and A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears, and continues his reign of artful comedy here. His comic-strip-style illustrations (complete with speech bubbles) are delectably squiggly, scratchy, and sketchy but at the same time precise, expressive, and alive with motion. If you haven't introduced your favorite kids to Feiffer's genius before, this book gives you the perfect, hilarious excuse. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations © 1998 by Jules Feiffer. Permission by Morrow Junior Books.) (Ages 4 to 8)
]]>The Great Comic Book Heroes is widely acknowledged to be the first book to analyze the juvenile medium of superhero comics in a critical manner, but without denying the iconic hold such works have over readers of all ages. Out of print for over 30 years, Feiffer's book discusses the role that the patriotic superhero played during World War II in shaping the public spirit of civilians and soldiers, as well as the escapist power these stories held over the zeitgeist of America.
With wit and insight Feiffer discusses what the great comic book heroes meant to him as a child and later as an artist; along with his trenchant and wryly-written commentary, the book includes numerous illustrated examples of strips and characters discussed.
]]>It would be simple to dismiss Rall as a whiner if he weren't so right all the time. Furthermore, at the risk of sounding like one of his cartoons, Rall performs a vital social function: he presents a point of view other than that of the demographic 800-pound gorilla, the baby boomer. Rall has no pity for that generation, which he sees as self-indulgent, hypocritical, and well, evil. But the cartoonist is an evenhanded demonizer: Gen-X fares little better; it's clear Rall has no illusions as to what nightmares would ensue if he and his compatriots ran things.
Revenge of the Latchkey Kids is a howl of anger--in perfect pitch. Ted Rall serves up an opinion you won't get anywhere else. Get some before he gives up.
]]>"My aim was to take the Robert Benchley hero and launch him into the Age of Freud." —Jules Feiffer
<p />In 1956, a relatively unknown cartoonist by the name of Jules Feiffer started contributing a strip to the only alternative weekly published in the US, a small radical newspaper called The Village Voice. It was originally titled Sick Sick Sick, but Feiffer changed the name to, simply, Feiffer, because he got tired of explaining that the title referred to the society he was commenting on, not the nature of his humor, which, he insisted, was not sick.
<p />Politically, the '50s was dominated by the insipid Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower; the backwash of Joe McCarthy; and the Cold War, which was in full swing. Culturally, the Beats were revolutionizing literature, Marlon Brando was changing the face of acting, and Elvis Presley was altering the public's perception of pop music. The post-war suburban bliss of the country was being challenged by sociologists and economists in books like The Lonely Crowd, The Other America, and The Afflulent Society. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum. Camelot was just around the corner, and would be shattered by the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK. The Vietnam War would polarize the country. It was into this scrambled political-cultural climate that Jules Feiffer flung himself full throttle for the next ten years.
<p />His strip tackled just about every issue, private and public, that affected the sentient American: relationships, sexuality, love, family, parents, children, psychoanalysis, neuroses, presidents, politicians, media, race, class, labor, religion, foreign policy, war, and one or two other existential questions. It was the first time that the American public had been subjected to a weekly dose of comics that so uncompromisingly and wittily confronted individuals' private fears and society's public transgressions. Explainers is the first of four volumes collecting Feiffer's entire run of weekly strips from The Village Voice. This edition contains approximately 500 strips originally published between 1956 and 1966 in a brick-like landscape hardcover format.
]]>To his astonishment, Raymond discovers that he can MEANWHILE...from one perilous adventure to another'from pirates on the high seas, to Martians in outer space, to a posse and a mountain lion out West. Then, at the worst possible moment, Raymond's MEANWHILE... fails him, leaving him in a spot that spells certain doom! Unless . . .
]]>The White House is looking for a pet!
When word spreads far and wide around the globe that the First Family is looking for a pet, animals of all sorts want the part: puppies from Egypt, India, and France; a Neapolitan mastiff from Maryland; and even a kitten, a guinea pig, skunks, turtles, and a raccoon.
Which puppy will be chosen?
Pulitzer prize winner Jules Feiffer teams up with his daughter Kate to tell a warmhearted tale of a worldwide competition to be the perfect pet!
]]>one thing
in life.
He wanted
a tail.
All the other dogs
he knew had tails.
Grady, a black Labrador,
had a great big black tail.
Pip, a pug, could do
tricks with her tail.
Larry had a big
puffy ball tail....
WHAT WAS
HENRY TO DO?
]]>Throughout this outlandish scenario (Richard grows up and has his own family, still by the side of the road, later to be joined by his elderly parents), we think about discipline ("The way he said it made me unlearn the lesson I was right then in the middle of learning"), about family ("Sometimes you have to make concessions"), about independence, about dependence ("I'm hungry and I'm cold"), about loneliness, and about self-sufficiency. Feiffer's expressive, fluid drawings capture every motion and emotion with just the right lines, making this crazy run-on picture book a rousing success. (Ages 7 and older) --Karin Snelson
]]>To his astonishment, Raymond discovers that he can MEANWHILE...from one perilous adventure to another'from pirates on the high seas, to Martians in outer space, to a posse and a mountain lion out West. Then, at the worst possible moment, Raymond's MEANWHILE... fails him, leaving him in a spot that spells certain doom! Unless . . . ‘Raymond, I want you!’ Raymond is reading a comic book when his mother calls him, not once but five times! ‘It’s not fair!’ Raymond thinks. Then: ‘What if I had my own MEANWHILE . . . ?’ Comic books always use MEANWHILE . . . to change the scene. So Raymond tries writing it on the wall behind his bed.
To his astonishment, Raymond discovers that he can MEANWHILE . . . from one perilous adventure to another—from pirates on the high seas, to Martians in outer space, to a posse and a mountain lion out West. Then, at the worst possible moment, Raymond’s MEANWHILE . . . fails him, leaving him in a spot that spells certain doom! Unless . . .
As Milo heads toward Dictionopolis he meets with the Whether Man ("for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be"), passes through The Doldrums (populated by Lethargarians), and picks up a watchdog named Tock (who has a giant alarm clock for a body). The brilliant satire and double entendre intensifies in the Word Market, where after a brief scuffle with Officer Short Shrift, Milo and Tock set off toward the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the twin Princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Anyone with an appreciation for language, irony, or Alice in Wonderland-style adventure will adore this book for years on end. (Ages 8 and up) -- Amazon.com
]]>As Milo heads toward Dictionopolis he meets with the Whether Man ("for after all it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be"), passes through The Doldrums (populated by Lethargarians), and picks up a watchdog named Tock (who has a giant alarm clock for a body). The brilliant satire and double entendre intensifies in the Word Market, where after a brief scuffle with Officer Short Shrift, Milo and Tock set off toward the Mountains of Ignorance to rescue the twin Princesses, Rhyme and Reason. Anyone with an appreciation for language, irony, or Alice in Wonderland-style adventure will adore this book for years on end. (Ages 8 and up) -- Amazon.com
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