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Who Needs Donuts?
Sam’s love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: “Who needs donuts when you’ve got love?” Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drownin...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
September 23rd 2003
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
(first published 1973)
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Feb 20, 2009
Abigail
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone with an Appreciation for Surreal Picture Books
Shelves:
picture-books
Review Temporarily Removed.
view all 7 comments
I think my long-enduring passion for this book pretty much says everything there is to say about me. If you've never seen it before, well. It is the trippiest piece of work ever created. There are elephant-headed birds, cars coming out of people's ears, infinitesimally tiny (and hilarious) words in all the pictures, and just about the most Dada storyline imaginable.
When I was a kid, this was THE book. I would have married it, but that still isn't legal in Kentucky. I lost track of it for many ye...more
When I was a kid, this was THE book. I would have married it, but that still isn't legal in Kentucky. I lost track of it for many ye...more
Jun 27, 2011
Bev Hankins
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes good children's books
Recommended to Bev by:
Richard
Shelves:
childrens
Who Needs Donuts? is an absolutely delightful children's book by Mark Alan Stamaty (both story & pictures). I have no idea how I missed this one growing up. And only discovered it now thanks to my good friend Richard. In a conversation that started with the closing of H&H Bagels in NYC, we wound our way 'round to Who Needs Donuts. Richard was amazed that I'd not heard of this book. I managed to lay my hands on it (thanks to a deal with Amazon), have it delivered today and whizzed through...more
Sam lives in a house with a big yard and has lots of friends but what he doesn't have is donuts - and that is what he truly wants. He sets out for the city in search of donuts where he meets Mr. Bikferd, a man with a wagon full of donuts. Together they walk the streets in search of donuts. When Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, Sam is left in charge of the donuts. Sam saves an old woman with his donuts and learns that you don't need donuts when you've got love.
Originally published in...more
Originally published in...more
Wow! I’ve never seen a book quite like this. It’s exceptional.
For a thorough and conscientious reader, it could take as long to read this short picture book as it would to read a novel.
The illustrations (black ink pen?) are incredibly and unbelievably detailed. They’re completely unique and can provide hours of fun. They’re often very funny. The dog with shoes is a riot, but it’s impossible to single out one or even dozens of examples. There are lots of words (on signs, etc.) within the illustra...more
For a thorough and conscientious reader, it could take as long to read this short picture book as it would to read a novel.
The illustrations (black ink pen?) are incredibly and unbelievably detailed. They’re completely unique and can provide hours of fun. They’re often very funny. The dog with shoes is a riot, but it’s impossible to single out one or even dozens of examples. There are lots of words (on signs, etc.) within the illustra...more
A completely insane and a half children's book. Predating the style of WHERE'S WALDO, it's a simple-but-touching tale of a young boy dressed like a cowboy who wants millions and millions of donuts, but learns that caring about other people is more important.
The story takes two minutes to read; the illustrations take about 12 hours to dissect, if you're lucky. Stamaty fills every square inch of every page with gags and gags within gags. Birds with horse and elephant heads fly about; a restaurant...more
The story takes two minutes to read; the illustrations take about 12 hours to dissect, if you're lucky. Stamaty fills every square inch of every page with gags and gags within gags. Birds with horse and elephant heads fly about; a restaurant...more
This book is like Where's Waldo. It may not be a book you share with your whole class but it's a book that will always be in the hands of one of your students. The illustrations are so engaging and there is so much to look at and to find that a child could be lost in it for weeks without exhausting the pictures of things to find. The story is a simple story of a child setting out in search of something only to realize he's loved at home. I sat with this book for about 30 minutes just pouring ove...more
Most wonderfully bizarro children's book ever. Catherine received it from her aunt for her birthday and both kids have been clamoring for me to read it and staring at the exceptionally-intricate illustrations ever since. I am dying to know what other people think the "donuts" represent. Idols? Higher education? Materialism? Wealth? And how it seems to start over again at the end? Still thinking about this book.
I read a lot of library books to my kids which I don't bother adding to the Goodreads shelves, but I wanted to comment on the one we read tonight. This book is INCREDIBLE. We spent a good five minutes on each page and I'm sure tomorrow we'll be looking through it again. The amount of detail and thought that went into the illustrations is overwhelming. Good moral, too. This is one I'll need to own.
Aug 06, 2011
Alan
added it
Read this book to Ethan before he was 2. Took it out of the library. 25 years later, walking down the street in Oberlin, saw it in the window. This is one of the most visually amazing books ever drawn. Every square millimeter is filled with interesting things, from little animals among the blades of grass, to his hobby horse drinking from a puddle. You have to see this book to believe it.
I can't put into words what I think of this book. It was a gift from my brother for my 5th birthday. At the time, the book was out of print, so he photocopied a friend's copy for me, and bound it in paisley fabric. I colored in the pages for years. You could own this book your whole life, and still find new details every time through. It really captures the chaos of new york.
This staggeringly detailed, surreal story begs for repeated inspection. And maybe a magnifying glass. My favorite thing is that when you get to the end, you are back where you started in the protagonist's front yard, and the first sentence of the book is written on his sidewalk. Very "circle of life." :)
"Who needs donuts when you've got love?"
"Who needs donuts when you've got love?"
This book is rad. I like it that the author is not afraid to give the main kid character some real issues and problems to deal with. I guess it comes down to greed and love and that horrible feeling when you are a kid that you just want stuff so bad and no other emotion can compete. It made me hungry for: more from this author, more big city life and ,obviously, donuts.
This was a book that totally twisted and informed my visual sense as a child. So peculiar and lovely and funny. with its density of imagery, this is a book that just keeps on giving. SO glad to know it's back in print to mess with a select few of another generation!
I liked this book because it was...different. The illustrations seemed to overwhelm my daughter a bit. My donut-enraputred son enjoyed it more than she did. It's vaguely creepy, though...
This book is wacky. The pictures are cluttered with all sorts of crazy pictures and the story line is disturbing. One of those books that really depend on your personality.
Top 100. I don't get why. Ok storyline, black and white line drawings, very cluttered pictures for kids to examine at length with humor. But just so-so in my opinion.
As seen in the New York Times.
Best book ever of all time.
"No loitering. Anyone caught loitering will be subject to the predicate 'is loitering'."
"No loitering. Anyone caught loitering will be subject to the predicate 'is loitering'."
I thought the story was kind of creepy for a kid's book, but I could gaze at the art for hours.
The most amazing kids book that every adult should own. Hours of entertainment.
This might be one of the most brilliant picture books ever written.
Truly one of the weirdest picture books I have ever read.
This book is amazing. Everyone should read it!
This is my favorite children's book.
Mar 19, 2013
Chandra
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Chandra by:
Abigail
Shelves:
picture-books,
completely-bizarre
Shelve this one with Hey, Al 'cuz it's a weird one. But for kids (and adults) who delight in the surreal this one is worth checking out. Super strange detailed illustrations and a totally bizarre storyline make this one that many kids will return to over and over again. Glad it's back in print!
At least one of Mark Alan Stamaty's amazing kid's books is still in print. For some reason publishers today seem to only tolerate tame, sterile and homogenized kid's books. You just don't see weird, crazy, incredible books like this these days. Great for kids, but enjoyable for adults too. Buy one for you child, niece, nephew, friend's kids today
46 months - An odd story with a lot of very odd illustrations. The illustrations are well done but it's just too much clutter for me. O didn't want to read the story at all until I insisted.
What a strange little book. Here's how it starts:
"Sam lived with his family in a nice house. He had a big yard and lots of friends. But he wanted donuts...finally one day he hopped on his tricycle and rode away to a big city to look for donuts."
The illustrations are a black and white version of Where's Waldo.
"Sam lived with his family in a nice house. He had a big yard and lots of friends. But he wanted donuts...finally one day he hopped on his tricycle and rode away to a big city to look for donuts."
The illustrations are a black and white version of Where's Waldo.
My friend Martha gave me this book for Christmas a few years back. The drawings are really neat with a lot of weird detail. This is one of those kids books where you're kind of creeped out by the adultness of some of the characters. Like Sad Old Woman. The moral of the story: Who needs donuts, when you've got love.
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