Sweaterweather: & Other Short Stories

by Sara Varon

Back before Odd Duck , before Robot Dreams , Sara Varon created Sweaterweather . This endearing, quirky volume is a captivating look into Varon's creative process. It combines short comics stories, essays, and journal entries, and invites the reader into the world of Sara where adorable, awkward anthropomorphic animals walk the streets of Brooklyn and a surprising, sideways revelation is waiting around every corner.

First Second is proud to introduce Sweaterweather to a new generation of readers in this gorgeous jacketed hardcover, with a new cover and plenty of new content.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Childrens, Comics, Middle Grade, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2003

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yippee! Sweater weather has finally arrived here in Central Pennsylvania!



In celebration, I dove into this book, which I bought back in July, but decided to save for cooler temps. This is a collection of Varon's earliest works, with notes from the author/artist about how they came to be. Alas, only the first comic is really about sweater weather - two animal pals weather the cold weather together; one provides the shelter whilst the other creates warm and stylish accessories.



As an introduction to Varon's comics this works okay, though I think I would recommend either Odd Duck, or the Chicken and Cat books as a jumping off point. I'm quite happy to add this to my Varon collection. It engendered warm and fuzzy feelings in me, though I wish there'd been a few more comics about cute animals knitting.

[Calista · Rating 1 out of 5]

These were extremely short stories strung together. The art is rough. These are ideas strung together. I don't really know why this was published. First second missed on this one.

This is not for me. I did not enjoy it.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has nothing to do with that other Sweater weather, just so you know. No, this Sweaterweather is a short compilation of Varon's comics, many of them from early days, like 2002ish. You may not be familiar with Varon but there's a good chance you'd recognize her drawrings. I mean, if I see them regularly and outside the library, you do, too.

Look familiar?

These comics aren't aimed at any particular age group so if your four-year-old picks this up, your four-year-old will enjoy many of the stories, particularly the ones that have no words. There's always at least one animal in a lead role and the pictures are super simple. However, the players are all adults. They go to boxing matches where they drink from bottles that say XXX across the front. They go to magazine stands where cigarettes are sold. They take taxis to places. They're not children-animals, they're grown-ups and they have boring, grown-up adventures, like going shopping and then making soup for friends. So anyone can read and enjoy these but they're not specifically aimed at kids.

She introduces each short graphic tale with an explanation of why she drew it or where she got her inspiration or things she likes about the coming strip. It's fascinating commentary and while the information may or may not add to one's enjoyment of said strip, it's still neat to have that background before diving in.

There's a dinosaur comic. It's about karen in summertime.
See?

(Sorry it's blurry. This happens when you take pictures on the fly)


(See? They get too hot, just like karen)

I'm a fan of Varon and this was like getting free ice-cream in my favorite flavor for no reason whatsoever. In other words, this was a happy surprise.

[First Second Books]

We're so glad to bring Sara Varon's marvelous short story collection Sweaterweather back to life! This book was first published by Alternative Comics back in the early 2000s -- but it quickly went out of print.

Since then, we've published Sara Varon's Robot Dreams, Bake Sale, and Odd Duck (written by Cecil Castellucci), and we have a lot more Sara Varon amazingness to come! So we were delighted to slide this book into our schedule. It's been updated with some additional new short stories, as well as commentary from Sara about her creative process that gives you a window into her worldview.

And as usual, her art is adorable!

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would caution people who are looking into this for a cohesive story, beginning to end, to look elsewhere (like Sara's fantastic Robot Dreams); this is more like a retrospective of Sara's work so far, with little notes and stories about how her style and career has developed, where it's (hopefully) going, and where inspiration has come from at various times -- interesting stuff for readers who are already familiar with Sara's work, or are interested in comics and process, but probably a little disjointed and pointless for people who just want to dive into a story.
Personally, I love Sara's (very quirky) style and stories, AND I like reading about people's processes and development, so this was well-suited to me as an idea -- I just wished for a bit more. I would have liked more detail in the stories, or personal reflection, or just more something to elevate it. But still, it was an enjoyable look at her work overall, and I'm excited to see where she goes from here.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sara Varon is primarily known for her cute, slightly goofy, illustrations of non-humans acting like humans: baked goods, animals, and robots abound. Here, Varon collects a selection of her early work, including her very first piece of sequential art, some paper doll designs, and several other short stories. She includes brief explanations of each piece, including when she created it and other insights into her creative process.
This collection has all ages appeal, as the artist depicts Varon’s adult life and lens at points, but she maintains her child-friendly sensibility throughout the collection. Fun for all ages, and great for young aspiring cartoonists, but this may not be a significant piece for those not already familiar with her work.
Essential for public libraries in communities where Varon already has a fandom, and recommended for elementary and middle school libraries with serious graphic novel collections, but inherently an additional purchase. \\pro review

I've always had a weakness for annotation. Love the way she handled this here.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This retrospective collection of Sara Varon’s work gives readers a glimpse into Varon’s growth as a graphic novelist. The illustrations and stories are simple, but show her growth as a storyteller.
I’m not really sure who the audience is. Readers who are already a fan of Varon may enjoy reading this, but new readers may find the introduction to each story tiresome, as I did. It could make a good study for someone wanting to get into creating graphic novels. Some stories make sense, some I had to read multiple times to understand what was going on. Overall, I finished this book feeling relieved to be done, and not motivated to read any of her other works.

[Siina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweaterweather is a cute comic and mostly runs without any words. In a way the comic is diary-like as it contains different short stories that Varon introduces and gives background info on. The comic has mostly animal stories and they are about friendship and caring, which is nice albeit a bit boring at times. This for the reason that there's no conflict and point in most of them. Most of the stories are just happy time. Still, I don't think this is a kids' comic, which brings us to the problem - to whom is this meant? Some of the stories are surely childlike, but most of them not. The topics vary in an epileptic manner and there's no theme, which makes this extremely sporadic. The stories aren't linked together in any way and the time range between them is quite long. Perhaps this would've needed more of the diary-like setting and some kind of logic. Now especially the ending with the interviews feels detached and doesn't fit with the rest of the stories. Also, if this is supposed to be a diary of some sort, then Varon could've told more about herself too. Now everything feels kind of superficial.

The art is very artsy (haha). I do like the usage of white and then some color. The art is very graphic and cute-looking. So, in a way the cover gives a totally different image to that of the content. The cover is nice, but doesn't really fit. Sweatherweather looks really Finnish, which was really funny. The artistic value is high, but perhaps makes the reading experience hard in some ways. I did like the art, but it's not the most approachable. Sweaterweather is a good comic, no doubt about that. It's just somewhat bland and lacks drive. Don't let the cover fool you either.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter the artistic process of graphic-novel author Sara Varon. Here you will see short comic stories, some done as exercises, essays and journal entries. Varon introduces each piece, sharing that she is always at least one of the characters in each of her stories. Each story has the charm and wit that one expects from a book by Varon, here is bite-sized pieces that allow readers to meet even more adorable animal characters. There are cats who long to fly, stories based on alphabet exercises, bee keeping information, swimming pools, and much much more. This is a world worth visiting multiple times!

Varon’s art is almost wordless, the characters showing much more than telling all that they do. Varon plays with the cells of the graphic novel, breaking the walls between them by handing cups across the lines in one story and in another showing both above and below the water at the same time. She is consistently gently funny and smart in all of these stories. There is a beautiful familiarity to her work, it is at once quirky and cozy and creates worlds where one wants to exist.

Readers will find a lot to love here, whether they are reading it as future artists and authors themselves or because they love Varon’s work. Varon shows the growth of her own work as the book progresses, and also shows how from the very start she was true to her own style and vision. The collection is empowering and fresh.

The author of Robot Dreams and Odd Duck shows a back-stage view of her work, inviting young readers into her creative process. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

[Kelly]

I wanted to read the original many years ago, and then when I saw it was being rereleased I was even more excited. But I almost wish I had picked the original up, rather than this one.

It's sweet in the way Varon's comics are, and I really enjoyed the peek behind the curtain of what the comics mean and what they were inspired by. But the art and storytelling itself are clearly part of exercises and experimentation, so it's not easy to fall into. My favorite comic was the first one, which Varon calls something she never continued with thematically/experimentally, but I disagree: I feel like that sort of spirit comes through in her other full-length work. The look at the backstory to Robot Dreams was neat, too (that would be one of my favorite comics ever).

I'm not entirely sure new readers of Varon would find a lot to enjoy here since so much is backstory/not a full look at her art and storytelling. It's more of the kind of read people who are already fans will enjoy. Most of the comics are totally child friendly and the ones that aren't are only so because thematically, they're mature (not that they have mature content).

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not familiar with Sara Varon’s work, at least until now. Evidently parts of this book have been published earlier, and some later parts in different publications for awards, etc., Sara gives some of this information in the small introductions to each part. As the title says, the book holds short stories, in graphic form, all cleverly presented and most made me slow down a lot so I could really look at each cell, missing as little as possible of the details. They each have one theme, like friendship, but Sara has also added a part about bee-keeping, complete with tools and a charming section with paper dolls, to be copied and cut out. For all creative people, children and adults, there are pages of interviews of other artists who work at home, the good and the bad of that. Those who are thrilled with lots of cartoons in stories will love this book. There seems to be something in it for all ages.

[sarah b. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not usually a comic/graphic novel fan, but my boys love them so I have learned to, also. We always enjoy Sara Varon's art. The comics in this collection are fun! I particularly liked the comics that explained something (there's one about beekeeping). And, I was really inspired by her diary and interview comics to use a sketchbook to record more of my life, whether that is in words or pictures. I'm not an artist so mine won't be as awesome as hers but it would be a fun exercise!

[Kat Drennan-Scace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I really liked this one! Before each short comic, the artist talks about how it came about and gives you a little insight into her creative process which I really enjoyed. I really liked Robot Dreams when I read it way back when so it was nice reconnecting with Sara Varon. Recommended to cute comic lovers!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this illustrated short story book! I would read a whole sequel on the daily practice of other artists :)

[Jennifer Bacall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sara Varon is no stranger to receiving praise for her books and she should expect another wave for this release. The first eight stories in this set of eighteen was originally published in 2003 with the same name, “Sweater Weather.” It’s a rare treat for readers to have the opportunity to see the development of an author and illustrator from their first published work through to their most current piece.

Ms. Varon includes a hand written piece that describes her inspiration before each story. Some explain her choices, personal situations at the time the pieces were written, or other interesting tidbits of information. She shares examples of the growth in her illustrating and story-telling abilities throughout the book.

Primarily told with wordless comics the stories center on friendships and resourcefulness. They are appropriate for children but can be enjoyed by adults. They also serve as an excellent tool for educators and parents to introduce or reinforce the concept of reading a story through its illustrations. Sara’s drawing style combines whimsical cartoon critters with simple backgrounds which ads depth to the frames. Most pages are printed in only two color but Varon uses ines and hash marks to express what other artists need varied colors to get across.

While there are many gems throughout the book, my favorite moment occurs in the story Lion Comic. The story is about a Lion who is desperate to fit in with the other jungle animals. In one frame the lion is playing cards with two zebras and he’s wearing a zebra sweater and the reader instantly remembers a time when they too have worked too hard to fit in.

Printed on thick, glossy paper which is appealing to touch as it is to read, this is a lovely collection for any fans of comics, or readers interested in learning a bit about the process of the creation of such stories.

[Peggy Tibbetts · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “Sweaterweather & Other Short Stories,” graphic artist and storyteller Sara Varon offers readers a playful retrospective of her career from insecure aspiring cartoonist to insecure published graphic novelist. The first eight in the collection are from her first book of the same name. In this bigger and better edition Varon adds nine new, never-before-published stories. Her cartoons contain human and animal interaction, or animals fulfilling human roles, and one robot. From Varon’s early years, readers get a ticket to the coolest pool ever, take a trip to a bee farm, and make paper dolls, among other grins and giggles. In her more recent stuff, readers are treated to a camping trip with a delicious twist, a boxing lesson, an illustrated book review, a trip into Mexico City’s subway bazaar, and many more amusing surprises. Shades of blue, gray, and pink illuminate Varon’s world as she blends whimsical characters into simple story lines, spiced with fun facts, and then colors them with clever details and campy humor. Varon introduces each story with insightful commentary about what inspired her to create the characters and/or story. Her candid exploration into the artistic process elevates this book into a crafty and valuable learning tool for young graphic artists. Those with an artistic eye will appreciate the subtle evolution of her work over the 13-year span. “Sweaterweather & Other Stories” is an entertaining stroll through the life of a graphic novelist that readers will want to read, relish and repeat.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Varon, Sara Sweater Weather, GRAPHIC NOVEL. First Second, 2016. $19.99. Content: Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G Violence: G
This graphic novel is a collection of short stories by the author/illustrator. Each short story is preceded by a little explanation of why it was drawn, when, and tidbits from the authors life. Some of the stories are very cute, like a rabbit and a turtle hiding inside the turtle’s shell on a cold day. Others were confusing. There were also pages of paper dolls and a whole section of illustrated journal. The illustrations use pink or blue and white color schemes.

This felt more like a personal book for the author to keep as early career memories or would be appreciated by someone who was a fan of the author. I wouldn’t purchase this for a school library because of that. The cover is cute and appealing as are the characters inside but it was kind of plain for my taste in illustrations. The journal portion is more the day to day life of an adult, nothing inappropriate, just very uninteresting for a young reader. If I am going to add a graphic novel to my library collection, it better be top notch stellar, because I am constantly having to defend their checkout to parents and teachers with a dated mindset, so I will have to pass on this one.

MS –NO Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Genesis Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this graphic novel very charming and easy to read. There is no set story, plot, style, it's very diverse throughout the book which I found very refreshing. This graphic novel is a collection of excerpts, notes, different prompts, and projects that Sara Varon did throughout her career. A reader can definitely see the progression of her work throughout the novel. Some projects include representations of herself in daily life, other projects are not about her but about certain interests she has. This book is very diverse and some stories were really adorable.

The art style itself is cartoon art for most of the book. The way pages and panels are bordered changes with different projects. Some are the basic couple of square/rectangle panels on a page, other pages have like one whole page of a picture. There's so much variety in this book. There's some pages were you can cut out characters, she include a mini paper flyer pop out in one story, and she even has a few pages of a book tribute. Before she begins the next project, she make sure to give a brief paragraph about what is about to be presented to the reader which is really helpful. The only colors really used different shades of purple, shades of pink, this dark navy blue, and white. The use of little colors doesn't take away from the book whatsoever. Overall, it's an enjoyable read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sara Varon's style of illustration. This is the third book of hers I have read and it is a collection of about a dozen and a half of short comics, illustrated essays, and journal entries. Looks like the original version of this was published a while ago and this new edition includes her annotations for each piece that tells how she conceived of it or what was noteworthy about it. This is actually what I liked best about this book: seeing a glimpse of how her creative mind works. I think her most creative piece in this collection are the pages of paper dolls. I love that she tells kids they have to photocopy if it is a library book (thank you!) but even better than that, she gives these cut out characters a front and a back that can be folded, a base so they can stand up, and the kid making them will be so thrilled to know what is _inside_ of the folded paper: one character has a skeleton; another has gears turning inside his head, a sandwich (on a plate, lol!) in his stomach, and a penny in his pocket; a chef has utensils in his pocket. Fantastic! My other favorite comic is the one with some ferocious looking dinosaurs. Turns out they are really just hot and cranky and become docile and sweet when the ice cream truck comes by and they get some cool treats. So charming and delightful!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge thank you to First Second and Netgalley for this ARC!

Reading a Sara Varon graphic novel is like putting on a warm sweater. It's comfortable, familiar, and makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. In this new collection of short comics, we see Sara's humble beginnings as a graphic novelist, and how her style has changed from the early years to now.

There's definitely some gems in this collection. We get to see the beginnings of Dog and Robot, cooking adventures with friends, tea time comics for a cold winter, and of course, my favourite, paper dolls. I have a weird love of paper dolls and when they appear in a book my first temptation is to cut the pages out and make them (though this was an egalley, and I don't think I'd do it to a finished copy even if the temptation was there).

And really that's just it -- these stories are meant to be shared. They are cute, funny, and heart-warming, and sometimes that's all you truly need from a graphic novel, book, movie, etc. Sometimes you want to read what is comfortable, and what fits like a good sweater. While you won't be able to get your hands on this until 2016, it's worth the wait, and if you're curious about Sara Varon, check out her other graphic novels, they are all wonderful!

[Cheyenne Teska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweaterweather is a combination of cute, funny, and meaningful comics. All of them are quite short- only a few pages long at most- but enjoyable to read for graphic novel lovers at any age. My favorite part of reading this collection was the author's thoughts at the beginning of each comic, explaining the inspiration and ideas behind them. I was surprised to find that many of the stories had little to no dialogue, but that made it better, seeing as there was so much expression in the art. Sara explains that many of the scenes and characters were taken from her everyday life, so although I wasn't familiar with her work previous to this book, I found it interesting that she's taken real people and turned them into the animals you see in each comic.

Overall, Sweaterweather is a charming look into what goes into Sara Varon's work. There are ice-cream-eating dinosaurs, cats that long to fly, and many more stories that will bring a smile to your face as you read through. Some are more informative, like a comic on bee-keeping, while others are clever, such as a comic that has one scene per letter of the alphabet. While this book is aimed more towards older fans of Varon, newer fans will still be able to get a taste of her storytelling abilities.

[Andrea Mullarkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the comic book clubbers who loved Robot Dreams recommended I read Varon's other work, I checked out Bake Sale and had a kind of "meh" experience. It was sweet and charming and the pictures were good, but there was no oomph to it. I was a little wary about Sweaterweather in that context. I need not have been; this book was thoroughly enjoyable!  It's actually a collection of short pieces , all earlier work of Varon's. As a result it is both less processed and more complicated. I like that in a book, a little complication. There are bits of memoir, science, fantasy and other genres and bee keeping, knitting, and the writing process are all here along with the anthropomorphic animals I love from Varon. The art is less refined in a way that I really liked, too. It felt a bit like a journal and was more personal in some way. There were a few fun surprises like flyer inserts and references to other characters of hers. The only thing that gave me pause was how many of the themes were more mature than I would expect from a book in the children's room. But again I put this down as a plus. Kids can appreciate the sweet animals in silly situations. Grown-ups can appreciate the reflective tone of an artist looking back on their growth. 

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sara Varon’s “Sweater Weather” is a graphic novel that contains several short stories. Most include animals and teach some sort of lesson usually involving caring. Sara also typically plays a role in each of the stories. The characters, plot and setting are different from story to story.

Something really unique about this book is that before each different story, Sara included a little note that explained her thinking or gave background to the story to come. The entire book was a double page spread. Within the pages, there are typically between 3-5 individual panels that contain drawings and sometimes words of the characters. The gutters are what split the panels up, and you can tell that between the gutters is the passing of time and the reader has to infer what is occurring between the two pictures. Throughout the entire book, the characters are drawn in white and there is a purple/blue background with some occasional pink, and no colors other than that. Not every picture has words to go along with it, so the reader has to infer what is happening often- which is not difficult.

[Megan Frager]

Sweaterweather was a very unique and fun children's book to read. This book is consisted of 17 short comics, illustrations, short essays and journal entries. The book is very colorful and an interesting read for younger children. This book is about the animals roaming the crazy streets of Brooklyn and the mountains in Jurassic times. The main theme that I was able to pick out in all of these short stories was friendship. This book is about creating new ideas, finding inspiration, confidence, and planting the seeds for longer stories to grow. This book can be seen as playful and different from others that could have been previously.

The structure of this is very unique and something that I haven’t seen much before. Every bright blue and light pink is different from each other. Some will have comic strands, some are full of only illustrations, and the rest has hand written essays that takes up the whole page. Some pages are covered with words and some have only a picture in the corner which really showcases the author’s ability to show his creativity.

[Margaret]

When working with children who are pursuing a creative passion or working on an assignment, it's important to remind them (and ourselves) that it's a process which requires patience and practice. It is an essential habit to acquire. This perseverance never ends because it is fueled by a love of creativity and the art we wish to perfect or the goal we wish to accomplish.

When we are privy to the steps taken by others, it gives us encouragement and a greater appreciation for their results. Sweaterweather & other short stories (First Second, February 2, 2016) written and illustrated by Sara Varon is a collection of seventeen nearly wordless narratives. Each story begins with insights and commentary by Sara Varon.


My full review: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...

[Laura (ローラ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed several of the VERY short stories. And I think her colour palette is divine.

But I don't think it's a particularly good curation of stories. You'll be hard to classify the reader for this work. The pacing generally makes each story feel geared to early readers--with lots of wordless stories. but then are mixed with a handful of text-heavy stories dealing with more adult topics. Not "adult", just 'adult' (if you catch my meaning). But, I'm not sure how many grade schoolers are interested in pages from the author's journal, or her worries about quitting her job. Certainly, an adult would appreciate this book more on the whole than a child would.

Generally a fun quick read... But I couldn't see myself reaching for this more than once.

[Hollowspine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was shelved with the children's graphic novels, the amount of introspection and autobio in this short comics collection make it a good read for adults as well. The bits the kids probably will just skip, including mentions of Sara Varon's favorite NPR hosts and "Next Chapter" section of the book when Varon interviews a few of her artist friends who work from home.

It's a charming book all around, the stories can be silly, but also very heartfelt and emotional at times. My favorite was the "Pie Eating Contest," I loved the ending. This would be great for kids to bring to their skeptical adults who don't think graphic novels/comics are worthwhile reading. Though, keep in mind one may not get one's book back.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably best if readers are familiar with the body of this author/illustrator's work before diving into this collection. But fans of Varon's work will enjoy the insights she provides as she examines her early work and her more recent explorations of the world she has created. The book's collection includes journal entries about the work of beekeepers, short essays, and comics, all providing some sort of insight into life. The comics have a wry element to them and typically feature animals that behave just like humans, only sometimes better and sometimes worse. I particularly liked the last comic with dinosaurs waiting for the ice cream truck. This isn't particularly my sort of taste when it comes to comics, but I can see how it will appeal to many others.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was interesting to see into the thought process and life of a graphic novelist, this was a bit of an odd collection of one-shot comics. Some were comedic, and some were serious; some were autobiographical and some were fictional; some were wordless and some were nearly nothing but words; all featured anthropomorphic animals. The drawing style was so childish, although here and there she inserted lifelike drawings that showed that she could do so much better, so that put me off the style a bit. But I am intrigued to see more from her, as long as it is a more cohesive story, methinks.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting collection of short comic/graphic pieces! It was fascinating to read little introductions to each story written by Varon that explained where she was in her career when she wrote the piece as well as how she was developing as an artist. I think a young aspiring cartoonist would find this fascinating as well as anyone that enjoys short, sweet little comic pieces. Varon has a knack for generating adorable animal characters and I found it interesting that so many of her shorter pieces involve cooking and food - particularly as the only other book i have read by her was Bake Sale about a talking eggplant and a talking cupcake who run a bakery.