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Garfield #61
Garfield Chickens Out: His 61st Book
Free-Range Fun Meister! Garfield's always hatching a new plan to prank his poor owner. Whether he's garnishing Jon's soup with cat hair, putting a goldfish in his shoe (it was Jon's birthday!), or hiding the car, Garfield rules the roost!
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2016
114 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Jim Davis
2,346 books637 followersJames Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 3, 2016
It seemed for a while that Garfield had lost its edge. This book was a pleasant surprise. It felt like a return to form. There were several strips that made me laugh out loud. Now I'm anxious for v. 62.
May 16, 2016
great Garfield comic strip book!
October 5, 2017
After 61 books, it's hard to stay consistently funny. There were a few strips where I howled, but for the most part this one is pretty meh.
November 2, 2020
I thought I had read this before, but it turns out it was new to me when I picked it up at the public library. Another nice comfort read. If you are a fan, you'll like it, but this is just good overall for anyone looking for nice and light humor.
June 10, 2018
Good distraction. Both entertaining and smart. Again, will need some more getting used to reading strips and things in all cap.
March 17, 2023
Not good compared to the older Garfield books
May 10, 2023
Very Very funny book.
October 14, 2025
5 stars for the Christmas strip with Garfield, Odie, Jon, Liz, Arlene, Nermal, the mouse, a spider, the dog on the chain, and the pizza delivery boy. 😁
July 23, 2016
I remember getting the Garfield books as Christmas and birthday presents as a child. They were some of my favorite presents.
I reread them often and laughed like crazy at the antics of this crazy cat and his friends. After about ten books, however, I moved on.
Our girls have discovered this series recently and are big fans, too. So we've been borrowing these books from our local library and I've really enjoyed watching them laugh together at the strips just as much as I used to.
I enjoy reading them, too, but more for nostalgia than anything. After all these years, the humor is getting pretty redundant.
I reread them often and laughed like crazy at the antics of this crazy cat and his friends. After about ten books, however, I moved on.
Our girls have discovered this series recently and are big fans, too. So we've been borrowing these books from our local library and I've really enjoyed watching them laugh together at the strips just as much as I used to.
I enjoy reading them, too, but more for nostalgia than anything. After all these years, the humor is getting pretty redundant.
June 20, 2016
Repetitive, but I still enjoy this comic series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews