Customer Reviews:
Life on this Weird Planet.......2007-07-13
Calvin and Hobbes has always been a great read. This was the first one in book form that I read and thoroughly enjoyed.
The book has many good strips and quite a lot of Sunday strips as well. The aliens show up towards the end and there is a good many strips on that series where he explores the Martian surface and rightly is told by Hobbes that if one is not potty trained would you invite them to your home? So of course after damaging Earth, men need not expect a welcome from the Martians or anyone else.
There is a lot of wisdom and good humour in the book. The opening splash page itself is attractive about why intelligent life hasn't contacted us - with a picture of deforestation.
Other favourites are of course being a tiger, or the tiger's welcome to the kid coming home from school, Dad's approval ratings in the election, the family outing, room service for the ill kid, etc.
The parents are delightfully tolerant of the crazy nutty Calvin. The family outing to the woods is a riot. Calvin wonders what kind of vacation is it if he has to be with his parents, LOLz. Even Calvin's vulnerability is explored when he panics after breaking Dad's binoculars.
This book is cute as hell - and especially a great gift to pretty young girls who thank me endless for making their day. You won't ever be disappointed, probably not with any Calvin & Hobbes collection - they are a gem, a treasure, a laugh riot, a piece of modern art and culture.
Beware of Captain Spiff, the T-Rex, the paleontologist, the incredible comic strip from the best graphic art has to offer.
Laugh after Laugh.......2007-01-05
I am a Calvin and Hobbes fan. And this book did not dissapoint me.
One of my favorites.......2006-10-19
I love all Calvin and Hobbes books, but this collection has a few of my favorites that never cease to make me laugh out loud, including:
"The Disembodied Hand That Strangled People" (I snicker just writing it)
The trip to Mars ("We're going in the wagon?" "Of course! What did YOU want to do? Flap your arms?" "I guess I hadn't thought about that part."
"Obviously."
May Calvin never grow up!.......2006-07-29
Calvin is the kind of child that we all dread when they are a child and would admire and pay money for when they are an adult. His life and the life of his parents are summed up in the cartoon on page 77 when Calvin says, "Golly, I'd hate to have a kid like me." He is destructive, uncooperative, mean to his parents and extremely imaginative. Clearly, if he were to ever grow up, the quality of the entertainment that he would produce would be outstanding.
Fortunately, Calvin and his stuffed Tiger friend Hobbs are cartoon characters so they don't have to grow up. Cartoonist Watterson can keep them this age as long as he wants so that we can continue to be entertained by their antics. This collection of cartoons is funny, imaginative and is an exaggerated view of the life of a child. There is no question in my mind that Watterson was an imaginative child and probably got in a lot of serious trouble during that time. We should be grateful for that, as he grew up to be an outstanding cartoonist and this book is an existence proof of that.
bed time favorite.......2006-03-22
I really enjoy these drawings! Simple but so touching!
It does to philosophy what high intellectual speculating cannot achieve: touch your hearth with the reality of everyday living. A treat every night before falling asleep!
European drawings are certainly known the world over as masterly executed cartoons; but here, in Bill Watterson's series of Calvin and Hobbes, the American's sense of humour express itself by reaching the intellectual and the down to earth feeling! It brings back memories of childhood and fundamental questions adults rarely take the time to ponder, even for themselves! Five stars for this delectable reading!
Book Description
Ed Emberley, who can show anyone how to draw anything, gives monster-crazed artists the perfect how-to manual in this newest addition to the Ed Emberley Drawing Book Series.Previously published more than twenty years ago in two small two-color volumes, these works take on a scary new vitality in this large full-color format.Perfect for summoning up the ghosties and ghoulies for Halloween posters and party invitations, this is also a book that is sure to satisfy the appetite for frightful creatures all year round.
Customer Reviews:
Cute.......2007-02-06
I love the style of the cartoons in these books by Ed Emberly. I got several of them for my kids. I would have loved them as a youngster, but my boys aren't all that thrilled with them I don't think.
Easiest books to use to learn to draw.......2005-08-28
Ed Emberly has made some wonderful books for kids and grown-ups of any age that have no drawing skills, but want to learn a simple way. His books are the easiest books to get you started if you have no previous drawing skills. He starts with a step by step illustrated lesson to draw one simple item. First a simple straight line here, then insert a circle then, then another line, step by step along the way and before you know it you have a completed drawing that you can be really proud of. I teach Cub Socuts and this artist makes the perfect book for teaching a class when you are a volunteer yourself that is not an art pro.
In this one, he teaches us to make monsters of all sorts like a witch, wolfman, Frankenstein, vampire, Also see his book, "Make a World", and "The Big Green Drawing Book". If you want more Halloween related drawings including cats, jack o'lanterns, and a full haunted house, try Ed Emberley's "Big Orange Drawing Book".
Average customer rating:
- Amazing jaunt through many twisted minds
- From "Lowbrow Art" to "From Lowbrow to Nobrow"
- Not your pretentious hipster dad's pop art
- Art In Context
- A welcome introduction
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Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art
Matt Dukes Jordan
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
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ASIN: 081184241X |
Book Description
"Lowbrow" it may be called, but high-profile best describes the cultural impact of this contemporary art movement. Found everywhere from wine labels and high-end bar accessories to major motion pictures (Teacher's Pet, the upcoming Pink Panther), the visibility of this dynamic work has rapidly increased in the last few years to worldwide recognition and acclaim. Weirdo Deluxe is the first significant manifesto of the genre a riotous blend of pop culture, street culture, pop art, and surrealism and includes profiles of and interviews with 23 leading artists and hundreds of outrageous examples of their work. Special features include an expansive timeline, and peeks at the artists' collections and influences. Weirdo Deluxe is at once a primer and lowbrow art sourcebook as well as a visual homage to pop culture.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing jaunt through many twisted minds.......2007-06-11
If you read Juztapoz and High Fructose, worship Mark Ryden and Coop, love art but are disappointed with contemporary conceptual and process work, THEN BUY THIS BOOK!!!! The out and out bible of pop surrealism and low brow. Savy mixes of graffitti street culture with fine art. I have to say that the discovery of pop surrealism, which I first saw in this book, revolutionized my own art work and has radically changed my ideas about the trajectory of art. Needless to say I like it.
From "Lowbrow Art" to "From Lowbrow to Nobrow".......2006-12-17
Together with Peter Swirski's 'From Lowbrow to Nobrow' this is one of my favourite books on popular art, aka lowbrow, pop, junk, genre, and so on.
Jordan's focus is very much on the visual aspec ts of lowbrow art, an orientation which is only enhanced by the graphic design of the covers and the book itself. I was quite familiar with many of the artists represented in his book, so I was a little less than completely enthused.
One of the chief drawbacks of this very engaging book is the palpable lack of a more historical/analytical framework in which to situate lowbrow art. Another thing I would have loved to see is, especially since Swirski usefully traces it, a detailed treatment of nobrow culture and nobrow art which appears to have been around longer than most critics and commentators would have us believe. All in all, I give Matt Jordan a well deserved four stars, reserving the top score for the book which is really a companion rather than competition to his, From Lowbrow to Nobrow.
Not your pretentious hipster dad's pop art.......2005-12-17
This book is a fine introduction to the work of a younger generation of painters who eschew the cold, minimalist aesthetic that afflicts contemporary art like herpes on Paris Hilton's nether regions. These bold dudes and dames draw instead from the pop culture all around them--and the pop culture of long-lost bygone eras, like the '80s. If you're at all familiar with psychedelia, punk, hot rods, comic books (and underground "comix"), "classic" TV, tiki culture, advertising art & design, fast food, celebrity magazines, steers, beers, queers, freaks, geeks and of course serial killers, then you should find the art in this book accessible as a beer bottle bong in a Phish fan's dorm room. What sets them apart from the pop artists of yesteryear is the young bucks approach the culture as the warm embryonic bath from which they were weaned, lost their virginity and will drown in. Whereas even Warhol had to keep at least one foot in the "high" culture (his bread & butter, after all), artists like Gary Panter and Robert Williams would be just as happy plastering their wares on T-shirts and album covers (and don't bring up Warhol's dalliance with the Velvet Underground; most art snobs still dismiss that amazing band as so much juvenile effluvia). While a great deal of snark and irony can be found here, there's also a genuine appreciation of subjects they were supposed to grow out of.
While everyone will have their own personal faves, and it should be noted that there are a wide range of styles represented here, for me the standouts include the goth-tastic Camille Rose Garcia and Mark Ryden, the gonzo surrealism of Scott Musgrove and Skot Olsen and the cubist comix art of the great Gary Panter. Many will be familiar the highly influential Robert Williams, whose work suggests a coke-addled Salvador Dali on a high speed road trip through the trashiest regions of American culture with a bunch of Hell's Angels as tour guides. Don't hate him just 'cause Guns n' Roses used one of his pieces for an album cover--hate him 'cause he disses pretty much every artist that came in his wake. Still, I have to admit his stuff is pretty rockin'.
Now for the downside. While the reproductions here are generally clear and well-presented, artists who use a lot of detail, like the disturbing, obsessive Joe Coleman, are hemmed in and almost incomprehensible. Even more disappoiting is the cover desigh and title; sure, most of these artists have an appreciation of kitsch, but their work isn't kitschy. It's one thing to wear marginalization as a badge of honor, it's quite another when one of your supporters (Matt Dukes Jordan, the author) marginalizes you, if only by accident. One could also fault the lack of graffiti art here; if "lowbrow" is not really a movement, then why not? All in all, though, "Weirdo Deluxe" is more fun (and informative) then shaving the hair from Ed Asner's back.
Art In Context.......2005-12-01
As a contemporary artist and fan of post war american art I found Dukes Jordan's tome to be a fascinating blueprint of both cutting edge "Lowbrow" art and it's genesis in US kitsch kulture.
I've been subscribing to Juxtapoz for years, so I'm already familiar with most of the artists featured by Jordan. Nevertheless I snapped up his book RIGHT a way. It's cool to have a mini monograph of so many cool artists at my fingertips. The art reproduction is first rate.
His time line describing the key events in 20th century american pop culture culminating in the Lowbrow movement was particularly fascinating. He ties together all the disparate cultural threads as he traces the history of this art form.
All in all a fabulous art book.
A welcome introduction.......2005-11-29
A first-rate introduction to an underground art movement that blends cartoony pop culture elements with fine art sophistication. True to the spirit of the art, the book is fun to read and packed with colorful details about the artists, their work, and the history of the movement. The selection of art provides a good overview of each artist's work and the print quality of the art is excellent -- clear, bright, and detailed. The book's zany and beautiful design complements the art. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Vol. 14 covers 1980.
Book Description
Dexter is like a square peg in a round hole: he just can’t fit in. All the kids in his class enjoy the zany things their teacher Mr. Ditzwinkle does to make learning fun. All except Dexter, the weirdo who prefers the same routine. But when things start disappearing from school, Dexter is surprised that his teacher is suspected. Dexter thinks Mr. Ditzwinkle is odd, but he knows he’s not a crook.
Can Dexter the weirdo prove it by catching the real thief?
Customer Reviews:
A Great Book.......2005-03-05
In the book,"Fourth Grade Weirdo" by Martha Freeman, a kid named Dexter doesn't really fit in with the other kids at school. So, the other kids start calling him a weirdo! He tries to look like, talk like, and act like them too. Dexter tries to change but the other kids still think he is a weirdo! What can he do?
The book really seems to fit us, because it is about a fourth grade student.The boy, Dexter, has lots of similar problems that we do. It makes the reader think about how you would feel if you were Dexter.
I would recommend this book for third through fifth graders. It has lots of funny parts and some sad parts as well. This book keeps you interested from cover to cover. You could read it over and over and over!
My Review on The Fourth Grade Weirdo.......2004-10-12
This review is about a book I read named The Fourth Grade Weirdo. The author of this book is Martha Freeman. This book is about a boy named Dexter Plum. He goes to a school and isn't like everyone else, he's trying to fit in. Everyone in his class is good at something. There is a boy in his class that he thinks is the smartest kid in the universe. He says he speaks with proper grammar. His teacher Mr. Ditzwinkle is like a clown. He stands on his hands until the class is quiet. Dexter can guess that his glasses will fall off and his teacher will have to tape them back together. Dexter wishes that he would act more like an adult. Martha Freeman writes with lots of detail. She writes and makes it interesting for readers. When you read the book, you might want to put it down because the title sounds like a lower grade book. This book had me wanting to read everyday. This book is gripping. In this book there are alot of action packed chapters. I have seen another one of Martha's books that look interesting. It is called The Stink Bomb Mom. My favorite chapter is when Mr. Ditzwinkle was accused of stealing money for the PTA. Dexter knows that Mr. Ditzwinkle didn't steal the money, he knows that he is innocent. Dexter gets suppended from the Halloween party. Dexter was determined to prove Mr. Ditzwinkle's innocence. He gets his friends to help him crack the case. One of Dexters friends mother was a candidate. She had his friends holding up voting signs on national television. This book is one of a kind. I say this because the order in which the events take place. They make you want to skip chapters to get to all of the action, but you would be missing alot. When you're asked the genre of the story, what would be your answer? My first answer was mystery, then fiction. I finally realized that it was realistic fiction. While in my school library,I was looking for a Matt Christopher sports book until I came across The Fourth Grade Weirdo. I liked the illustration because it looked unique. I thought that the book must be better than the illustration. It changed my whole approach. I now have different perspectives when I look for books. Martha Freeman is one of my favorite authors. She has a gifted talent with writing. She uses one thing and developes it through the whole story. She uses the fact that Dexter doesn't fit in. That changes at the end of the story. I wish she made a sequel to this book. If she does, I would love to read it. I am going to read the rest of her books. This book is a good childrens book. This should be on every kids wish list. I would recommend this book for kids ages 6-13. This book was full of laughter, humor and entertainment. This book also has a mystery flow to it. The main character Dexter, has a personality that would take him far. He cares about others and is willing to help his teacher that he doesn't even like. He is willing to devote his time to solving a case that doesn't involve him. He has a mind that goes in all ways, mainly positive. He isn't like everyone else, he's different in many ways. He is kind hearted just like me in some situations. This book takes many twisted turns. I say this because at the beginning of the story, he doesn't really like Mr.Ditzwinkle. After all of the events in the story it changes. He sees that someone innocent is about to get accused for something he didn't do. That changes Dexters thought of Mr. Ditzwinkle. He finds out the truth and is not going to let his teacher get blamed. That is the type of student that is going to fit in, the way of a hero. If possible,try to read this book because you will love it. If you are bored and don't have anything to do, pick up the book and start reading. You will forget all about being bored. This is going to be a great experience. If I had the power to give this book an award, I would. This book will always be in my library. If kids feel like they are having problems with reading, this book will put them back on track. This is one of the best books that I have ever read. This book is wonderful. I will read more of Martha Freemans books. The illustrations are creative and they are identical to the chapters. This book has 147 pages. While reading the book, it seems that the pages fly by. The pages are long but when reading, you can close your eyes and actually visualize what is going on in the story. The hook in this book is the illustrations, they are really fun. I wish I had more hands so I could give this book 6 thumbs up!!!! This book is great.
This review is by: Denis Tavares
Q's Veiws.......2003-02-11
Fourth Grade Weirdo is about a boy who just wants to fit in. When Mr. Ditzwinkle doesn't have the money for the PTA everyone thinks that he stole it, but Dexter knows that he wouldn't do that. When Dexter is suspende from the Halloween party he goes any way with a couple of his friends, and trys to figue it out.
The author, Marth Freeman, is a wonderful author. She has written Fourth Grade Weirdo, Fourth Grade Rats, The Year my Parents Ruined my Life, Stink Bomb Mom , The Spy wore Shades, The Trouble with Cats, The Trouble with Babies, and Always Rachel and quite a few others.
There were a lot of funny parts in this story. Like when Dexter pulled a friend of his down because he was holding up a sign for his mom that said to vote for her. The reason for that was because his mom was running to and they were on TV. This was a really funny book.
I think I would think that people in the ages of 8 through 10 would like this book.
Loved it.......2002-09-18
So one day I was at [local store], and I was looking at books, and i decided to pick up any book that had a cool cover. well I saw Fourth Grade Weirdo and thought why not, it'll probably be stupid but who cares. Well i read it and loved it. I love the characters, and I love the way the author makes them seem very smart. I could read this book a bunch of times, its so great. I recommend it to anyone who was ever in fourth grade and felt like an outsider.
Average customer rating:
- A Great Read!
- "The Weirdo" is cool!!
- The Werido
- Theodore Taylor could have done better
- The Weirdo
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The Weirdo
Theodore Taylor
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0152056661 |
Book Description
Chip Clewt, known simply as the weirdo, lives like a hermit in the Powhatan Swamp, a National Wildlife Refuge that is at the center of a heated controversy between local hunters and environmentalists. A hunting ban on the Powhatan is about to expire. The environmentalists want to protect the wildlife; the hunters are oiling their guns. Then someone completely unexpected comes forward to spearhead the conservation effort--the weirdo.
Includes a reader's guide.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read!.......2007-09-30
T. Taylor's, The Weirdo is a great novel that has everything from science to suspence. It is a great educational read for 8th & 9th graders. It is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from page one. It's a great read for all ages!
"The Weirdo" is cool!!.......2006-12-05
I really liked this book. It started with the adventures right away. Also the author explained the book really well so you can understand it.
This book had a bit of violence and creepy parts. It also had a bit of bad language. I would not recommend this book as a bed-time story. I also think it would be a good idea to read this book with your parents if you are younger than ten.
The Werido.......2005-12-07
I must say that I was not forced to read The Weirdo. I also must say that I will never pick it up again. The book is about these two teenagers, Sam and Chip, who are defending themsleves for the bears. The beginning was ok, but then in the middle the book kept switching off from Chip to Sam and it got really boring. The one good thing is that Chip learns to stand up for himself about his image, and Sam stands up for herself against her father. Unless you like boring books about bears and someone murdering someone else and then these two idiot teenagers falling in love, then this isn't the book for you. I thought this book was going to be good... I thought wrong. I just hope I get a good grade on the test.
Question for anyone who has read the book: where does it take place? like I know its the Powhatan River and in the 1990's, but what state???
Theodore Taylor could have done better.......2005-05-11
The Weirdo was not one of my favorite books I have ever read. I dont think that Theodore Taylor did an outstanding job on this book, but dont get me wrong because Theodore Taylor has alot of great books and I am a big fan of his. Theodore Taylor did alot of jumping around in time on this book and I got a little confused while I was reading. I would not recomend this book. This is totally my opinion, but someone else that reads this book may like it.
The Weirdo.......2005-02-23
Avon Books Inc., 1991, 221 pg., $5.99
ISBN 0-380-72017-5
The Weirdo
By: Theodore Taylor
Have you ever met someone who is so weird that you actually gave him the nickname, "The Weirdo"? There is a teenager, Chip Clewt, who lives near the swamp and doesn't come out in public. He has terrible scars on his face from a plane crash when he was young. For these reasons, the people of the town call him "The Weirdo." Samantha, a girl in the town, finds a body in swamp near her home and is positive "The Weirdo" must have killed him. Sam gets lost in the swamp chasing after a dog, and ends up at the Clewt's house. She meets Chip, "The Weirdo", and realizes that he couldn't have killed the man she found in the swamp. If not Chip, then who? Together, they set out to find the killer.
I was enticed from the first scene; I loved it. Theodore Taylor made me feel I was on the hunt with them. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting new take on HT and people management.......2005-01-06
At first I didn't know what to make of this book. It's a short book that has a jovial style. It presents topics in that almost too enthusiastic HR style that has an unceasingly positive tone, lots of too-clever acronyms, and recipe answers for any problem. That's what you expect though. This is an HR book after all.
What I like about this book is that it presents a totally new style which is the antitheses of books like 'Who moved my cheese?' This book is all about nurturing the talents and uniqueness of the individual. Balancing individual needs against those of the larger company but with the emphasis tilted more towards individualism.
This is the ideal book for engineers to use to convince their managers to be flexible and healthier work environment that will bring better productivity and happier employees.
The weirdo's manifesto..........2004-12-18
So, what do you do when you're on a five hour red-eye flight and can't sleep? If you're me, you end up reading. And this flight was spent reading Weirdos in the Workplace - The New Normal... Thriving In The Age Of The Individual by John Putzier (FT-Prentice Hall). This is an interesting read on how to effective manage "weirdo" talent in today's workplace.
Chapter List: How Did We Get Here, and Where Are We Going?; Individuality from Soup to Nuts; What's IN with High Performers?; Tools and Techniques to Change Others, Organizations, and Yourself; Conclusions and Universal Truths; About the Author; Weirdisms; Index
Putzier's premise is that "as society goes, so goes the workplace". Today's society values the individual, and the highly talented individual is allowed to be as "weird" as they want because the value they deliver is needed. In the workplace, these people can contribute greatly to the organization, but they challenge the "normal" methods of management which have worked in the past. This book does a great job of explaining the traits that make up the "weird" individual, and how those traits need to be managed. With a little foresight and understanding, today's manager can effectively lead a department of these people and look like a miracle worker. Putzier considers himself a weirdo also, and his writing style is irreverent and fun to read.
If you think you might be a "weirdo", you need to read this to understand how the workplace is changing. And if you manage a group of "weirdos", you absolutely need to read this in order to maintain your sanity.
Offbeat and Educational.......2004-09-29
The title of this book alone will catch your attention...and probably plant a seed in your mind that this is not a book you want to waste your time with. Weirdos? This sounds like a negative term, but it's actually not. Putzier, an experienced and respected human resources professional, consultant, and professional speaker, defines "weirdos" as people who are not like you. This assessment means that they are abnormal...if we assume that you are normal.
The first section of this book is devoted to presenting a foundation-setting perspective that the workplace is a microcosm of society. Society is in the process of change, moving through the four stages of Stifling, Tolerating, Accepting, and Rejoicing. This same progression occurs in the workplace, seen as The Age of the Organization Man, The Age of Diversity, The Age of the New Economy, and The Age of the Individual. Those of us who have watched the shifts in attitudes and relationships have observed the shift from conformity to expansion and inclusion, to an honoring of expertise and performance. Now, with varying degrees of comfort, we are moving jerkily into an honoring of individuality
In the second section, Putzier describes over thirty different people that could easily be categorized as "weird." Another descriptor might be "unique." The colorful pictures he paints will stir memories in the minds of the readers, reminding them of the unusual co-workers we have all encountered over the years. Putzier takes diversity to a whole new level. In his vignettes, our author observes that each of these people-and many more that we might call weird-have something significant to contribute. And they all have the potential to be high performers, though not always in the same way that mainstream employees are superior achievers.
The weirdos are presented in a way that catches your attention and may cause you to smile, shake your head, or roll your eyes. And human resource professionals will bob their heads, recognizing similar situations. But Putzier goes further. Each description is a accompanied by an analysis that includes perspective and advice that stimulates thinking and may influence some more appropriate responses to unusual behavior in the workplace.
The book continues with insights into high performers...an understanding of what makes weirdos tick and accomplish so much. Behavioral change maps guide the reader in valuable methodologies. This is a book that will introduce you to what the author calls "the new normal." Indeed, the workforce is changing and will be populated by more free agents...and regular employees who will certainly be recognized as individuals-in every sense of the word. Understand how weirdness is a positive and you'll change your perspective on the world of work.
This book is my new bible.......2004-08-30
This book is a must read for anyone who has lived through being a high performer at work and been shafted at raise time for not being a "team player". Any HR manager, anyone in management and anyone in general in the workplace needs to read this book. Lots of new content and food for thought here, but also very cathartic for those dogged by corporate American "process" for "process sake".
John puts into very simple and powerful concepts, even corporate common sense, things that I have found myself muttering under my breath for years. John's concepts would engender a competitive and productive American workforce and a truly "free job market" where talent and skill are rewarded and the "pencil pushers" and "clock watchers" and bad managers are moved on. I long for the day.
Killer book, must read....buy it now.
Average customer rating:
- quirky, fun reading
- Full of giggles
|
Me and the Weirdos
Jane Sutton
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0553153951
Release Date: 1983-03-01 |
Customer Reviews:
quirky, fun reading .......2005-03-05
I read this book in the fourth grade and thought it was hilarious. My brother, a year older than me had recommended it. 18 years later and I still love it. It is about an 11 year old girl who is pretty calm and normal despite the fact that her parents and sister are borderline nutcases. Her dad bikes everywhere with an umbrella on his bike, has weird hair and is a science geek. Her mom has crazy hair and always wears bright red tennis shoes and a jogging suit. Her sister collects can labels for a hobby and has a pet sea urchin. Their doorbell plays "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and they eat dinner every night out of one giant pot that they all share from. They have a drinking fountain in their living room and don't watch tv, because they prefer acting out dramas themselves. Things get pretty funny when an exchange student comes to stay with them. I bought a paperback copy off Ebay 2 years ago and found it just as funny as when I was 10. It was comforting to me when I was a kid, because I thought my family was soooooo weird. I discovered we are not as weird as I thought. The illustrations are great. I wish it would come back to bookstores. It is timeless humor. I hope some teachers read this review and buy a copy to read to their students. Kids 9-12 would be appropriate. Of course, I am a grown adult and still like kids' books the best, so if you aren't a teacher, that's ok. Buy one for yourself to cheer you up on yucky days.
Full of giggles.......2004-01-24
I read this book when I was a kid and just loved it. I laughed for hours at all the funny and quirky things Cindy's parents do. It is a must for anyone who thinks that their parents are the weirdest.
Book Description
The week it hit the stores, Weirdos from Another Planet! touched down at No. 1 on Walden's and B. Dalton's bestseller lists and No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list. How do you top such success? With The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes, a large-format treasury of the cartoons from Yukon Ho! and Weirdos from Another Planet! (including full-color Sunday cartoons) plus a full-color original story unique to this collection. Its reservation on the top of the national bestseller lists is already confirmed! Millions of readers have responded ot the tremendous talent of Bill Watterson. His skill as both artist and writer brings to life a boy, his tiger, and the imagination and memories of his ardent readers. After five years of syndication and six bestselling collections, The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes picks up where The Essential Calvin and Hobbes left off - bringing more of the irresistible antics of Calvin and his magical sidekick Hobbes to millions of eager fans around the globe. As the strip's phenomenal success witnesses, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes is the authority on humor.
Customer Reviews:
C&H FTW.......2007-09-12
If you love C&H, you'll like this book. For me, Calvin is like pepperoni pizza... when it's good, it's really good, and when it's bad, it's still good.
More Calvin.......2006-10-19
This book combines material from both Yukon Ho! and Weirdos From Another Planet!. Perfect to read with a blanket and a cup of tea on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It lifts my spirits up and makes me laugh, even when there's no one around. Really, that could be said about any Calvin and Hobbes book, though!
The creator is a God........2004-11-03
Unfortunately, I say it rather cynically.
My, there are so many monsters peopling this strip. The kid's a monster. His parents are monsters. The tiger's a monster. The teacher's a monster. The babysitter's a monster. And the only character who's not a monster (and more of a victim) is naturally enough, a young girl who is never bad or gets into any trouble. And the strip, while a rugrat's fantasyland, also smacks of extreme adolescent rebellion.
The strip is so overrated even after its demise a decade ago that it's been ensured that no cartoonist alive or yet to be born would ever create a strip as well-worshipped as it is for all eternity to come. So why not just remove the whole comic section from the news for good?
A walk through someone else's imagination.......2004-07-25
Calvin is a beam of light, a dinosaur, Spaceman Spiff, a pollster on the election of new parents, a robotic explorer from Jupiter (in search of chocoloate) -- well lots of things. He's all the best and all the worst a boy about five can be, and that covers a lot of ground.
If the others around him never quite see things Calvin's way, that's really not his problem. Hobbes will always understand, and generally offer some understated commentary on events. I prefer not to say too much about Hobbes. It's really best if you let him introduce himself.
This book is a treasury of daily and sunday color strips. It captures a part of one of the best strip comics ever. If you already know C&H, you'll surely want this collection. If you missed the strip when it was still in the papers, this will give you a wonderful introduction.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood, and Calvin offers his for your enjoyment.
//wiredweird
Another anthology of laughter.......2004-05-30
Whether the collection is the "Indispensible" or "Essential" or "Quintessential" Calvin and Hobbes, it doesn't really matter. Watching this hyperactive, hyperimaginative child and his willing though wise accomplice, Hobbes, take on evil babysitters, Susie Derkins, the class bully and all creatures (real or imaginary), is a pleasure and laughter without stop. "The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes" is another in a long list of the great comic work of Bill Watterson. This is an indispensible/essential/quintessential collection for all Calvin and Hobbes and humor fans!
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