Customer Reviews

One Big Happy: Nice Costs Extra!

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If, according to Rick DeTorie, Nice Cost Extra!, his latest collection is priceless! This book is 127 pages (and a great cover) of laugh out loud fun. Every one in my family, from my wife to my teenage son to my 11 year old twins, and even their Grandparents, find something to treasure in this book. Like anything of true value it transends generations. In a time when humor seems to be based on how shocking one can be, it is a true blessing to find someone as brilliant as Rick DeTorie and his always loveable characters. Considering the overuse these books receive in my house, we always end up buying another copy.

If you're looking for a truly funny comic strip that will make you laugh out loud without insulting your intelligence, you've gotta check out Rick Detorie's "One Big Happy"! Unlike a lot of "family" strips, this one actually seems to be based on real people. The adults are neither overly "goody-goody" nor bumbling idiots, and the kids aren't saccharine-sweet or smart-mouthed brats. Every character - Ruthie, Joe, Frank, Ellen, and the grandparents - is just like someone you know - or would like to know. I love this series!

Rick Detorie's One Big Happy provides fun cartoons featuring kids and adults and one precocious child 'Ruthie' whose pointed observations are sometimes all too acid. Reminiscent of Dennis the Menace but with more social observation, these strips are intriguing and fun.

Another great One Big Happy book. I read it to my son every night, and it never fails to produce a laugh from both of us. Ruthie's antics are hilarious. Buy this book if you want to laugh. It's no wonder One Big Happy is the best comic strip in the LA Daily News.

This is a delightful, well-drawn strip that will compliment the intelligence of its readers as well as provide good laughs. Ruthie, 6 and her brother Joe, 8 are the central characters along with their parents and grandparents. The story is set in Baltimore.

Ruthie's friend James lives in griding poverty and her kind grandfather has more or less taken him under his wing. Readers will recognize the outspoken Ruthie, who bumbles over common expressions in a funny way and her brother Joe, who by virtue of being older likes to show his fraternal authority. Each character is believable, including Earl, a boy who has Asperger's. Earl and Ruthie are classmates. He has a special interest in vaccuum cleaners and lectures to people endlessly about them, without realizing that nobody shares his passion for them. It is nice to see a character with Asperger's who is treated with plausiblility and respect included in the mix.

I love this series as well and eagerly look forward to reading it in my daily paper.