The New Yorker Book of Kids Cartoons (Hardcover)

by Robert Mankoff (Author, Editor), Robert Mankoff (Author), Roz Chast (Author) "Is everything all right, Jeffrey?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The world of childhood as seen by the cartoonists of The New Yorker. Childhood is...well, it is amazing—whether we are talking about being a child or raising a child. What better and funnier way could there be to look at the whole shebang than to have the art and wit of a pretty incredible group of former children, the cartoonists of The New Yorker? Just imagine the different perspectives on childhood from artists like Gahan Wilson, George Price, Roz Chast, Jack Ziegler, George Booth, Leo Cullum, William Hamilton, and Edward Koren. Robert Mankoff has culled the best of the hundreds and hundreds of cartoons on kids from the 65,000+ cartoons in The New Yorker's archives. And, as always, he brings us wonderful cartoons and surprises from both famous cartoonists and relative unknowns. As a special bonus, the inimitable Roz Chast introduces this collection. Whether the reader has children or is still a kid at heart, this is child's play!

Includes Cartoons By:
• George Booth • Roz Chast • Leo Cullen • Sam Gross • William Hamilton • BEK (Bruce Eric Kaplan) • Edward Koren • Lee Lorenz • Robert Mankoff • Danny Shanahan • Robert Weber • Gahan Wilson • Jack Ziegler • and more

About the Author
Robert Mankoff is the cartoon editor of The New Yorker, president of The Cartoon Bank, a wonderful cartoonist in his own right, and, oh yeah, a dad. He has published numerous collections of his own work and is the editor of a half-dozen collections of New Yorker cartoons. Roz Chast is a national treasure. She has published a number of books and illustrated the books of others. Many of us look forward eagerly to her appearances in The New Yorker. She is the mother of two children an experience that just maybe influences her work.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press; illustrated edition edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576600971
• ISBN-13: 978-1576600979
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: World-Class Guffaws, Chuckles, and Belly Laughs!, September 17, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Before reviewing this book, let me note that the cartoons contain several examples of foul language. If such things offend you, skip those pages or the book.

I have read all of The New Yorker collections of subject-oriented cartoons, and found this collection to be by far the funniest one! The average quality of each cartoon is unusually good, as well. While many of the other collections either lack introductions or have limited, lame ones, this collection is anchored by a superb introduction.

As Roz Chast points on in her witty, illustrated introduction, "kids actually do say the darndest things." So do their parents. Ms. Chast's introduction is the best one I have ever read for a book of cartoons. She touches on the subject from the perspective of having been a child, reading The New Yorker for the cartoons as a child, being a cartoonist looking for ideas, and as a parent. She sees the family as a Bottomless Pit. You will learn the details about the day she threw a hot dog and said an off-color word The volume contains 11 cartoons by her among the 126 in the book.

The volume has an appropriately heavy dose of the brilliant work of Robert Weber (14), Barbara Smalls (8), Lee Lorens (7), and Jack Ziegler (7).

The humor typically builds by having kids saying what adults would, or vice versa. Other themes include having grown-up children speaking as though they were still 2 or 3, and anthropomorphizing animals with human speech. Some of the best work well simply with the gag lines . . . and then are enhanced by the cartoon. My favorite example of this is "I guess we'd be considered a family. We live together, we love each other, and we haven't eaten the children yet." The cartoon shows lots of guppies swimming a fish bowl.

Some of the humor is bittersweet, especially when it touches on divorce. Two small children in nursery school are working at a table. One turns to the other and asks, "So, what's your custody deal?"

Some of the most original offerings are those that take a female perspective where many will not have considered before. For instance, a mother and young daughter are looking out of an office window at a factory. "Someday, sweetheart, all of this will belong to your ex-husband and his attorney." In another one, a little girl tells her father, "I love you too, Daddy, but it just kills me that you're a man."

Parents also turn themselves in for their follies. A child is reading and looks over at his father watching television and asks, "Dad, can you read?"

One of the up-to-date offerings has a child annoying his father wondering when they will get there. But the twist is that the child is asking his questions from the back seat of an SUV using a cell phone.

Parent-teacher communications are hysterically translated. "Creative" becomes "Not too bright." "He's doing fine" becomes "What's your kid's name again?"

After you finish enjoying this fine volume, I suggest that you think about how you can relieve the stress you feel with your family with laughter!

Look for the humor in every situation. Laughter is good for you!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HONESTY FROM A KID!, December 6, 2001

By	Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Kids really do say outlandish things! They have a knack for making an honest comment at the most inopportune time. The cartoons depicted here are so true to life that parents, particularly, will be able to relate only too well to what these kids have to say. Each page is filled with plenty of chuckles and laughs that are sure to remind you of things your own child has said in years gone by. The best qualities of the book are the realism and candid honesty which comes so openly from the mouth of a child.

5.0 out of 5 stars SO funny, March 16, 2007

By	Brooklyn Mom (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

We've had this book for 4 1/2 years (someone with a wry sense of humor gifted it to us when our daughter was born) and it still makes us laugh everytime we flip it open. It's a great gift for new parents or for someone who marries into an existing family with young kids.