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Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
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Mark Alan Stamaty
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Who Needs Donuts? Hardcover – September 23, 2003

by Mark Alan Stamaty (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 174 ratings
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Sam’s love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: “Who needs donuts when you’ve got love?” Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drowning in a basement flooded with coffee.

This is a reissue of Mark Alan Stamaty’s masterpiece of the absurd, first published 30 years ago and out of print nearly as long. With an illustration style that mixes a benign Hieronymus Bosch with an urban Where’s Waldo?, Stamaty’s off-the-wall humor is on target for little kids and big kids today.
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  1. Reading age
    1 - 9 years, from customers
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    Preschool - 2
  5. Dimensions
    9.25 x 0.31 x 10.25 inches
  6. Publisher
    Knopf Books for Young Readers
  7. Publication date
    September 23, 2003
  8. ISBN-10
    0375825509
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0375825507
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Originally published in 1973, Who Needs Donuts is a sweet visual feast that will have kids (and nostalgic parents) poring over its rich tableaus for hours. Every inch of each black-and-white page is covered in detailed, delightful drawings, at times bringing to mind the two-dimensional cartoons of Saul Steinberg, at others the scratchy realism of Lynda Barry’s comics. In fact, there is so much to look at in this short, simple story that new discoveries are sure to be made with each successive reading (of which there are bound to be countless).

Young Sam, clad (inexplicably, yet charmingly) in cowboy duds, already has a nice house with a big yard and lots of friends, but he feels nonetheless that something is missing. He mounts his trusty trike and heads for the big city in search of one thing: donuts, and not just a few, but "More than his mother and father could ever buy him."

His quest is rife with humor and adventure, not to mention a man in paisley suit and a woman named Pretzel Annie. Kids will adore the no-holds-barred kookiness displayed throughout (a street vendor selling fried oranges with optional mayonnaise; a "self-service" restaurant where the waiters look exactly like the customers), and adults will smile at the hippie-era moral that love is all you need. As the flap illustration warns, "This book is addictive," but this sugar habit need not be kicked. (Ages 5 to 10) --Brangien Davis

From the Inside Flap

Sam's love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: "Who needs donuts when you've got love?" Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drowning in a basement flooded with coffee.
This is a reissue of Mark Alan Stamaty's masterpiece of the absurd, first published 30 years ago and out of print nearly as long. With an illustration style that mixes a benign Hieronymus Bosch with an urban "Where's Waldo?, Stamaty's off-the-wall humor is on target for little kids and big kids today.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (September 23, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0375825509
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0375825507
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 1 - 9 years, from customers
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 2
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 0.31 x 10.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 174 ratings

About the author

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Mark Alan Stamaty

Mark Alan Stamaty

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
174 global ratings

Customers say

Customers say the illustrations are enjoyable and the story is silly but sweet. They also find the comedy entertaining and great for kids. Opinions are mixed on the story, with some finding it interesting and bizarre, while others say it's weird.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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ArtworkComedyReadershipStory
37 customers mention "Artwork"37 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the illustrations, saying there's much to look at on every page. They also say the author/illustrator is wonderful and the story is silly but sweet.

"...Oh yes, and the DRAWINGS are downright fascinating, too!!" Read more

"...The story itself is also silly but sweet, and speaks to little kid desires and fantasies and what would happen if a kid got to live those little kid..." Read more

"...This book is chock full of details. Every page is filled with fun and silly drawings, and about a ba-jillion little images that tell stories within..." Read more

"...The drawing is dynamite, and the story is quite touching." Read more

15 customers mention "Comedy"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, with lots of funny details. They also appreciate the offbeat, detailed drawings.

"I was a little when this book was new, and I loved it. It is full of puns, plays on words and absurdities, which I think a lot of little kids love,..." Read more

"...There is plenty of ridiculousness and just plain loony stuff in this book, which makes it particularly fun and memorable...." Read more

"...The first few pages contain lots of funny details, some out in the open, some hidden...." Read more

"...Each page is worth hours of examination, full of stories and jokes and wild imagination...." Read more

7 customers mention "Readership"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great for kids, grandparent sharing, and adults. They also appreciate the wonderful story and art.

"...Appropriate for kids of any age, including yours truly, in his fifth decade. Hey, it's about donuts and love, so, like, how can you go wrong?" Read more

"...The author is a genius. It is the perfect gift for any child but particularly for someone interested in drawing and fascinated by cities." Read more

"Amazing—it’s full of so many interesting quirks, great for parents who get tired of reading the same books over and over" Read more

"This is great book for young and old. Pictures are wonderful and hold the attention of kids. The detail of the art work is amazing." Read more

21 customers mention "Story"14 positive7 negative

Customers are mixed about the story. Some find the narrative interesting, quirky, and memorable, while others say it's weird and disjointed.

"...plain loony stuff in this book, which makes it particularly fun and memorable...." Read more

"...The story could be described as having the disjointed logic of a dream, but coupled with the art it's definitely a nightmare...." Read more

"...The drawing is dynamite, and the story is quite touching." Read more

"I had this book from my high school daze and it is a great memory piece for me...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Kai R. Kubota
5.0 out of 5 stars Great throwback book, hidden message of FRIENDSHIP
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2016
Verified Purchase
I am Japanese-American, who will be 43 in 2016 (to give you an idea as to where, when, and how I grew up). I remember reading this as a kid. I contend that kid books are ADULT books too, because as an adult, "you can view the kid books through a different prism, from a different perspective, and absorb different messages." With the internet, I am able to remember and look up many books that I read as a kid (if anybody has "Stubborn Bear" by Robert Bigelow and the SCARY whale picture, please Message me), and read different perspectives on them: Messages and ideas that I did not consider, when I read them as a youngster. As a kid, this was a story mostly about donuts, and Sam's desire for donuts. I thought about the book a couple of years ago, SPECIFICALLY about a certain page: After Mister Bickferd ran off with Pretzel Annie, I can remember Sam's bewildered look, and asking Mr. Bickferd, "Don't you want to collect donuts anymore?" I got choked up thinking about that picture, and when I got this book and re-read it, I needed Kleenex, reading that page!! Because, as an ADULT, what that, and the next two or three pages provided me, was the realization that Sam had a "breakthrough," where FRIENDSHIP proved more important than MATERIAL goods. What I didn't remember was, when Sam asked himself, "What am I going to do with all of these donuts," and that when he tried to eat one, he couldn't finish it, was the line (to paraphrase), "Collecting donuts didn't seem as fun without Mister Bickferd." Using something from MY era, let's say that I wanted to play video games more than anything. Then, I met a friend with HUNDREDS of games, had fun playing the games with him. Then, let's say that suddenly he found a girlfriend, or decided to take up sports, and he gave ME all of his video games. As a YOUNGSTER, I may have thought "Cool!" But, as an ADULT, like Sam losing Mr. Bickferd as a friend, me losing my video game scenario friend may have left me with an empty heart, because I would have felt the emptiness of "losing a friend." I probably would not have enjoyed the video games nearly as much. I think that junior high, high school, and college students SHOULD read this book too, because above all, it will open up your eyes to just how valuable great FRIENDSHIPS can be. At the BEGINNING of the book, it said that Sam had a nice house, a big yard, and a lot of friends. After he returned from his "donuts adventure," I'd venture to say that he appreciated his many friends THAT much more! Oh yes, and the DRAWINGS are downright fascinating, too!!
13 people found this helpful
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Katherine Mansfield
5.0 out of 5 stars Just as good as I remember!
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2012
Verified Purchase
I was a little when this book was new, and I loved it. It is full of puns, plays on words and absurdities, which I think a lot of little kids love, especially when they're learning new things, like how to read. Point to something a kid has just learned and call it by the wrong name, and they will happily correct you and often think it hilarious that you don't know your dogs from your cats. This book is full of crazy things that kids know are insanely "wrong" and therefore funny. Just rereading the book today, they're still funny. Pigeons don't have horse's heads! Abraham Lincoln in New York? Walking a dog? Some things will be particularly funny to adults, and especially to New Yorkers: a store with a sign asking "all customers please go away," a pay phone with a sign that says, "Phone is not in working order. Place donation in coin slot," and a sidewalk food vendor selling "fried oranges with mayonnaise." Absolutely everywhere you look in this book, there are crazy things to see in Stamaty's incredibly detailed pen and ink drawings--drawings that make my jaw drop just to look at them and think of the amount of time and work that went into them.

The story itself is also silly but sweet, and speaks to little kid desires and fantasies and what would happen if a kid got to live those little kid dreams (the look on Sam's face when he is crazed with donuts is priceless). It's also about helping people and the importance of relationships. There's a lot going on in this little book!
3 people found this helpful
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Aimee Cowles
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my very favorites
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2006
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This was one of my very favorite books as a child, and I've wanted to find a reprint. Finally it is available!!

This book is chock full of details. Every page is filled with fun and silly drawings, and about a ba-jillion little images that tell stories within stories within stories. I remember I loved to search the pages for something I hadn't seen before, and then create new stories from my own imagination.

This book is about a happy boy that one day thinks he needs something else. He becomes obsessed with doughnuts and journeys to try to collect them all-- he can't get enough. In the process, he adventures away from home and all through the city.

There is plenty of ridiculousness and just plain loony stuff in this book, which makes it particularly fun and memorable. This is a perfect gift for a very creative or imaginitive child (or adult). "Who Needs Donuts?" is fun and entertaining, but also makes you feel happy with what you have in life.
2 people found this helpful
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jelly
5.0 out of 5 stars All-time favorite children's book.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
I still read it as an adult. My brothers and I would stare at it together when we were kids, pointing out details to one another. Before the book was reprinted, a friend spent a ton of money on an auction to get a copy for my brother as a wedding gift. It's that special. With the reprint, I was able to buy a bunch and give them out everywhere. I saved one for myself to add to the original tattered copy from our childhood.

The drawing is dynamite, and the story is quite touching.
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Top reviews from other countries

Bonnie
5.0 out of 5 stars Best kids book ever
Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2020
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This book is amazing. Tons of things hidden in the amazing illustrations. So sweet. Definitely a family favourite!
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Denmark98
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the equivalent of find Waldo on steroids
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
This was my favorite book in 3rd grade back in 1980ish. I used to know EXACTLY where it was in library and could find it without going in the card catalogue.

It is an odd book full of hand drawn pictures telling a story about a boy and doughnuts. There are so many small things to find in all the different pages of the these drawing and person could look for hours at the pages. This book is the equivalent of find Waldo on steroids
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Mireia
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book
Reviewed in Spain on June 30, 2014
Verified Purchase
My 5 year old son loved this book, and so did I. The pages follow an horror vacui tendency and everything is full of little details which are so fun to spot (pipe smoking birds, horse headed pidgeons...). This is a gem. The most inspiring children's book's illustrations I've ever seen.
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Kristi
5.0 out of 5 stars Weird and awesome!
Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2019
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Such a hilariously awesome book! It's weird, which I appreciate, and has very interesting pictures, which my child loves!
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Graham from Oxfordshire
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, you won't regret it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
Beautiful, gorgeous book.

Have read it to my son a thousand times and he's still enchanted. The intricate drawings and quirky humour make it a real pleasure. A classic.
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