I always think of my friend Josh as culturally literate and open to all new ideas. This opinion of him started in college when he was carving a totem pole with a chainsaw (!) next to me in art class. Since then he has worked on David Letterman, PBS’s “Egg Show”, The Charlie Rose Show, ESPN (okay, that was a lapse in my mind), and now, he is a freshly minted lawyer. Josh has always had piles of media around him. Though he lived in a 200 square foot studio in the village, the only sign of real living done there was a futon. The rest of the place was piled with vhs tapes, hardcover books, newspapers, New Yorkers and notebooks. He even had his fireplace stacked with books. It was definitely the apartment of a media junkie. So, when a publicist wrote me to ask if I would review these new comic books for kids, I knew I wasn’t the best candidate: Josh was. Since Josh was studying for the bar at the time and missing (I think) a dose of cultural fun, I sent the books his way. He tested them out on some kids too. You can see him here reading to one of them.
Children’s Books as Comics: Three New Entries From Toon Books
Reviewed by Josh Block
Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever, 40 pp. By Dean Haspiel & Jay Lynch
Stinky, 40 pp. By Eleanor Davis
Jack and the Box, 32 pp. By Art Spiegelman
Ages 4+
$12.95 Each
TOON BOOKS published by RAW Junior, LLC.
In recent years, films like “Crumb” and “American Splendor” have brought the story of the underground comics movement to movie audiences. A major player in the movement was Art Spiegelman. But Speigelman has greater goals than just reaching the natural post-teen audience that has gravitated to graphic novels (the name given to the longer form comic book aimed at an older audience). After all, Spiegelman won a Pulitzer Prize for his Holocaust memoir, presented in comic book form, “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale,” and has had his work exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. His life obsession has been to popularize the comic book, to bring comics from the hands of pimple-faced teenage boys to readers of all ages and both genders. He is a proponent of the notion that comics can serve a higher role in our culture.
So perhaps it is not surprising that Spiegelman is going after a new demographic to convert into comic book lovers, the youngest demographic, children. Under the auspices of RAW Junior, (RAW was the alternative comics anthology published by Spiegelman and his wife, Francoise Mouly, in the 1980s) three new children’s books have been published, “Jack and the Box,” by Spiegelman himself, “Stinky,” by newcomer Eleanor Davis, and “Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever,” by Jay Lynch and Dean Haspiel, both established in the comics field.
I took the books on a test drive with four different children, grades pre-K–2, and all were received well. While each book is listed as “Ages 4+” and grades K–2 or K–3, “Jack” is best for the younger children in that range, “Mo and Jo” for older.
Perhaps the idea of bringing new readers “to the pleasure of comics” is not so novel. Children’s books are not so different from comics, small lines of story with illustrations, the narrative told sequentially. The only real difference in the traditional children’s book is the lack of word balloons. This notion is most evident in Spiegelman’s book which opens on its side (all the books are 6 x 9) and has two panels per page. It is the sparsest of the three tune books telling a simple story of a boy, drawn as a rabbit, who is given a toy jack-in-the-box to play with. Of the four children I read these stories to, this book was the least favorite of the most advanced reader, but all of the other kids enjoyed it. It was also easy enough for a new reader that one of the children actually read the book to me.
My wife, who teaches first grade, picked up “Superhero ABCs” by Bob McLeod, when we visited a local comic book store. It, by far, is the most popular book among the boys she teaches. “Mo and Jo” will likely have similar appeal. It is on the other end of the spectrum, the closest to a conventional superhero comic book. “Mo and Jo” explores traditional and timeless children’s book themes of cooperation, teamwork and friendship. A brother and sister inherit a costume which, like the one in the early 80s TV series, “The Greatest American Hero,” bestows super powers on those who don it. However, if Mo and Jo are going to vanquish the evil Saw-Jaw they’ll have to work together. The early bickering between the brother and sister received loud giggles from one of the boys I read this story to, while the other boy expressed concern that Mo and Jo didn’t tell their mommy that they were going out to fight crime.
“Stinky,” is more along the lines of an entry-level graphic novel. It is a don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover lesson about an odorous monster who is scared of people. The monster, who prefers pickled onions to apples, eventually overcomes his fear and befriends the brave loner boy who has built a tree house in his swamp. It is an impressive effort from a first time children’s book author and likely has the broadest appeal of the Toon Books.
If the stories are standard children’s book fare, the artwork is first rate. Each is a worthy entry into any children’s book library. However, the true test of any children’s book is requests for repeat readings and while it isn’t hard to see these books making it into heavy rotation, it remains to be seen if they actually will.
P.S. There is a TOON BOOKS blog here.