Children at Play: A Cul de Sac Collection
Richard Thompson reminds us that being a 40-year-old isn't hard, but being a four-year-old is. His warm, welcoming reminders are wonderfully lighthearted and funny as he brings home Alice's life in a fun, new Cul de Sac collection.\ Alice and her Blisshaven Preschool classmates charm fans of all ages. Their adventures ring alarmingly true to parents of little ones, too. From doing projects in a whirlwind of crayons and markers to their nonstop chatter to trying to comprehend a completely...
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Richard Thompson reminds us that being a 40-year-old isn't hard, but being a four-year-old is. His warm, welcoming reminders are wonderfully lighthearted and funny as he brings home Alice's life in a fun, new Cul de Sac collection.Alice and her Blisshaven Preschool classmates charm fans of all ages. Their adventures ring alarmingly true to parents of little ones, too. From doing projects in a whirlwind of crayons and markers to their nonstop chatter to trying to comprehend a completely incomprehensible world, Thompson's characters make Children at Play a must-read. The little boxes crammed together, the shopping malls, and the insane traffic systems set the scene for the storylines and adventures that only suburban life can provide.Thompson's witty dialogue meets comically unique drawings to make Cul de Sac a place worthy of visiting on a daily basis."I thought the best newspaper comic strips were long gone, and I've never been happier to be wrong. Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac has it all--intelligence, gentle humor, a delightful way with words, and, most surprising of all, wonderful, wonderful drawings." --Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes School Library Journal Gr 6 Up—The daily-newspaper comic Cul de Sac focuses on petulant, imaginative kindergartner Alice; her meticulous, neurotic older brother, Petey; and their interactions with neighborhood kids, their parents, and teachers. As Mo Willems says in the introduction to this second collection, it's easy to think that there's little new ground to cover when presenting precocious children in comics, as hyper-verbal musings on the unfairness of childhood has been well-established in both Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes. Thompson is able to achieve the best of all worlds here, with visual gags, wordplay, incisive commentary, wry observation, and an acutely clever re-creation of the surreal circumstances, behaviors, and mentalities of youth. The scratchy, scribbly artwork helps reinforce the childlike environment, but young readers may not be far enough away from these events to recognize them as truly, deliriously funny.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
\ School Library JournalGr 6 Up—The daily-newspaper comic Cul de Sac focuses on petulant, imaginative kindergartner Alice; her meticulous, neurotic older brother, Petey; and their interactions with neighborhood kids, their parents, and teachers. As Mo Willems says in the introduction to this second collection, it's easy to think that there's little new ground to cover when presenting precocious children in comics, as hyper-verbal musings on the unfairness of childhood has been well-established in both Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes. Thompson is able to achieve the best of all worlds here, with visual gags, wordplay, incisive commentary, wry observation, and an acutely clever re-creation of the surreal circumstances, behaviors, and mentalities of youth. The scratchy, scribbly artwork helps reinforce the childlike environment, but young readers may not be far enough away from these events to recognize them as truly, deliriously funny.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH\ \
