Cartoonist/writer
Lynn Johnston is by far one of my favorite artist/writers.
Her
comic strip: For Better Or For Worse, really captures what it is like to be married,
raising kids, working, getting old, watching your kids grow up and suddenly
finding yourself as a grandparent.
She
has a real knack for capturing those funny and poignant (and sometimes tragic)
moments we all experience as we go through life with its ups and downs.
That’s
why I am so thrilled to recommend several of her For Better Or For Worse comic
strip collections from Andrews
McMeel.
Never Wink At A Worried
Woman
deals primarily with Elly and John Patterson who are dealing with: growing
older, watching their kids transform into pre-teens and adults, a sudden career
change, grandparents, grandchildren, running a business and coping with
unexpected changes.
As
a former high school teacher I immediately identified with Teaching Is A Learning Experience!
As
a teacher Elizabeth Patterson contends with the ups and down, in and outs, the
frustrations, victories (and loses) and especially with a wide spectrum of students.
In
the meantime family members move, April deals with teenager woes and Elly and
John face middle-age maladies. I know
what that’s like!
My
wife and I recently came to the same uneasy conclusion: we’re not young anymore! We’re both in our 60s and don’t feel it but
are starting to look it.
You
know you’re getting old when kids and young adults call you ‘sir’ and ‘mam’! Ouch!
Elly
Johnston suddenly realizes that she has reached the age to qualify for senior
discounts. Grandpa suffers a stroke,
Mike and Deanna learn some important lessons about being parents, Elizabeth moves back closer to home and
teenage April starts to assert her independence.
Seniors’ Discount explores all this and
more in this hilarious, heartfelt and very topical collection.
She’s Turning Into
One Of Them!
is a comic strip collection any parent of a teenage girl (or boy, for that matter)
can identify with.
Inexplicitly,
almost overnight, young boys and girls transform into the bane of parenthood:
teenagers.
Irreverent,
irritating, sweet one moment and tyrannical the next, teenagers drive parents crazy. I know, my wife and I raised two of them-a
boy and a girl. What were we thinking!
For
the inside scoop on raising teenagers check out this collection.
Other
topics touched upon all center around family from grandparents to
grandkids. It’s what life is all about.
Both
of our kids got married. One worked out,
the other ended n divorce.
In
Just A Simple Wedding Lynn Johnston covers
all the bases of watching your kids make their own decisions, marry, raise a
family and deal with the same things we all do as parents.
Growing
older you tend to downsize, place more emphasis on family and friends than on
possessions and fame and come to the realization that life is short and the
time you have left is best spent with those you love.
Lynn
Johnston captures each moment of life perfectly with her humor, outstanding art
and talent for bringing life to the printed page.
In
It’s The Thought that Counts…celebrates
the 15th Anniversary of For Better Or For Worth in a wonderful collection
of select color strips, key moments in the Patterson’s lives, Lynn’s own life
and those of her family.
It’s
an up-close and personal look at not only the comic strip but the tremendously talented
cartoonist behind it, along with her family.
For
completely different take on life you can’t beat the Peanuts comic strip for
its wit, wisdom and wacky and wonderful cast of characters.
Two
new full-color collections spotlight everyone’s favorite beagle: Snoopy (Snoopy What’s Wrong With Dog Lips?) and
the frustrated attempts of Sally to woo Linus (I’m Not Your Sweet Babboo!).
Each
collection also includes lots of other Peanuts hi-jinx that brings in the whole
cast from Charlie Brown to Peppermint Patty.
Both
collections spotlight the tremendous talent and thoughtful insight Peanuts
creator Charles Schulz possessed.
Peanuts
fans are sure to enjoy both collections lovingly compiled in soft paperbacks.