cover image Cartoons and Cartooning

Cartoons and Cartooning

Harvey Weiss. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $13.95 (64pp) ISBN 978-0-395-49217-8

In this nicely executed paean to the art of the cartoon, Weiss writes in a friendly and authoritative fashion. He begins by defining cartoons, then introduces a number of early exponents of the discipline--caricatures by William Hogarth and Japan's Hokusai; early cartoon classics, such as Little Nemo , Krazy Kat and a panel by Rube Goldberg. Succeeding chapters discuss the nature of humor, various cartoon styles, editorial cartooning, animation, comic books and syndication. The text is illustrated with examples from Beetle Bailey , Hagar the Horrible , Redeye , Prince Valiant et al.--many somewhat dated, but nevertheless appropriate. In conclusion, Weiss encourages the reader to create his or her own cartoons, and offers simple yet valuable hints on drawing styles and gag lines. Ages 10-14. ( Apr. )