Kids Are Weird

March 10, 2014
Brown’s popular recent works, like Darth Vader and Son, feature epically horrific villains bumping up against the quotidian concerns of family life. The author’s latest feels like more of the same—but without the preconceptions inherent in the Lucas universe to draw from, it’s not as funny (everything is funnier when Darth Vader says it). Brown, reprising his role here as the resolutely unshaven dad/artiste, notes early on that there’s a short window between the time when kids don’t talk at all and when their first verbal malapropisms begin. The mostly single-page episodes each center on a particular turn of phrase from his young son: “Don’t forget to smash people,” “We can’t have a play date because my mom doesn’t like crying,” “I’m going to eat all the people in the world.” There’s several chuckles throughout, and even a few genuine laughs. But the resemblance to Kids Say the Darnedest Things overpowers most of the book’s other gentle charms.

April 15, 2014
Brown launched his comics career drawing short-form, self-deprecating autobiographical pieces; more recently, he's found commercial success with a series of books portraying a surprisingly paternal Darth Vader raising his young offspring, Luke and Leia. Here he combines the two with a delightful collection of cartoons depicting the charmingly quirky utterances of his preschooler son. Along with his loving parents, we observe Oscar at the dinner table ( I'm the master of bacon ); watching television ( Elton John looks pretty in that shirt ); playing with his toys ( This truck can survive on very little water ); in the bathroom ( Since you're in here, I'm going to wash my hands for real ); and dictating to his parents ( Don't feel happy at me ). Brown's ragged, childlike drawing style is the ideal vehicle for capturing Oscar's Aww -inspiring remarks. The book's strongest appeal will be to young parentsincluding Brown's early fans, who have echoed his progression from aimless slackerdom to domesticated adulthoodwho will see their own tots' adorableness reflected in Oscar's innocently clever observations.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)