Who Needs Donuts?: The most incredible picture book you'll never stop reading.

Cindy Samul
Let me start with this disclosure: Who Needs Donuts? was first published in 1973.

Now let me tell you the story of a kid who absolutely loved this book—me.

In second grade* we had a new, young, hip teacher named Miss Dupuis. In good faith Miss Dupuis read Who Needs Donuts? to the class for story time. She finished the book by saying, "Well...I think maybe that's a message you'll understand when you're older."
No matter. I had never seen anything like it and I was enthralled. I checked it out of the school library so frequently the librarian gently reminded me that they do, in fact, have other books.

But Who Needs Donuts? is not a book you read in one sitting or two, or three. It's a book you explore over and over again. Look at this title page:


The title page! The story hasn't even started yet (there are spreads more densely illustrated than this). Every square inch of every page is interesting and worth exploring. Stamaty rewards you with humor, playfulness, and the unexpected. Here's just two examples from the first page:




There are hundreds of these throughout Who Needs Donuts? So what kind of extravagant, fervent mind produces an entire book like this? 

Meet Mark Allan Stamaty.

Stanley and Clara Stamaty were both professional cartoonists, so it's not surprising that their only child, Mark Allan, would grow up to create cartoons for The Village Voice, The Washington Post, Time magazine and many others. Stamaty is also the author/illustrator of ten books. 

Of those ten wonderful books, it is Who Needs Donuts? that became a cult classic. People who love this book, really love it. So much so, that at one point original copies were going for more than $500. Happily, Random House republished it in 2003.

Who Needs Donuts? is a picture book masterpiece. It's book you never stop experiencing. Even today I find new things that delight me as much as when I was in second grade.

If you appreciate or collect picture books, then add this one. Buy it for yourself while the reprint is still available at a reasonable price. 

Will your kids like it? All I can tell you for sure is Who Needs Donuts? caused one second grader to fall in love with books.

*To clarify, I was not in second grade in 1973. Let's leave it at an unspecified number of years later.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Favorite Halloween Picture Books

Cindy Samul
Image
If you are looking for some great picture books for the spooky time of year I highly recommend any of these. Some are old, some are newish and most should be available at your local library or favorite book store. (Listed in no particular order) 1) Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson | ages 4-7 Sir Simon: Super Scarer  is the story of a professional ghost who has been transferred to his first house (he was getting tired of haunting bus stops and forests and potatoes ) . This first ghost narrative is part snarky comedy, part feel-good tale. It's not surprising to learn that the illustrator, Cale Atkinson, is also an animator.  Sir Simon  has all the humor, pacing and energy of a good cartoon.  2) The Little Kitten by Nicola Killen | ages 4-8 I really love the work of Nicola Killen and  The Little Kitten  is my favorite (so far). The beautifully crafted story and artwork combine to make an adorable fall book. There are subtle Halloween elements but not a...
Read more

Remembering the Work of Uri Shulevitz

Cindy Samul
Image
In February of this year we lost a unique voice in children's literature — artist, author, illustrator and teacher Uri Shulevitz.  He illustrated over 40 books including two by Nobel Prize winning Isaac Bashevis Singer. Shulevitz was awarded the Caldecott Medal for The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome and Caldecott Honors for The Treasure , Snow and How I Learned Geography . I'm particularly fond of Shulevitz's Rain Rain Rivers , Dawn , Snow  and Dusk . These are gentle, delightful picture books that are about the feeling of the experience. He brings child-like attention and enthusiasm to rain, snow, sunrise and sunset — things adults easily take for granted. from Dawn by Uri Shulevitz from Rain Rain Rivers by Uri Shulevitz I could go on writing about any of Shulevitz's picture books (they're all good) or his how-to book Writing With Pictures which completely changed the way I thought about picture books. I think, though, my favorite and pe...
Read more

Making Books More Than Books: Jason Shiga and Adventuregame Comics

Cindy Samul
Image
Jason Shiga's first children's book Meanwhile was groundbreaking. I was blown away by how he was able to transform the humble print book into an interactive experience — no screens, no electronics, just paper and cardboard. In the tradition of Choose Your Own Adventure® series the reader is presented with choices throughout the story. But unlike the Choose Your Own Adventure® books, Shiga does almost everything visually. With tabbed pages and maze-like paths to follow, Meanwhile has over 3,000 story possibilities. The thought of even attempting to plan a book like this makes my head hurt. That's where Shiga's special skill set (a comic artist who majored in pure math) combines with his interest in puzzles and video games to produce a truly engaging kid's book. However, for many years following the release of Meanwhile , Shiga's work focused on adult subject matter. Happily for us, Jason Shiga returned to the children's market in 2022 with the release of Le...
Read more