Kids Are Weird: And Other Observations from Parenthood

Things are weird

by Jeffrey Brown

As he's shown in his previous hugely popular books, Jeffrey Brown has a real gift for finding humor in quirky yet universal truths. Now the bestselling author of Darth Vader and Son and Vader's Little Princess brings his witty comic observations to terrestrial parenting in this perceptive book celebrating the more surreal moments of raising a child. In charming colorful panels, Brown wryly illustrates his fiveyear- old son's take on the world around him, from watching TV ("Elton John looks pretty in that shirt") to playing with toys ("This truck can survive on very little water") to odd requests ("Don't feel happy at me"), capturing the sweetly weird times that mothers and fathers everywhere experience with their own curious, pure-minded kids.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Parenting, Nonfiction, Adult, Graphic Novels Comics

108 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2014

About the author

Jeffrey Brown was born in 1975 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up reading comic books with dreams of someday drawing them, only to abandon them and focus on becoming a 'fine artist.' While earning his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Brown abandoned painting and began drawing comics with his first autobiographical book 'Clumsy' in 2001. Since then he's drawn a dozen books for publishers including TopShelf, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, McSweeney's and Chronicle Books. Simon & Schuster published his latest graphic memoir 'Funny Misshapen Body.' In addition to directing an animated video for the band Death Cab For Cutie, Brown has had his work featured on NPR's 'This American Life' His art has been shown at galleries in New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Paris. Jeffrey's work has also appeared in the Best American Comics series and received the Ignatz Award in 2003 for 'Outstanding Minicomic.'
He currently lives in Chicago with his wife Jennifer and their son Oscar.

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

You know how on Facebook some people will post the funny thing their child said, and it isn't funny, at least not to you, because you weren't there and don't know the child? That's kind of how this book of one-off comic panes felt to me: a series of precious moments made less precious by passing them off as, at the least, humor or, at the most, art.

Kids Are Weird is made up of random things I'm assuming Jeffrey Brown's child said. Each page may have some kind of comic series, like when the kid wants bacon, or a few random things the kid said. I know that I never chuckled, and I'm straining to remember a time I even really smiled internally. I'm afraid I find little to care about, as an outsider, here:

"What? Why not?"

"You smell yucky. [next pane -->] Just kidding!"

Yes, kids say such things, and they're very cute when they're yours, when you're there. But these kinds of things flop when shared with others as "humor." The illustrations don't add to the moment here, either. I'm afraid I didn't find this book funny or insightful.

[Aiza Idris (biblio_mom) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read this twice. but only marking it as read today. xD

We had a great time reading this together as a family. We can all relate to half of the stuff, and none of the rest because they are the things that malay or muslim kids didn't do. Atleast from where I came from (Malaysia). Definitely not of our culture kind of thing.

But, this book is funny nonetheless and I love the cartoon illustrations. Its in hardback and I got it so cheap from Big Bad Wolf Sale. Such a steal!

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Хоча я й не читав жодного коміксу американського коміксиста Джеффрі Брауна, але неодноразово зустрічав інформацію про його навколо Дарт Вейдерські мальописи «Дарт Вейдер і син», «Маленька прицеса Вейдера» і «Спокійної ночі Дарт Вейдер». Але вперше до рук потрапив зовсім інший його комікс — «Діти дивні та інші спостереження під час батьківства» (2014).

Джеффрі Браун узяв повсякденні ситуації та розмови зі своєю дитиною і зробив колекцію коротких стріпів, які здебільшого батьки могли зустрічати під час турботи за своїми дітьми. І, звісно, оцінити ось ці всі дивні й кумедні моменти. В основу збірки «Діти дивні» лягли ситуації про його п’ятирічного сина Оскара та, як він справляється з життям зі свого боку.

Діти допитливі й бачать речі інакше, ніж дорослі. Дітям потрібен час, щоби зрозуміти деякі з них. Діти часто говорять речі, не замислюючись про них. Діти просто кумедні, хоча не хочуть бути такими. Як діти дивляться на життя й що повторюють із почутих розмов? І, як саме вони перекладають речі у своїй свідомості? Кожен, хто був серед дітей, чи має власних, напевно побачить деяку схожість між цим маленьким хлопцем та дітьми поряд.

Відверто, більшість стріпів не були сильно кумедними, більше дивними, як і написано в назві збірки коміксів. І також потрібно врахувати, що американські й українські діти живуть у різному соціумі, тому багато речей для нас можуть бути не кумедними, а незвичними й незрозумілими. Більше рефлексій можна знайти в українському мальописі із стріпами «Шмаркачі. Випробувальний політ» Володимира Поворозника й Руслана Самарика. Тому надіюся, що видавництво Vovkulaka зможе видати оновлену збірку «Шмаркачі. Правдиві побрехеньки», щоб українська аудиторія, нарешті, змогла оцінити цю мальовану історію.

Ця невелика збірка стріпів наповнена великою кількістю дитячих філософій і міркувань. Тому навіть попри те, що не всі стріпи мені зайшли, але над достатньої кількістю вдалося посміятися. Та ще й до дружини бігав із декількома, щоби показати смішні і знайомі ситуації. Хотілося б спробувати інші комікси Джеффрі Брауна, тому що перша зустріч задалася не найкращим способом.

[Peter Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, Jeffrey Brown. For quite some time Mr. Brown was writing and drawing some of my favorite comics. His autobiographical stuff was great. Honestly, I've never watched someone grow up on the page the way I have with Jeffrey Brown. His first few books, a common complaint was that they were somewhat similar, all about a relationship he had with a girl that had so many feels. For me, it was great. For an artist to do these similar books, it meant you could almost watch him refine and redraft his earlier works, a really interesting process that doesn't always happen on the page or on the bookstore shelves.

Not to mention that things written about girls that involve emotions are kind of my thing. It's a symbiotic relationship. You have a book where a grown man reflects on the most significant relationship of his mid-20's? Just so happens that I have an afternoon of bath tub weeping to fill. Coincidence can be beautiful, or at least as beautiful as possible when we're talking about an adult male with questionable grooming eating Starburst jelly beans in the bathtub while reading comics.

In the last few years Jeffrey Brown seems to be mining cute family material rather than the corpses of relationships long gone. It's got to be a natural progression. In a way, it's nice. After reading some pretty sad stuff for a decade or so, it looks like things are working out for Jeffrey Brown. But again, and I don't want to get more detailed on this bathtub business because it may cross over from embarrassing to downright humiliating, I prefer the sadder stuff.

The work's still got a heart to it, and Brown's getting even better as an artist. But I think it's time for Jeffrey Brown and I to ride off into our respective sunsets, his being fatherhood, mine being a journey of the soul accompanied by candle with the obnoxious fragrance name "Sunset" sitting on the side of the bathtub.

Told you it gets humiliating.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was young and still saying cute&funny things unintentionally, my mom recorded them in a special, cloth-bound book. She later went back and illustrated all my little quotes.
I was an only child, obvs.

This is Jeffrey Brown's version of that book.
Pretty much literally.

There's virtually no commentary (ok, flipping through the book, there are a few captions, but barely). Just unconnected scenes of full-color illustrations of his kid saying adorable things, in roughly chronological order (apparently - the kid gets visibly older), with pretty much no context.

Which isn't a bad thing - kids are adorable, and one of the benefits of my job as a "youth services" librarian is that I get to overhear hilarious kid moments.

Just, if that's not your thing, this isn't the book for you.

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Brown's past autobiographical collections. He comes across as a warm, sincere guy and while his books are not laugh out loud funny, there's a lot of humor in his honesty and attention to detail.

So now he has a kid and well...unfortunately this reads like all those Facebook posts by people who have kids. You know the ones where they have to tell the world the hilarious thing their genius child just said and you think either
1. No, they didn't say that or
2. Maybe they did but that quote's been heavily edited or
3. Who cares?

You know the ones.

[Jaclyn Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in a First Reads giveaway.

Yeah, this just isn't very good. I think I know why; there's no story here, nothing to make me give a damn about the weird crap Jeffrey Brown's kid says. Now, I thought Darth Vader and Son was cute and charming, but we know what's going on there. It's Darth Vader and a 3 year old Luke Skywalker. Cuteness abounds. This though, is just a kid saying a bunch of random things. Now, I don't have kids, nor do I particularly like kids. Maybe if I did I would find this adorable, but I don't, so I don't. There needs to be a story, some reason for me to care about the kid beyond "he's so weird and random, isn't that funny?" I think Jeffrey Brown is a very talented artist, and maybe after some work on story telling or just illustrating someone else's story, he could really go places. Until then, just stick to Darth Vader and Son.

[Caitlin M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like those stories parents tell that they think are hilarious but are only really funny if you were there and knew the kid well. I love the concept of cartoons of funny things that children say but most of these weren’t that funny.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

God, kids really are weird. And these aren't even the weirdest/most horrifying things I've ever heard kids say or talk about.

I really do enjoy Jeffrey Brown's work. His Star Wars stuff is my favorite, but I like his brand of humor, so I will definitely be checking out other stuff he's done.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while perusing the bookstore and had a fit of laughter that probably bordered on public indecency. Whether you have kids or work with them, you'll enjoy this book.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jeffrey Brown, and his observations here are so accurate. :)

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah so cute! Oscar is adorable! Kids really do say weird stuff. I’m looking forward to when my little Marshmallow is born and she starts talking and saying weird things!

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have kids myself, but I love hearing stories from coworkers about their ridiculous and adorable children. This was a fun, condensed version of that, where all the best anecdotes are highlighted. A fun, quick ready (and the art is adorable!)

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can certainly relate to a lot of this lol!!

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far from my favorite of Jeffrey Brown’s works but still enjoyable

[Julie Grace Immink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird is good, weirder is better

[حسناء · Rating 4 out of 5]

kids are weird and cute and funny and adorable and i love them .
oh , i loved the book too by the way :D

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many of Brown’s books, Kids are Weird is autobiographical. In his latest book, Brown turns seemingly random quotes from his preschool son, Oscar, into one or two panel comic. As anyone with children or who has spent time with children knows kids can say things adult would never consider. These sayings come across as cute, humorous, inappropriate, endearing or any combination thereof. This book has some of each. Although the book does not have an overall structure certain themes appear across several of the comics. Some, like his son’s fascination with dinosaur or preparing for a new sibling, are to be expected. Others like his son’s various comments about his parents’ death are more unusual.

Verdict: Jeffrey Brown has created his own version of Kids Say the Darnest Things with his son as the star of the show. Readers cannot doubt this is a labor of love for his child. Likewise, other parents will enjoy this book because they will see the foibles of their own progeny reflected in the comic panels within these pages.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to pick this one up when I saw it was penned by the author of Vader's Little Princess, which I love with all of my being. Frankly, half of the book was composed of little quips where I felt like I didn't get the joke or otherwise triggered that borderline annoyance you can't help but feel when someone tells you some "cute story" about their kid that simply is not amusing to anyone in the world but that parent and that kid. But there were several pages where I literally laughed out loud -- not just chuckling, but cracking up. Some of these vignettes were absolutely hilarious! Those pages made it all worth it and earned this one the four stars from me. When I put the book down, I found myself in quite the cheery mood.

It takes like 20 minutes to read the whole book, so I highly recommend this to anyone who is a parent and/or looking for a fun, quick read. Because, hey -- kids ARE weird. And sometimes that's truly, completely entertaining.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

My kids and wife all just sailed through this (again, first read in October 2014) and liked it a lot, as they are also reading and loving Mr. Brown's latest Star Wars spinoff installment. Why aren't THEY writing the review, then?! They don't want to write reviews, they want to read the books, and laugh. I don't think I learn anything new I didn't already know from having kids myself. And familiarity with a 2014 version of KIds Say the Darnedest Things (Art Linkletter, kids, look it up!), while it doesn't exactly breed contempt, well, it unfortunately doesn't breed hilarity or parenting insight. Guy DeLisle on BAD parenting is better than Brown on ADORABLE parenting (though Brown's heart is always recognizable in everything he does, and appreciated). DeLisle's book is more like Brown's BAD boyfriending than Kids Are Weird, I think. I like reading about losers more than winners, maybe.

[Jocelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Jeffrey Brown's hilarious Star Wars inspired books and really enjoyed them. This was the first time that I have read some of his real-life humor books. Some of the humor in this book was a "hit or miss" for me. Some of it was funny and the rest of it, I didn't get. He does have a talent for writing good humorous situations, I just didn't get this one.

[CozyReaderKelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have two young children so I thought this would be a hilarious set of comics about parenthood. Kids do say really funny things but the problem is that out of context they lose their humor. That's what happens with this collection. There were a few (maybe one every 10 pages) I found really funny, but for the most part it was lost in translation.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book, filled with humor. Anyone who has kids will enjoy this special window into their world.

[Lupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! If you like weird kids. Which I do.

[Marc Pastor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeffrey Brown il·lustra les ocurrències del seu fill de 4 anys i algú creu que seria graciós publicar-les.
Potser els semblava bona idea mentre ho decidien.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing and tempting to look for prints of some pages just because our son is named Oscar too.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

library copy

[Jaime K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids, indeed, are weird.

Jeffrey Brown has humored me immensely with his "Star Wars" children's books and yet again wins with this one. He uses his son Oscar as an example as to what very odd things children can (and will) say.

"Are missiles real?"
"Mommy put me in the oven."
"If I eat my toast, then I die."

It's a hilarious reminder that children are like sponges and are quite aware of what is going on around them, and what adults do & say. Kids will ask about death without embarrassment and think about the circle of life (bigger things eat smaller ones, for example). And then they blurt out whatever is on their mind, screaming out super embarrassing information, and coming up with random insights that only make sense half the time.

Jeffrey Brown's caricature of himself is pretty cool.

One of my favorite scenes was the barber one. I never understood how a child could cry with a haircut since it obviously doesn't hurt. But Jeffrey Brown sums it up beautifully: "She almost cut my head off!" I honestly never thought of the fact that when a child sees SHARP OBJECT coming at them, that it's terrifying!

A funny scene was with farting in the bathtub. Kids know that all of a sudden there are bubbles and then there is a horrid stench. Their lack of understanding of their own bodies is actually funny.

We see Oscar grow a little through the book, and Brown hones in on the me tal development of a child Oscar's age. We also see his parents recognizing and reacting to this. It's beautiful, fun, and heartwarming.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids ARE weird. This is a collection of single-pane or single-page comics illustrating the strange, transcendent, or out-of-pocket things the author's young child said or did. Context is kept to a minimum, allowing the strangeness to shine. Some topics seem universal to children of this age, but many were delightfully unique. It was fun to read this and remember some of the strange things my own kid said around that age. We kept for years a dictionary and quote book, but sadly lost it to a ransom virus-- parents, keep one, and keep it in a safe online place; it will be precious to you in 10 or 15 years. Brown has done that, but with added illustrations.

The illustration style is the same as what he uses in children's books. The Star Wars: Jedi Academy were a favorite of my now-5'11" Star Wars fan and the illustration style took me right back there.

This would be an appropriate gift for any parents whose kids are currently reading the author's books for children. Also generally appropriate for a coffee-table book in a pediatrician's office, orthodontist's office, or the sharing shelves in your guest room. Kids might pick it up because of the style, and they might find some humor in the weird things quoted, or they may not "get it" and put it down, but there's nothing inappropriate included.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so interesting reading Jeffrey Brown’s books, because I can really see his artistic progression. The images are really clean and well crafted, although there was something touching about his earlier work that was more frantic and more, I don’t know, youthful or something? So after reading several of his earlier, sadder, autobiographies, it made me feel really good to read this one. He seems like he’s in a happy place, and I’m happy for him. This is such a sweet love letter to his child, and maybe not all of it is really funny, but he just seems so excited to be a dad and to have a family, that he’s included everything. Loved this one!