Meet My Staff

by Patricia Marx, Roz Chast (Illustrator)

Meet Walter.And better yet, turn the pages and --meet his staff. The Gum Guy, who archives his chewed-up gum. His Homework Helper who does...well, you know. A complete Dream Team, to do his sleeping for him...And thats only the beginning!This laugh-out-loud picture book is a dream come true for any kid who has ever wanted someone else to kiss Aunt Winnie or eat their lima beans. Author Patricia Marx and illustrator Roz Chast prove with hilarity that anyone can have the staff they need, if they have enough imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 1998

About the author

Patricia Marx is an American humorist and writer.
Born in Abingdon, Pennsylvania, she earned her B.A. from Harvard University in 1975. Her writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Atlantic Monthly. Marx is a former writer for Saturday Night Live and Rugrats, and one of the first two women elected to the Harvard Lampoon.[1][2] She is the author of the 2007 novel, Him Her Him Again The End of Him, as well as several humor books and children's books (Meet My Staff, Now Everybody Really Hates Me, Now I Will Never Leave the Dinner Table).[3]

Reviews

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I am a big fan of both Patricia Marx and Ros Chast I ordered this instantly when I saw they had a collaboration, didn't bother to notice it was a children's book. Which was a disappointment, but this was nice and snarky, and made me wish I had a staff myself. I could certainly put them all to work this instance. (my coffee is cold, to start)

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe could use this story to start a conversation with young students about what can happen if you have someone else do things for you and don't learn to do them for yourself.

[Dave Koll · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a horrible book that follows a lazy, spoiled child as he fobs off all his chores and responsibilities onto his "staff." It teaches children to "never do what [they] can pay someone else to do" and promotes both dishonesty and the practice of surrounding oneself with sycophants. The main character is a friendless, narcissistic brat who pays people to lose to him in games, laugh at his jokes, lie to his parents for him, and then take the punishment if he gets in trouble. I'm pretty sure the writer intended for all of this to be ironic (she wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, after all) but the message it would send any child who read it is disconcerting; I would never let my hypothetical offspring read this, unless it were a lesson in how NOT to behave.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each character in the book had a special job that they did for the kid. The kid just came across as stuck up. I feel like the book set a bad example about if you had enough money you could just pay somebody to do everything for you. I suppose this book did a good job showing how a business is run. The illustrations were cool but I wish all the characters were more well rounded.

[Salsabrarian]

Amusing story about a boy who has his own personal staff to do his dirty work: take baths, provide straws, eat vegetables, lose to him at games, etc.