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Garfield #30
Garfield Bigger and Better
With Garfield, you CAN feed an old cat new snacks!
"But our lovable ball of fur will take the leftovers, too! So get ready to party night and day as Garfield eats, sleeps, and (occasionally) purrs his way into your heart—especially if you’re baking lasagna. Whether he’s plotting his next late-night refrigerator raid, stalking a jelly donut, or scaring a Girl Scout for her chocolate mint cookies, it’s all in the name of food and fun!"
"But our lovable ball of fur will take the leftovers, too! So get ready to party night and day as Garfield eats, sleeps, and (occasionally) purrs his way into your heart—especially if you’re baking lasagna. Whether he’s plotting his next late-night refrigerator raid, stalking a jelly donut, or scaring a Girl Scout for her chocolate mint cookies, it’s all in the name of food and fun!"
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
About the author
Jim Davis
2,447 books650 followersJames Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 22, 2014
This one deserves special mention because of the way the front and end matter pokes fun at the 1996 presidential election. Since that was the first one I was old enough to remember, I found the parody hilarious.
May 30, 2020
87% Funny
Where the cover is funny and pages even funnier.
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Author:Jim Davis
Pages:128
Ages:All ages
Where the cover is funny and pages even funnier.
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Author:Jim Davis
Pages:128
Ages:All ages
June 17, 2017
Ah, Garfield, so snarky. Penelope brought this one home from school and we started it. Genuinely funny, but I'm going to wait on more Garfield for her until pre-teen, teenaged. I want our reading to encourage healthy habits and relationships right now. I remember loving Garfield in junior high, so we'll break him out again then.
Review update, 8-2020:
Yup, Garfield has become a middle school favorite. :)
Review update, 8-2020:
Yup, Garfield has become a middle school favorite. :)
April 7, 2019
My third grader is a new fan of the fat cat. We're reading through the Garfield books together. His Garfield voice is much better than my Jon.
February 10, 2022
Bueno, qué decir de los Garfields, uno de los compañeros de nuestra infancia (y adolescencia y parte de la vida adulta, recuerdo haberlos leído hasta bien después de acabada la carrera). Recuerdo haberme encontrado el primero en casa de un amigo y habérmelo devorado de una sentada, con 5-6 años, sin entender varios de los chistes pero disfrutando mucho de los más obvios. Hoy en día, en casa, a los ojos entrecerrados con mezcla de desprecio y aburrimiento los seguimos llamando ojos de Garfield:
Esta sensación de saber que siempre iba a encontrar unos cuantos graciosos la tuve durante las dos décadas posteriores en las que Garfield iba apareciendo periódicamente en mi vida. No es una obra culmen de la literatura, pero nos ha alegrado muchos momentos.
Esta sensación de saber que siempre iba a encontrar unos cuantos graciosos la tuve durante las dos décadas posteriores en las que Garfield iba apareciendo periódicamente en mi vida. No es una obra culmen de la literatura, pero nos ha alegrado muchos momentos.
January 10, 2021
I got this baby from @bookxcess
and decided to indulge during a haircut. 90 pages of humour filled adventures of the fat cat and his companions. Thete were Christmas and New year misadventures as well as the fat cat's dietting failures. Its been a rough start to the year and i sure needed this relief. Thank you @garfield for you inspire me in many ways!
and decided to indulge during a haircut. 90 pages of humour filled adventures of the fat cat and his companions. Thete were Christmas and New year misadventures as well as the fat cat's dietting failures. Its been a rough start to the year and i sure needed this relief. Thank you @garfield for you inspire me in many ways!
July 20, 2022
I really enjoyed this Garfield book. It was very funny and had a wide variety of comic strips in it. There were only a few comic strips that I really didn’t think were that good. Definitely great for fans of the original Garfield.
February 1, 2018
Another funny one! Love Garfield!
May 11, 2018
Sum up a book in one sentence challenge: Garfield is fat and Odie is an idiot.
April 27, 2019
I love you big Garfield.
September 13, 2020
I love Garfield!!! I check it out at the library whenever I can.😺
September 24, 2020
Better the his firs book
March 13, 2021
I love you Garfield!
November 19, 2021
Some New Trends Started
Of course I like Garfield, why else would I be reading all the books over time? It only gets easier when you notice some fun new trends come out in a book.
Of course I like Garfield, why else would I be reading all the books over time? It only gets easier when you notice some fun new trends come out in a book.
November 3, 2023
Pretty sure this was the first Garfield (comic strip) book I owned as a kid. The jokes land better now than they did back then; it's easier to appreciate them when you're able to understand them.
March 7, 2025
What is this weight thing?
May 27, 2025
Garfield ties Odie's ears around a tree, gets an octopus on his face, realizes it's Sunday and not Monday, and gets in a face-making contest with Jon.
November 18, 2015
Garfield: Bigger & Better is a book packed with 126 pages of Garfield comic strips, but I only found one that made me laugh out loud. So, that is the one I posted above because I am a huge Charlie Brown and Peanuts fan and I laughed to think that Garfield is hanging around in Charlie Brown's kite-eating tree. I love it when an artist crosses their comic strip over with another. Very entertaining.
As for the rest of the book, it was just mediocre. Jim Davis did introduce Count Cat, which is Garfield pretending to be a vampire and is wearing a cape (Jon's bath towel). This only lasted for one week and I did enjoy the series and I wonder if we will ever see Count Cat again? I find that I get more pleasure when Mr. Davis creates the longer storylines. The one shots are okay, but I feel that you learn more about the characters in the longer storylines. Plus, these situations usually take the characters out of the house to other locations, which I also enjoy.
Overall, Garfield: Bigger & Better is a good book, but not great. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I wish Jim Davis would introduce a new main character or make Odie have thought bubbles. Something needs to happen to breath new life into this comic strip.
As for the rest of the book, it was just mediocre. Jim Davis did introduce Count Cat, which is Garfield pretending to be a vampire and is wearing a cape (Jon's bath towel). This only lasted for one week and I did enjoy the series and I wonder if we will ever see Count Cat again? I find that I get more pleasure when Mr. Davis creates the longer storylines. The one shots are okay, but I feel that you learn more about the characters in the longer storylines. Plus, these situations usually take the characters out of the house to other locations, which I also enjoy.
Overall, Garfield: Bigger & Better is a good book, but not great. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I wish Jim Davis would introduce a new main character or make Odie have thought bubbles. Something needs to happen to breath new life into this comic strip.
December 17, 2012
This book was also for library bingo. Garfield and his owner got into all sorts of his usual shenanigans. He got stuck in a tree, bothered by mice, and ate lots of lasagna. It was all quite humorous, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys his newspaper comics.
November 6, 2008
I admit to reading these--although bought for my son...I still picked them up when they were lying around.
May 10, 2010
Garfield has a birthday.
December 10, 2012
A fun book full of Garfield comics.
January 25, 2014
Garfield is always funny. So much humor. I love Garfield so much. It is a good book for comic readers.
February 16, 2014
Garfield at his best.
August 10, 2016
Love this comic!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews