Teaching... Is a Learning Experience!: A For Better or For Worse Collection

For Better or For Worse #26

by Lynn Johnston

The New York Daily News proclaims that Lynn Johnston is worthy of the "MVC (Most Valuable Comic) Award. . . . Her genius is recognizing that 'normal' is actually a little off-center.

* appears in more than 2,000 newspapers in 23 countries and has a readership of more than 220 million.

Lynn Johnston's award-winning For Better or For Worse comic strip is the world's most popular strip in which characters evolve through age and experience, rather than remaining frozen in time. Fans appreciate that the daily doings of the Patterson family often closely resemble their own.

* Featuring more than 43 weeks of strips, with Sundays in color, this collection features Elizabeth's developing teaching skills working in a northern First Nation's community, Mike and Deanna's move to Mrs. Saltzman's upstairs apartment, April's confrontation of teenage issues like acne and self-image, while John and Elly face middle-age ailments and the possibility of retirement.

* For Better of For Worse has been syndicated since 1979 and has been named Best Syndicated Comic Strip by the National Cartoonists Society. The strip boasts a lively Web presence at .

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comedy, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Cartoon

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Lynn Johnston CM OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first female cartoonist to win the Reuben Award.

Reviews

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Better or for Worse is a daily comic strip that's filled with delightful, realistically drawn characters, well rendered backgrounds and story lines that cover everything from births to deaths, marriages and divorces, falling in love and growing up.

Edited 2021: In this volume April's friendship with Shannon continues to develop; she graduates from grade 8 and her relationship with Becky becomes rocky. Michael and Deanna move into a new apartment and have trouble with the neighbours. Elizabeth comes home for the summer and is assaulted at work, then meets someone new when she returns to the North. Anthony and his wife have a baby and marriage trouble.

[The other John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another "post-jump"* For Better or For Worse collection. The kids in Liz's class offer the humor that the Patterson kids used to provide in years past, and Michael's feud with his downstairs neighbors has its moments. April and Anthony, on the other hand, are way too whiney in this volume. I suspect that I'll let this book gather dust while revisiting some of the better collections in the series.
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*You know, like "post-holocaust" refers to tales set after a nuclear war, these strips are set after the shark was jumped.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there ever a _For Better or For Worse_ book that isn’t delightful? I somehow never read this one, and have had it on my wish list forever, then just found it at a local used book store. What a joy to read. I just might have to go back and read the whole series. Watching cartoon characters actually grow up is wonderful, and Johnston captures daily life in the most humorous and truthful ways imaginable.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I’d originally thought I’d gotten myself into
But it helped me spend some time productively
This was entertaining and enjoyable

[Mireille Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't agree with another reviewer that this series "jumped the shark" at some point - but it's hard to deny that it's now way more about Michael and Elizabeth than about Elly and John. The first part centered around Michael and his young kids, which I found very relatable now that I have a baby. His neighbors from hell made for a good story too. The second part was more about Elizabeth and her life teaching in the North. I like the setting but I'm not crazy about the strips that are a little preachy and too educational. Plus, it's a little ... weird, I suppose, that Elizabeth has so many suitors. For the other storylines, I really liked April and her growing friendship with Shannon, and the strips with John and Elly are very sweet.

[Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunch time reads