What, Me Pregnant?

For Better or For Worse #10

by Lynn Johnston

In this collection, Elly, who is juggling a new job, the adolescent traumas of Michael and now Elizabeth, plus the usual housework woes, finds out she is pregnant!! The shock finally wears off and the family deals with the idea of another person in their household. Then one stormy night baby April is born at home, and the Pattersons forget their worries and focus on the beautiful new baby girl, while getting used to midnight feedings and changing diapers!

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Strips, Graphic Novels, Womens, Comedy

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is perhaps the only media property that didn't add a baby just because ran out of other ideas or had otherwise already jumped the shark. I was surprised to see that this "geriatric pregnancy" (that's what doctors call it when you're over 30) took place so early in the strip's run. My memory of it is skewed because I stopped following the strip daily as I had for most of a decade a couple years later, so although the strip continued for another twenty years after this, in my mind April was a late addition in its run.

I like that the strip runs in real time and has multiple characters and storylines to focus on, so in a year's collection nothing lingers overlong. Elle felt ill, learned she was pregnant, went through a full gestation, and had April at home in the midst of an ice storm with John stuck trying to get back from work and only her children, a neighbor, and the pizza delivery guy present for the big event, all within the confines of a collection you can breeze through in a single sitting.

[Stephanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn is able to capture the heart, struggles and melody of family and friendship. As a new baby approaches, the feelings of neglect rise in their former last child. The feelings of being too old to start again looms as well as having a teenager who wants to be a man while under his mother's nervous watch are all common threads of a growing family. Her comics give readers a chance to laugh and reflect about themselves.

[Ali B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at the thrift store about 1-2 months ago. I was SO excited to finally get a chance to read the classic FBoFW books, and reading this brought me back to when I originally read a bunch of the included comics in the newspaper, or in other collections. I was VERY young when April was born, and getting to "grow up" alongside the family, and re-read it years later as an adult, is such a nostalgic and refreshing experience

[Lisa Macklem · Rating 4 out of 5]

These compilations of Johnston's wonderful strip are comfort food. The stories run the gamut from funny to poignant and the stories resonate whether you are a teenager (or were a teenager!) middle aged or older - expecting a baby or having had a baby or experiencing empty nest syndrome.

[Miranda Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Comic!!!!

I've always loved For Better or For Worse and to see how little April came along was an amazing adventure!!!!!

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just can't stop reading these. They have a warmth and sweetness I really need these days. <3

[Amy Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic as always,such a heartwarming real set of characters and events,the Patterson family always pulls you in. I cried a few times.

[tyRonE hArDing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Love the Patterson Family.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the little snippets of life that Lynn Johnston does.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always feel like the Patterson's are family.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming out in 1991 with strips from June of 90 through May of 91. The title and cover of the book give away the big plot development of this run.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought a bunch of For Better or For Worse books at a garage sale when I was a kid and just fell into the story of the Pattersons. It's just a comic about a normal Canadian family doing normal family stuff, but I loved it.

I didn't realize until later how revolutionary it was that the characers got older, grew as people and sometimes died. Unfortunately the later stories are much more obvious author inserts and Ms. Johnson takes them in routes that are often contrived and dull.

This title specifically is about Elly's surprise pregnancy at 40. She has left the baby stages of her kids behind and was really looking forward to the changes this freedom would bring to her life and career. I cannot empathize with her (no kids ever for me!), but it is a series about children that does not gloss over how much you sacrifice for them even if you do want them in your life. I can appreciate that.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth gets glasses, Michael has a girlfriend and a summer job, and then -- as teased in the title -- Elly finds out that at 39 she is pregnant with their third child. Most of the book is about the pregnancy, birth, and having a new born.

A lot has changed since this book came out. Elly and John do prenatal classes, where they are the oldest participants. Also, while they are pregnant, this is their third child and their oldest is a teenager. These days, it seems like more couples are waiting to have children and so it is much more common to have women in their late thirties and early forties having their first child.

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first of the FBorFW collection that I bought. It is particularly dear to me because I also had a surprise pregnancy and my son was born on 4 April 1991, a few days after Liz's daughter April. I have seldom felt so connected to a character and a long and enduring loving relationship subsequently developed and grew along with these humble cartoon characters. Let me be open about this, I LOVE this strip!!

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year's worth of strips in this For Better or For Worse collection all play out with Elly's pregnancy in the background. (Well, okay, it's actually only nine month's worth of strips, but you know what I mean.) there are a lot of funny strips in here, but my favorite is the one right before April is born. It's a goofy gag, but Ms. Johnston set it up so well. I wonder what it must have been like to read those strips one day at a time. Oh, well...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

April became my favorite character because when I was pregnant my due date was around April 7 or so and I thought about naming the baby April if it was a girl. As it turned out she was three weeks early so no April. She became the April I never had. (my daughter is 2 years or so older than this April)

[Mireille Duval · Rating 5 out of 5]

As great as ever. I really wanted this one because pregnancy/new baby-ness is closer to me right now than the adventures with the bigger kids they mostly have. April's birth is so touching, I couldn't help shedding a few tears. What a wonderful family they have.

[Dee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is so so true ... read this comic several times, many times in which I was pregnant. I think it is almost a mirror of my life.

[Rain ((A 1,000 yrs of nothing, it’s a heartbeat, I’ve never been ready.)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, one of my favorites.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this For Better Or Worse collection. Family fun