Monkey Food: The Complete "I Was Seven in '75" Collection

by Ellen Forney

Collection from Seattle cartoonist Ellen Forney.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Memoir, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor, Nonfiction, LGBT

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 1992

About the author

Ellen Forney grew up in Philadelphia and has lived in Seattle since 1989. She has been a professional cartoonist/ illustrator since 1992, and also sometimes paints, and dabbles in other artsy pursuits. She teaches Comics at Seattles Cornish College of the Arts. She drives a silver 1968 Mercury Cougar.

Reviews

[Imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellen Forney is my girlfriend, kinda. Well, my myspace friend.

[Andy Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and real vignettes about childhood, filled with nostalgia of youth and trends of the time. The stories are about Forney's life, but are often relatable through those universal childhood experiences, where we might've been too curious for our own good, or tried really hard to impress our peers. It manages to both depict the perspective of a kid while incorporating the hindsight of an adult. Overall a really fun read, and I've re-read it quite a few times as Forney's illustrations and writing are both endlessly entertaining and memorable.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet and honest comics about growing up in the '70s. I'm younger than her, but this book still reminded me of my own childhood. The art is beautiful too, and I love how she uses lettering as a primary graphic element. These were originally newspaper strips, so they don't read like a cohesive graphic novel.

[D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I was only six years old in 1975, my growing-up experience shared alot of touchstones with Ellen Forney's as seen in these 'I Was Seven in '75' comic strips, originally published in various newspapers and magazines. My own experiences were a bit darker than hers, but that's actually refreshing from a publishing period (the 1990s) when autobiographic comics tended to dwell on the darkness. These short-but-mostly-continuing tales are full of light and life, with an infectious delight for being a child during that period in time.
So much of the mid-70s lifestyle is here, in all its ridiculous glory: parents treating their kids like little adults; sleepovers and holidays brimful of crafts and simple, stupid fun; mixed-faith upbringing; shag rugs; bizarre home decoration; nudist camps; and, of course, the ghastly, ghastly clothes.
I can't imagine enjoying this book much if you didn't live through much of it, and it might even seem strange to people who were that young in, say, the 80s, but for people my (and Forney's) age it's a gorgeous, fun encapsulation of a particular period in time...for better or worse.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey Food by Ellen Forney is the omnibus of her 1990s comic, "I Was Seven in '75." As a child of the 1970s I was drawn in both by the title and the cover art.

Ellen's strips are autobiographical snippets of her very liberal childhood. Most of what she covers is a mixture of what her parents did (smoke pot), what they did as a family (go to a nudist camp), and what she did alone (read Judy Blume). There are also fashion tips and other oddities about life in the 1970s.

Although Forney was a child and she's depicting her childhood memories, the language and situations are taken from an adult point of view. Nothing is glossed over, which can lead to embarrassing situations. In my case, I realized during the nudist camp section that my daughter was reading over my shoulder.

It was fun to compare her experiences with my own. Hers were a bit more extreme than mine, but I did have friends who had parents like hers.

[Melly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I liked her other, more recent book, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me (and the illustrations in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian). Plus, I was nine in '75.
If you carried a comb in your back pocket, know how to feather your hair back, are acquainted with Pinky Tuscadero, read "Forever" in secret with your girlfriends, you will love this. If you're too young to remember these things and are interested in the 70s (nudist colony family vacations!), you'll like it, too.
She has a remarkable memory, dredging up stuff I had forgotten all about. Good fun.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't around for much of the '70s, but I remember there being a lot of weird, dopey crafts, and everybody's mom was excited to try making them. This very fun book of autobiographical cartoons captures this type of atmosphere very well. It's nice to read about a childhood that was relatively pleasant, for a change.

[HeavyReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ellen Forney and I love this book. Her upbringing was considerably less conservative than mine was (I grew up Catholic and she grew up Unitarian, her parents smoked pot, mine derisively referred to it as "dope"), but I recognize many of the little 70s details she throws in here. This book is a great blast from my past.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was ten in 75! Although my family was (sadly) more conservative, I was able to follow the childhood angst and social trends. Wanted to give five stars, but had to mark down because of the "unevenness" of the stories/panels. Some of them might have benefitted w/ some simplification. A person's eyes and brain can only filter so much. Otherwise, totally loved. Great artwork, humor, honesty.

[Rocco Versaci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forney's "I Was Seven in '75" has run for several years in many independent newspapers, and the entire run is collected in "Monkey Food." These hilarious stories focus on many touchstones of the Seventies, and anyone with any memories of that time will enjoy this.

[Rob Salkowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, funny, offbeat and drawn in a pleasing, easy-to-read style. Counterintuitively affirms the 70s as a great time to grow up, and serves as a gentle criticism of current styles of parenting.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, comic-book style. A few laughs. On the whole quite amusing recount of growing up 70's style.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why am I interested in this? It is mildly entertaining- like a friend telling you stories from their childhood. I don't know. It was okay.

[Shoshanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this story of Ellen Forney's childhood, told in vignettes. Never thought what it would be like to be raised by hippies in the seventies.

[Lise Petrauskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun nostalgic humor with great drawings.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff,Maynard! Perfectly captures the freewheeling absurdity of the '70s...