The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics

by Art Spiegelman (Editor), Françoise Mouly (Editor), Jon Scieszka (Introduction)

The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics is an unprecedented collection of the greatest comics for children, artfully compiled by two of the best-known creators in publishing and the field of comics--Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly.

This treasury created for young readers focuses on comic books, not strips, and contains humorous stories that range from a single-page to eight or even twenty-two pages, each complete and self-contained. The comics have been culled from the Golden Age of comic books, roughly the 1940s through the early 1960s, and feature the best examples of works by such renowned artists and writers as Carl Barks, John Stanley, Sheldon Mayer, Walt Kelly, Basil Wolverton, and George Carlson, among many, many others.

Organizing the book into five categories (Hey, Kids!; Funny Animals; Fantasyland; Story Time!; and Wacky & Weird), Spiegelman and Mouly use their expertise in the area of comics to frame each category with an introductory essay, and provide brief biographies of the artists. The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics is essential reading for kids of all ages.



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F&P level: T

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Humor, Childrens, Graphic Novels Comics, Anthologies

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Art Spiegelman is an American cartoonist, editor, and cultural innovator whose work has profoundly influenced the perception of comics as a legitimate art form, blending literary sophistication with experimental visual storytelling. Emerging from the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Spiegelman quickly distinguished himself with a distinctive approach that combined meticulous craftsmanship, psychological insight, and narrative complexity, challenging conventions of sequential art and the boundaries between personal memoir and historical record. He co-founded the landmark anthology Raw with his wife, Françoise Mouly, which became a platform for cutting-edge, avant-garde cartoonists from around the world, blending surrealist imagery, literary experimentation, and bold visual ideas that redefined the possibilities of the medium. Spiegelman is best known for his groundbreaking graphic novel Maus, a haunting, deeply personal depiction of his father’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor, which used anthropomorphic characters to explore trauma, memory, and identity with unprecedented depth; the work earned a Special Pulitzer Prize and established Spiegelman as a central figure in both literary and visual culture. Beyond Maus, he has contributed influential cartoons and covers to The New Yorker, including the iconic 9/11 cover, demonstrating his ability to communicate complex emotional and cultural truths with economy and symbolic resonance. His artistic sensibility reflects influences from early twentieth-century cartoonists, modernist design, typography, and the visual language of newspapers and advertising, while also incorporating pop culture, surrealism, and abstraction. Spiegelman has consistently experimented with the interplay of image and text, treating comics as a medium that mirrors cognitive processes of memory, perception, and emotional experience. In addition to his creative output, he has curated exhibitions, edited anthologies, and published critical essays on comics history and theory, advocating for the recognition of the medium as serious art and mentoring generations of cartoonists. He has also worked in graphic design, creating posters, album covers, and commemorative stamps, and his visual interventions often reflect his interest in narrative structure, cultural commentary, and the power of imagery to shape public understanding. Throughout his career, Spiegelman has been a vocal advocate for freedom of expression and a critic of censorship, engaging in public discourse on political and social issues, and demonstrating how comics can address profound ethical and historical questions. His pioneering work, editorial vision, and relentless innovation have transformed both the aesthetics and the intellectual reception of comics, proving that the medium can handle grief, history, and identity with sophistication, subtlety, and emotional resonance. Spiegelman’s legacy is evident in the work of contemporary graphic novelists and in the broader cultural recognition of comics as an art form capable of exploring human experience, social commentary, and the complexities of memory and trauma, making him one of the most influential figures in modern visual storytelling.

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hefty tome landed on my desk with a question: "Shelve with adult or in kids' graphic novels?"

It's a question. First of all, the beast is 350 oversize pages long. It has an introduction AND a foreword. On the other hand, the Introduction is written by Jon Scieszka, and his first word of it is "Wow."

Dennis the Menace and Little Lulu are in this book. So's Pogo, Uncle Wiggly, Donald Duck, and Gerald McBoing Boing. The comics are funny - funny in that slapstick name-calling kid-friendly way. I think that what most tempts us to slide this puppy in with the grownup books is its sumptuous production and classy design. Printed on ivory paper, the cartoons are reproduced in their original misregistered halftones, but I swear the page numbers and some of the interstitial text looks like letterpress. But this high-quality presentation is what Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly are known for. I swear that man took all the money he made from Maus and sunk it all into TOON books, their publishing company.

While this book might be kind of too much for a kid to check out of the public library, it would make a really excellent gift - it would be the kind of book that would stay in a child's bedroom for six years, as he picked it up and put it down, browsed for something silly, or showed his favorites to his friends.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is fantastic. Every story is great and every story is truly a classic. The book design is as good as it gets. I highly recommend this to parents. Normally old stories like these don't hold up too well, but this is the exception to that rule.It has Little Lulu - one of my alltime favorite comics, Carl Barks Ducks, Pogo, classic fairy tales and more. 300 pages of great stories. # 40.00 A real bargain coffee table book.

[Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

As any jackass who's read a few graphic novels knows, comics have been through some rough times. Oh yes, there was a time not so long ago when the ancestors of today's librarians and school teachers thumbed their noses at comic art or else condemned the stuff as trash. But things have changed: the Comics Code Authority is long behind us and comics are no longer "underground."

Many library shelves are now stuffed with graphic novels -- also known as picture books for the not quite so young. Many librarians and teachers now promote the stuff as a way to keep kids reading past the stage of Curious George. On the other end of the spectrum, comic books, under the guise of graphic novels, have found their way into some rather high-brow, literary hands. I smile a bit each time I think of the number of New Yorker subscribers who have read at least one of these adult picture books. "My, how things have changed," I always think, as the smile grows broader and broader, though I always swiftly change my mind on account of awkward stares.

Why, just lookey here: this collection of children's comics, each originally published some time between the thirties and the early sixties, was edited by Art "Pulitzer Prize-Winning" Spiegelman, and his long-time significant other Françoise Mouly, who is also the long-time art director of a certain aforementioned, hallowed 'zine (the apostrophe demonstrates that I am not being facetious or derogatory). Even the likes of "Uncle Scrooge" and "Little Lulu" are finally getting some praise from high places -- some very well-deserved praise, in fact.

From the massive pile of poorly done art and writing, of blatant nationalism, racism and a few other unpleasant "-isms" the editors pulled some fine examples of storytelling. They are from people who have since become legends in their fields -- and also from people who have not. They are all wacky, colorful, and full of wonderfully colloquial dialogue. And they are all full of passion -- pure passion that was rarely motivated by money or fame. Only the crazy and/or terribly naive expected to nail their names to the Wall of History by way of comics writing and illustrating. But, in a few cases, that is exactly what happened. Today, all who enter the world of comics must take note, and pay respect, to those great names that came before them.

I leave you with "Ode to the Disney Ducks" by Carl Barks, a touching poem on the author's classic Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck creations, which he wrote about a year before he died. Keats is not pissing his pants (in fright, that is), but Barks clearly had passion. He surely died content, knowing that his life was not all for naught: Ducks are people, too.

Ode to the Disney Ducks

They ride tall ships to the far away,
and see the long ago.
They walk where fabled people trod,
and Yetis trod the snow.

They meet the folks who live on stars,
and find them much like us,
With food and love and happiness
the things they most discuss.

The world is full of clans and cults
abuzz as angry bees,
And Junior Woodchucks snapping jeers
at Littlest Chickadees.

The ducks show us that part of life
is to forgive a slight.
That black eyes given in revenge
keep hatred burning bright.

So when our walks in sun or shade
pass graveyards filled by wars,
It's nice to stop and read of ducks
whose battles leave no scars.

To read of ducks who parody
our vain attempts at glory,
They don't exist, but somehow leave
us glad we bought their story.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good. It has a lot of different stories that children can choose from along with mnay colorful pictures. The intended audience would be children in grades 2-8. I think it is a very entertaining book with many different stories for children to choose from. Moreover, I think both boys and girls would really enjoy reading this book and would be entertained for hours. It is from the Will Eisner award nominees for 2010.

[Paul Sutter]

They talk about heaven on earth. Well that was definitely the case when opening the book THE TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN’S COMICS. It brings back a wave of nostalgia to the classic days of comics, and looks at some of the most beloved children’s comics that ever saw the light of day. Everyone had their favorites whether they were superhero, war, horror, or any other genre that was out there.
This book is back in print, and those who missed it the first time around, now have the fortunate pleasure to gaze into some of the best comics and characters ever invented. There were a large number I was not familiar with, but that is what makes the book all the more noteworthy, discovering certain comics that some of us were too young to ever see.
The husband wife team of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, have given us a classic in every sense of the word. Spiegleman is the Pulitzer prize winning creator of Maus, which looked at the Holocaust in a most inventive manner. Mouly has been the art director of New Yorker magazine since 1993, the pair certainly paying their dues in the world of comics with their influential creations and knowledge.
What you will discover in this book, are such noted comics as Sugar and Spike, Dennis The Menace, Melvin Monster, Little Lulu, Uncle Scrooge, Captain Marvel, Donald Duck, Tubby, Little Archie, and much more. There are also lesser known names such as Anthony the Rogue, Hickory and Dickory, Jiggler, Rover, The Tweedle Twins, Patsy Pancake, Gerald McBoing Boing, Frankenstein, Intellectual Amos, and many more.
The book is divided into five sections: Hey Kids!, Funny Animals, Fantasyland, Storytime, and Weird and Wacky. The material is from comics seen from 1940 to the 1960’s, and the artists associated with them are most noteworthy as well. They include Walt Kelly, Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Harvey Kurtzman, Jules Feiffer, Frank Thomas, and many others. Several covers are also reprinted, and the quality of the comics and panels is most extraordinary.
This is definitely a true comics classic in every sense of the word, bringing back the golden age of comics in a tribute volume that certainly stands out from many other comics reprints out there today.

[Norman Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent sampler of truly all-ages comics, mainly from the 1940s and 50s. The stories stand the test of time in most cases. There is a bit of content that has not aged well, but none of the blatant racism that permeated comics of old. For example, there's one Little Lulu story that shows her being manipulated by a boy to don a collar and leash and act like a dog--yikes! This is the kind of book where not every story will please every reader, but there's enough great stuff to make it all worthwhile. It's the kind of book you can give to a youngster and know they will slowly go through it, finding their own treasures to reread forever. But it's definitely not just a book for youngsters. Adults will be just as enchanted. The editors pointedly stress that this is not a historical retrospective--it's just darn good stories. That being said, I think they could have done a better job of documenting when and where these stories were first published. This information is only present in the table of contents, not adjacent to the stories themselves. There are also some very brief creator bios at the end. But, there are plenty of other history books--just sit back and enjoy this book for what it is, a collection of fun, well written and well drawn comics by some of the best creators the field has ever produced.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book while looking for a book in the youth graphic novel section of the library, one day. After pulling it off the shelf and thumbing through it, I realized that I absolutely had to check it out. I've been a huge fan of comics for as long as I can remember. I'll never forget the day that I discovered that my dad had the first three issues of Mad Magazine in a drawer in his bedroom! That a glorious day that was!

This volume features a number of favorite vintage comics, along with some well-known comic artists of days gone by. I learned who the artist was that made Donald Duck famous, even though, when he was drawing them for Disney, he could never put his name on them. I learned that Walt Kelly drew more than just Pogo. I learned that I don't really care for "Intellectual Amos" at all. I saw comics that I had never heard of (Sugar and Spike, Scribbly) along with some of which I was relatively familiar (Little Lulu, Nutsy Squirrel), and many that I knew well (Dennis the Menace, Pogo, Little Archie, Donald Duck).

It was a great trip down memory lane for me!

Recommended for kids of all ages who love the comics.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange book, I know, to add to my reading list. But when you work in a library, shelving books uncovers some unexpected treasures. Looking at the cover, I was immediately transported to my grandma's house in a tiny Iowa town where I sat on the floor reading comic books. And while actual books were always my first choice, Little Lulu and Dennis the Menace had their place among The Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew. And so this collection of old comics called to me, forerunners of today's graphic novels capturing the current generation. It was a lovely visit to the past.

[Patrick Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the Carl Barks Duck stories were so much better than anything else collected in this book. Everything else was pretty forgettable. No, I take that back. I enjoyed the Little Lulu stories, too.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an above-average collection of kids' comics, recommended with caveats. For those of you who missed reading comics as a child, you might enjoy this, but it's more likely you won't "get it". Either you got the comics bug, or you didn't. No real teenage / adult comics here (no superheroes other than Captain Marvel, no army comics, no western comics).

However, that being said, there are some true classics in here: Uncle Scrooge going to Tra-La-La, a slapstick Donald Duck chasing the nephews (both by Carl Barks), one of the better Fox & Crow episodes, an excellent Little Lulu and also a Tubby story. The rest of the entries are uneven. My favorite of those was "Intellectual Amos" --- a school lesson disguised as a comic.

Disappointments:
1) the Pogo represented here is not the Pogo you may remember from "We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us", politically charged with lots of wordplay (e.g., the "adult-oriented" Pogo). This is Pogo from a simpler time.
2) Sugar and Spike ? One story would be fine, but two ? Perhaps I just don't get it, I know there are S&S fanatics. I'm not one.
3) Major omission: Where were the Harvey comics ? Their time frame was from the 30's to the early sixties, so they certainly qualified. Hot Stuff, Casper, Spooky, Little Dot, Wendy ?? Of course, they may be planning that for a second volume (we can hope).

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a blast I had reading this thick volume of classic cartoons! Laughter really is the best medicine. I turned on my lamp and picked this up from my bedside table during a case of bad insomnia. All my cares seemed to vanish; I no longer even wanted to sleep. This book made me want to go back in time and purchase scads of dime comic books and live in that daffy, dazzling world. Since I finished, I've been researching some of the artists (late 1930-early 1960s) whose work appears in this book and would love to see much more of their work. The design of this book is a visual treat, with full-color illustrated endpapers, archival images throughout, including on the title page and the introduction, and there is a 2-page spread introducing each chapter with an introductory paragraph and lots of cool vintage images. At the end of the book there is biographical information about each artist. I just have to share this testimonial blurb from inside the dust jacket: "I stayed up all night reading this wonderful book and was so enthralled, I didn't hear the burglars who broke into my home. Get your own copy and then, you, too, will have no furniture." --Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the years before the publication in 1954 of “Seduction of the Innocent” by Frederic Wertham, a large number and great variety of comic books were published. Once the book began to have some influence, the comic book business nearly collapsed, parents and “authorities” were finding unsuitable messages in comics where before there was no hint of such content.
Most of the comic excerpts in this collection were published before that fateful year and even with the passage of sixty years and making allowances for a far less vulgar time, it is hard to see how anyone could have been disturbed by the messages in these comics. In nearly all cases the comics are so silly as to be laughable now. There are no dangerous messages pointing to a path of delinquency or any other detrimental behavior, anyone that somehow finds it is seeing the nonexistent.
This book allows the reader to look back and see children’s literature from that era and all interpretations of the content must be evaluated within that historical context. It could also serve as a supplemental text for courses in children’s literature, for this is an excellent sampling of young children’s reading entertainment in the 1940’s.

This review appears on Amazon

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is hardly a representative sample of children's comics, but some of the best. It is, perhaps, the best way to discover which children's comics you want to seek out for more reading. (I did it the wrong way, which is to randomly buy some. Do not make that mistake.)

The standouts are Carl Barks Donald Duck stories, Sheldon Mayer's Scribbley pages and Sugar 'n Spike stories, everything by Walk Kelly, the one Captain Marvel story (only one?), and the great discovery is the Frankenstein story by Dick Briefer. The rest seem of variable quality to me, but that may be a matter of taste. The one exception I should point out are the Little Lulu stories. Lulu's charm has always eluded me. I realize that a plucky kid who does not let the world get her down has political and psychological appeal, but that was already realized in Little Orphan Annie and with more social complexity. The Lulu stories themselves are competently rendered, but I do not find anything above average in their execution. Possibly, I have a blind spot, but also, possibly, the empress has no clothes.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is sort of a weird trip to my childhood via this book. I would give this five stars, if it wasn't for my memories - which is not bad, but memories are sometimes sad. And for some reason going through these old comic books for children (roughly my generation) was like biting into that cookie that started the memories.

Beautifully designed and correctly priced for the consumer ($40), it is a memory lane of sorts. And the odd thing is that these comics don't really deal with the era of the 40's, 50's and 60's. It is sort of step away from whatever was happening and just stayed in this weird neutral land, where everything was beautiful and surreal.

[Karl Kindt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this really the best of the comics that existed for kids pre-1970? Sad. Either the editors (and I suspect this is true) picked their own favorites, heavily flavored with nostalgia, with little regard for choosing the best or these really are the best of forty years of kids' comics. Or perhaps a bit of both are true at the same time? All of the art is first-rate, but I really wonder if this is the best of the era as far as the story-telling. I am highly suspect because I have read all of Carl Bark's stuff, and what they picked is good, but it is certainly not his best work. Perhaps they were limited by what they could reprint due to licensing or availability of quality original art?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly all of these comics were published before I was born, but they have a timeless quality to them. I read them aloud to Nick over several days, and we both had a great time. Nick would probably give this 5 stars. Which is great, because it's a collection of comics for young children. These are funny comics, mostly, with some mild scares and thrills mixed in. They should be interesting to a wide age range. I hope that Nick'll be reading them to himself soon. He can already enjoy looking at the pictures since, as good comics should, they tell a lot of the story. Really, I'd recommend this for anyone from little kids through adult lovers of graphic novels.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a good collection, with some things I hadn't been exposed to before. Particularly good:
Sheldon Mayer's "Sugar and Spike" and the autobiographical "Scribbly"
Walt Kelly's "Pogo" of course. (And when is this strip going to get a fancypants edition?)
Carl Barks "Duckburg" stories, which I had heard were good to excellent and hadn't had a chance to read. They were.
George Carlson's "Pie-Face Prince" story was hilarious with the puns.
Dave Berg's "Tweedle Twins"
Harvey Kurtzman's "Hey, Look!"
Jack Cole's "Burp the Twerp" was bizarre and philosophical.
Basil Wolverton's "Powerhouse Pepper" and "Foolish Faces."

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! There are some lovely stories in here. Some of the stories and characters were familiar to me, but not all. I'd never even heard of Intellectual Amos before. It's a shame that reprints of this work aren't more common. Yes, Walt Kelly, Carl Barks, Harvey Kurtzman, and even John Stanley are well I represented in readily available reprints. But where are the reprint collections for Jack Cole, George Carlson, or Sheldon Mayer? It's a serious lack on the part of currently available books. Let's hope this volume is just the beginning.

[Jay Daze · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of classic children's comics. My favourties were Little Lulu ('Five Little Babies' is positively a Jacobean revenge play), Intellectual Amos (shrunk down in an ant hill), and Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge in "Tralla La" (move over Karl Marx). Still can't overcome my aversion for 'Dennis the Menance' probably because I was exposed to the watered-down, sappy version when I grew up. This is what children's literature should be subversive, imaginative and fun-fun-fun!

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who remember the "classic" comics, this is a must for you! These comics focus on the juvenile in all of us. From Uncle Scrooge, Little Lulu, and many I'd never heard before, readers will be able to immerse themselves into humor that is so innocent yet classic. The book is a large book, so the comics are of great size and the quality of the original drawings are kept. Just a great book to sit down on a rainy day and have a good chuckle. A great book for anyone's library collection.

[Celina]

this book has diffrent section of storys but what i see in all theese comics is that theese comics are very funny and cute it really atracts me . the photos of this book are very adorable it has babys that look so silly . in my opinon this book is awesome because it also has alot of baby colors and thats because theres babys in the book included and i think anyone will just take this book by looking at the pictures . a person who injoys babys will read this . trust me

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit expensive at $40, but my goodness, this is a must own, a curated sampler plate of golden age comics directly aimed at children with work by Barks, Jack Cole, Sheldon Mayer, Kurtzman, Wolverton, Stanley, etc, in addition to many others you've never heard of, like Andre LeBlanc. Hopefully, just like Art Out of Time, TOON will trigger more reprints from some of its rediscovered artists.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The age could be from grade 3 and up. This book could be for a boy or a girl and even for adults. The comics are very funny and fun to read. The children relate to the book and get a lot of reading done along the way. The book can bring back past memories for adults when they were younger.

Eisner 2010 award winner

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've rarely seen anything by Walt Kelly that wasn't "Pogo" (who is represented as well), or Harvey Kurtzman that wasn't in Mad or some other strange mag, but here we are. Nice range of titles and you can read the entire adventure, not suffer through a couple pages and leave you hanging. Although I would have liked some explanation the strips I wasn't familiar with.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of kids-oriented comics long unseen and forgotten by current collectors and readers of superhero fare. Wonderful Little Lulu, Pogo, fairy tales, and Uncle Scrooge tales that I'm sure to be sharing with my little one ASAP.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best comic anthologies I've read. amazing work, frantic, fun and really weird at times. I didn't love every single story but there isn't a boring story here.Love seeing the history of kids comics. So glad they didn't recolour this.

[Moss Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mix of comics, although it's hard to edit approx. 30 years of kids' comics down to one volume. Spiegelmn & Mouly make a good selection. I'm glad to see the artists are given proper credit, since they weren't always credited when the comics were first published.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful assortment of classic toons and strips, selected by the master hand of Art Spiegelman. I had a blast of a time reading this classics and remembering good childhood days. Highly recommended, a source of inspiration!

[Emily Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for my Comics & Graphic Novels college course, and it was enjoyable for what it was, but is not something I would pick up on my own. If you're a fan of classic comics though, I'd recommend it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the greatest comics anthology in the history of the world. THE WORLD!