Synopsis:
An illustrated gift book that brings to life the universal parenting experience of saying strange and hilarious things to one's kids.
As the father of five boys (all under age 10), graphic designer Nathan Ripperger has found himself saying some rather funny, absurd, and downright bizarre things to his children, from "Stop riding that penguin, we're leaving" to "I am NOT talking to you until you are wearing underwear." He created poster-like images for each and posted them online. The response from other parents was overwhelming. With Things I've Said to My Children, Ripperger has assembled around 80 of the funniest, weirdest, and most amusing sayings and paired them with full-color, designed images that bring these outrageously hysterical quotes to life. Covering the essential parenting topics like food, animals, don'ts, and of course, bodily functions, Things I've Said to My Children is a light-hearted illustrated reminder of the shared absurdity of parenthood. Especially for those parents who've ever found themselves uttering some variation of the line, "Please don't eat the goldfish crackers you've put in your butt."
Review:
I got this ebook from Netgalley in return of an honest review.
As a sort of disclaimer, I'll just say that I am not, at all, a parent. My only experience with little kids is my brother. However, I laughed harder than I'd had in a long time while reading a book.
For me, this was just a kind of break from longer books, an opportunity to have a genuine laugh that is just light, one where there's nothing behind it... I just wanted to laugh at the funny things parents sometimes say to their kids that sound ridiculous out of context. That's why I enjoyed it so much.
I found myself imagining the situations that contained these sentences that were just so hilariously illustrated in this book that it was almost impossible to figure out where they would fit in in a normal conversation. Perhaps because I have no real experience in raising a child, I wouldn't know what parents find themselves saying to their kids and what kids would do to call for that behaviour.
I had a blast flipping through these colourful pages and actually letting myself go with the simple fun of a child and the hectic stress of a parent.
There's not much else to say, besides the fact that Nathan Ripperger really captured these quotes and enhanced them in the pictures, elevating this from simply funny to pleasing and artistic.
I would honestly read an entire 500-page book with sentences removed from context, like 'We do not poop in books' and 'No chickens on the trampoline'.
This was a very beautifully accomplished book and a heartfelt portrayal of a young human's actions. Absolutely recommend it, especially, obviously, to parents everywhere.
