Once upon a time, Dr. Isaac Asimov attempted to explain the world to everybody. When I was growing up, I devoured both his science fiction and his non-fiction, learning a lot about what had already happened in the world, what was happening at the present, and what yet might happen. I enjoyed his non-fiction books and thought he was really good at explaining science to the layman.

But these days my heart belongs to Mary Roach! I will never stray. She’s only written three books, but she’s already captured every inquisitive bone and impulse in my body. She’s written articles for Reader’s Digest and National Geographic and her curiosity and propensity for knowledge and instruction seem inexhaustible.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers revealed what happened to a body after death. Granted, some stuff maybe I wasn’t too thrilled about learning – at first – but Roach took out (most) of the gross effect and totally turned the exercise into an instructional laughfest filled with history and fantastic errata. And the fascination of the subject, as well as her own passion for it, removed the stomach-churn of the experience

In Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife, Roach brought the same kind of intelligent, informative wit to the study of the afterlife and the existence of souls. I knew people were interested in proving the existence of such one way or the other, but I’d never before known to what lengths scientists (and armchair enthusiasts) had gone.

Now Roach delivers, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, a hardcore – sorry, couldn’t resist – look at the mysteries and mismanagement of sex. When I first saw the plain white, almost virginal book cover, I was entranced. Could a book on that subject really be called by that title? I couldn’t help thinking how risqué everyone involved was being.

But I couldn’t expect anything less of Mary Roach. All (or at least more than I’d ever before guessed at) of the secrets of sex are revealed between the covers, so to speak. She details several of the curious minds that probed into the subject, and the test patients that laid themselves bare. (See? Even I can’t approach this subject with a straight face and the occasional ill-conceived giggle and pun.)

I also love history, and Mary Roach makes the most of the study of sex within those parameters as well. She left no rock unturned in her pursuit of this forbidden knowledge that civilization had invented. I knew that the scientists covered regularly in elementary and junior high science classes dug into the field of sex, but I’d never before known exactly to what degree. Nor did I know that some of them might even have murdered patients to gain knowledge. (I mean, how likely is it that a scientist would happen upon the body of a woman who’d died in the throes of orgasm so he could examine her corpse to better understand that function?)

Another thing I love about Mary Roach is that she’s apparently willing to go anywhere to seek out knowledge and report back to the armchair scientists who can’t afford to go and wouldn’t be caught dead asking such questions. (And that’s one of the reasons I like Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs.)

For this book, Mary Roach interviewed dozens of people, examined dozens of secret documents, took a tour of a pig farm and watched sows get artificially inseminated, first hand (by hand!), and even enticed her own husband into having sex while being subjected to an MRI. I have to admit, that after seeing Roach in action – forgive me – I can’t help but believe that has to be one of the most interesting marriages in the world. I love my wife, but I’m not crawling up onto an MRI table to be watched by scientists for anybody.

Roach goes on to explore several other reconstructive surgery avenues physicians and surgeons have pursued over the year. Just when you think she can’t top the last chapter, all you have to do is turn the page.

If you haven’t discovered Mary Roach, if you think reading Masters and Johnson’s Human Sexual Response has made you an expert in the field, pick up Bonk and become truly educated and amazed. Her chapter on Master and Johns, and their peers, casts that research in a totally different light and I found myself alternately appalled and amused.

The science field has a new champion ready to educate and entertain the masses, and her name is Mary Roach. I can’t wait to see where she’s going next.

Since Chicken Soup for the Soul came out (followed immediately by dozens more books), I’ve been intrigued by the various topics and phases of life you could give chicken soup for. I’ve been likewise intrigued why it always has to be chicken soup. But the self-help and motivational industry has been sparked into establishing a whole new wing (chicken, anyone?) of publishing.

I’ve watched these books roll out with regularity and fading interest. It seems that chicken soup can cure any ailment and passage of life. Who knew? Not to knock those books because they’re filled with wonderful stories.

However, there appeared to be nothing new under the sun. Until now.

Writer/editor Brian M. Thomsen throws the whole Chicken Soup franchise a hanging curve ball that catches the outside corner of the plate with an eagle-eyed umpire in attendance. Pasta Fazool for the Wiseguy’s Soul is an irreverent send up of the Godfather, home cooking, and the whole give-me-guidance fad. But Thomsen delivers his delightful concoction with tongue firmly planted in cheek and in a narrative that is just as believable as it is hilarious.

According to Thomsen, he met an elderly Italian gentleman in a small restaurant on a slow night and ended up sharing a table and a meal. During the quiet evening, the old man – call him Don Minestrone – served up a delectable cornucopia of tales, wisdom, colorful characters, street justice, and irony.

I loved the set-up and didn’t know if the author could pull off what he’d promised. I suspected that the entries might be heavy on the cheese (another specialty of Italian cooking). Instead, the stories sound just like they’d come from the Old Neighborhood where everyone knew what the Mafia was but no one ever mentioned it.

I settled in, expecting to read a few stories to relax for a bit after dinner, then ended up blazing through the whole book. I had to laugh out loud when Thomsen lampooned the Mafia and current crime TV when he relayed “Minestrone’s” thoughts on wives, mistresses, and girlfriends, and took shots (what else can you expect from a book about Mafia types?) at Mafia guys in the news. One of my favorite stories was about the movie script that got sold over and over again to New York Publishers. The punch line came out of left field and made perfect sense.

Other stories include how a long-time waiter at a favorite restaurant was given a retirement plan that worked out for everybody, how boosters (professional thieves) cut out middle man (fence), and started selling things on eBay, and how Mrs. Santini got a trip to the “old country.” Thomsen is a natural storyteller, the old don not withstanding, and the tales tumble off the page and into the reader’s mind with grace and guffaws.

I loved how Thomsen and Minestrone introduced characters, then pulled them back into other stories. They weren’t just throwaways. I got the feeling that all of these stories happened (incredibly!) at one time or another.

Pasta Fazool for the Wiseguy’s Soul is a perfect book for the airport, the beach, or while waiting in doctor’s offices. And with a title like that, you’re sure to attract the attention of people around you. Be warned, though. You might not put this one down until you finish it. However, this is definitely a book you’ll want to re-read and share.

No one makes me laugh the way Stephanie Plum does. She would have fit right in with my family, and I have to admit that we have to be related somewhere down the genetic road. Then again, maybe it’s just Janet Evanovich’s skill as an author to expose all the wackos inside the family unit that makes me want to claim kinship.

Despite the fact that this is the 16th book in the series (13 number books and 3 between-the-numbers books), and despite the fact that I can see which direction Evanovich and her characters are probably going to go, the author maintains the same kind of magic that family stories do. No matter how many times you’ve heard them, you’re ready to hear them again. They’re always funny and always enjoyable, and there’s always something human and endearing about them.

And in this one, how can you not love a midget that thinks he’s a leprechaun who’s stolen Mafia money just to get an operation for an ex-racehorse he can talk to? Or Grandma Mazur’s foray into the wild and wooly environs of Atlantic City’s gambling casinos?

Plum Lucky is a road trip for Stephanie and company that is truly of mythological proportions – especially with Lula trying out for the role of a supermodel. Diesel, a regular accompaniment of the between-the-numbers adventures, is back for another mad gallop to the finish line, and he’s just as mysterious as ever.

Stephanie’s long-suffering mother, sandwiched between the impossible generations of her daughter and her mother, calls Stephanie for help. Grandma Mazur is missing in action and Stephanie has to find her. Following Grandma Mazur’s backtrail, Stephanie finds out about the duffel bag her grandma got into a fight over with a man dressed as a leprechaun. After Diesel puts in an unexpected appearance, Stephanie finds out that the leprechaun is a known thief named Snuggy, an ex-jockey that claims he can talk to animals.

The adventure quickly turns into a riot. Even though I was expecting – and anticipating – a log of the zingers and one-liners, I still found myself laughing outloud. There’s no way a Stephanie Plum adventure comes close to being in the real world, but if it did this is exactly the way it would play out.

Things quickly go from bad to worse when Stephanie finds her grandma. Short of kidnapping Grandma Mazur, there’s no way she can bring her home. Until Snuggy shows up again and explains that he only stole the money to pay for an operation on Doug, the ex-racehorse he’s befriended. The problem is, the mobster Snuggy took the money from is holding Doug hostage and threatens to kill him if the money isn’t returned. Grandma Mazur buys into the attempt to save Doug, but things get worse when the mobster kidnaps her as well.

To make matters even worse, the mobster is Delvina, a guy who’s crossed Stephanie’s path before and has plenty of reason to hate her. Things are going to get even worse – and more hilarious – as this adventure winds out. You know that when you go into the final battle with Lula packing a rocket launcher that things have seriously exceeded rational limits.

I had a great time with Plum Lucky. The between-the-numbers books are intended as fun romps to tide fans over during the holidays before they get the beach read book in the summer. But now my appetite has been whetted for Fearless Fourteen.

Lowji Discovers America is a fun book with a great message. It’s also one of 2008’s Children’s Sequoyah Masterlist reads. Author Candace Fleming tells Lowji’s story in a great first-person voice that will doubtless have young readers rolling in the aisles as the hero tries to figure out how things are done in his new country, and tries to figure out a way to get a pet.

The author captures a lot of the accent Lowji would have in his speech after so recently coming from Bombay, India, and she gives him great parents. Ma is very strict and loving, but Bape seems to have an incurable love of puns that is just painful to read. My son loved them!

I loved how Lowji had a notion of what America would be like after living in crowded Bombay all his life, then was heartened and disappointed at the same time. He thought things would be vastly different, but they really aren’t at first.

The disappointment over not getting to have a pet quickly shifts gears to Lowji trying to figure out a way to get one anyhow. The author’s digs at the common backdrop of American culture, especially in the giant store ALL-MART, was terrific.

There are a lot of episodes that continually build Lowji’s story. I felt his sadness when the bird, Tippy, deserted him for the other kids in the store. But I was laughing aloud with my son when the pig, Blossom, nearly has a heat stroke and Lowji saves her by bringing her into the store. This is exactly the kind of thing my kid would do, and it just proves that kids speak the same language more than adults do.

I also loved how Lowji constantly talked Landlady Crisp into getting animals to do her work for her. The cat is brought in to handle the mice. The dog is brought in to handle security. And the goats are brought in to handle the lawn care. This is all very Tom Sawyerish and works well.

However, parents might not find the burping contest and squirting milk out of one nostril quite so funny. My son, of course, thought they were tremendous.

Lowji Discovers America delivers a familiar and humorous story in an accent that will probably be new to most young readers. There’s also a lot of information regarding Indian culture. If you’re working on the Sequoyah list with your child, this novel should definitely be one of those you pick up – especially if your child is a boy!

In his latest book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Jeff Kinney nearly put me into the hospital. That man is going to have serious medical bills to pay if this keeps up. I almost busted a gut laughing out loud and almost aspirated my Diet Dr Pepper on a few occasions. And, yes, I hold him completely responsible.

If not for Kinney’s dry wit, keen insight into the lives of elementary school boys (especially their rationalization for EVERYTHING), and fantastic line drawing on nearly every page, I wouldn’t have had so many close brushes with death in his latest book. But he put me there time and time again. Even when I thought I had things figured out (because I was once an elementary school boy with a wild imagination without a governor), Jeff would throw a wrinkle at me that I didn’t see coming. He ambushed me with regularity throughout the pages.

But it’s not just me that Jeff has his merciless sights on. He’s taking out EVERYBODY. My wife teaches elementary school and Jeff’s books are all the rage among the students. I have to admit to adding to that bonfire because I talk about his books all the time (and I have to admit that I haven’t quite become the responsible adult either, because I’ll rile my wife’s fourth grade class up and take my leave—taking her out to dinner usually gets me off the hook and my cool points go up with the kids).

Parents have become interested in the books and I’ve told them they need to keep up with what their kids are reading. After all, they’re supposed to be responsible parents. (I, myself, have been known to buy extra copies of Jeff’s books and give out as gifts – some parents have accused me of inciting subversion, but I point out that Jeff’s first book was a New York Times bestseller and that is a far better recommendation than I could ever make. Except the Times doesn’t give away Jeff’s books as gifts that I know of. That’s why they hold me more accountable.)

But when I recommend the books to parents, I issue a stern warning. I call it the PYP warning. I especially give it to pregnant mothers and people with weak bladders who read in public places. PYP is Pee Your Pants. The books are just that funny. You’re reading along, and the next thing you know, WHAM! — you’re laughing so hard you’re peeing your pants.

The funniest thing about Jeff’s humor, and the life of his main character, Greg Heffley, is that everything in the book COULD BE COMPLETELY TRUE. Speaking from experience, a lot of what’s between those pages has been true. But I’m not going to incriminate myself now when I got away with those things all those years ago. And there should be some kind of time statute on most of them. I still don’t want my mom to know, however.

Greg is THE man when it comes to taking a boring day and turning it upside down. People who underestimate the creativity of a bored child are simply asking for trouble. Nuclear war pales by comparison.

And Greg has an excuse – or a rationalization – for everything he does. Worse than that, half the time I get sucked in and totally buy into his point of view. Because, upon occasion, that point of view has been mine as well (or at least my defense). That’s where Jeff’s magic truly lies: he’s never lost touch with his inner child. And boy, his wife must be mad and his kids must be terrified!

In this second book, I was totally blown away yet again. Greg is a middle kid, which means that his life is made miserable from both ends of the spectrum – from his older brother Rodrick and his younger brother Manny. Rodrick is the sulky teen with a band called Loded Diper. And their music stinks, so they’re appropriately named. Manny is three and gets into all of Greg’s stuff.

I love how Jeff sets something up in the books and continues to play off of it at appropriate times. His sense of pacing is fantastic. The work of “art” Manny creates out of toothpicks and aluminum foil is great, and I’ve seen that done, actually. Greg’s mom tells Greg he should keep it around and he does – until it impales Greg’s semi-best friend Rowley.

Another sequence in the book focuses on Greg’s ringleader abilities. Kids will follow anyone with a semi-great idea. Or at least one that will bring pain or embarrassment to another kid. See, Greg is NOT hero material. At least, not yet. He does show some potential, but it’s really far into the future.

One of those ideas involved making believe one of the other kids didn’t exist. Following Greg’s lead, the rest of the class pretends the kid doesn’t exist so much that Greg gets called into the principal’s office, then gets read the riot act by his parents.

I loved when Greg gets involved in the role-playing game Magic and Monsters and his mom becomes concerned. She decides to show up and play with them. And her rules don’t involve all the violence and bloodshed all the kids are used to enjoying. Worst of all, some of Greg’s friends start liking the way his mom plays!

Another instance is when the parents leave for a weekend trip and put Rodrick in charge. They’re no sooner gone than Rodrick is on the phone calling people over for a party. Madness ensues. A door gets painted with permanent marker. Rodrick gets Greg to help him change out doors so the parents don’t find out. Later, when they’re punished, Rodrick says he’s going to study the effects of decompression of the spine suffered by astronauts during prolonged weightlessness. He does this by sacking out on the couch and sleeping all the time while he’s grounded.

If you want, you can even read the books for free on the internet. Just go to Funbrain-dot-com to read them. One of the most interesting things about Jeff’s books is that they’re given away for free and STILL sold enough to make it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

You see, Jeff wants everyone to read his books that wants to. However, kids want books they can hold in their hands, share with friends, and put on a shelf. Plus, it’s kind of hard to take your computer and internet along when you’re stuck in the car on a family trip or out with a parent at a doctor’s appointment or a shopping spree.

One of the best features about Jeff’s books after you put them in your kids’ hands is that you don’t have to worry about batteries going dead. They’re kid powered: fueled by imagination and driven by humor. They’re good for the environment. Except for that whole PYP warning.

Jeff’s books are hilarious. I just can’t recommend them enough. Call me subversive if you want.

Andrew Clements is a children’s author primarily known for his book, Frindle. Usually he writes for the third to sixth grade crowd, and a lot of time about fifth graders. Nearly all of his books involve “problems” for his main characters, situations and emotions that need some kind of resolution.I’ve read Clements before and always enjoyed him, but I picked up a book recently that I’d been told about and wanted to see if it was something my fourth grader would enjoy having read to him. We enjoying sharing books, and I enjoy the time I get to spend with him and the conversations we have after we finish a book.

The Janitor’s Boy turned out to be an excellent read on a number of levels, not all of which are going to be understood by kids. It touches, briefly, on the Vietnam War and how that conflict affected a generation of men. But the greater part of the story, in size and in design, is the tale of a boy who comes to understand more about his father than he knew existed.

Fifth grader Jack Rankin has always had a problem with his father John’s job as the school janitor. While other kids in second grade were declaring that they wanted to be policemen and firemen, Jack told everybody he wanted to be a janitor – just like his dad. That was when he learned having a janitor for a dad wasn’t as cool to other kids as it was to him.

By fifth grade, Jack had pretty much gotten over that. Until the school district was rezoned and Jack started going to school in the old high school building where his dad was still the janitor. In no time, Jack is back to being harangued by the others kids. Instead of working his anger out on them, Jack directs it at his dad. When he gets busted for defacing school property, Jack gets after-school detention and ends up having to work with his dad scraping the gum out from under tables and chair.

As always, Clements’s prose is entertaining and easy to read. He sets up the problem at the same time Jack is trying to get revenge on his father. I was instantly curious about what Jack was doing with thirteen pieces of watermelon bubblegum, but even when I found out, I was hooked on the story of how Jack and his dad were going to resolve their problems with each other. When Jack got caught by the principal, things got even worse.

Clements also does a great job of using the adult characters in this book. There are scenes that focus on Jack’s mom and dad that are really well done because they never get beyond anything kids can understand.

I opened the book up just to read a chapter or two. I like to do that to establish a “voice” that I use to read to my son. Instead, I got totally hooked on the story. The main problem was the lack of understanding between Jack and John, but there were also mysteries that needed solving, like where all the secret doors in the school went to. The answers were surprising, and you get a double surprise in the end because as you learn John’s story, you also learn his story about his father and how they didn’t get along.

I kept turning page after page, unable to stop. And I was done before I knew it. I’ll still share this one with my son, but we won’t both be surprised together, which is – in one respect – a shame. But I couldn’t resist.

The Janitor’s Boy is an excellent read if you like kids’ books, but it’s an even better book to share with the kids in your life. There’s plenty of heart and plenty to think about for both of you.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid just made my list of Top 10 Books of 2007. After listening to my fourth grader rave about the book, which he found on the internet of all places because it’s been published there, I ordered a hardcover edition of the book. I know that kids who find a book they love will read it over and over again, and the choice as a parent is whether to buy it in hardcover or buy it in paperback over and over. Since paperbacks don’t always stay in print and hardcovers sometimes appreciate dramatically in price, I opted for the hardcover copy.

It came in today. My son sat down with it immediately. Even though he’d read the whole book on the internet, he loved the idea of being able to hold it in his hands. He flipped through the pages and made certain all his favorite jokes were still in place, which was amusing to watch because I’ve done the same thing.

One of the amazing things I’ve learned since is that the whole book is available on the internet. You can find it at www.wimpykid.com. Feel free to preview the whole book if you like, the author has generously placed it there, but it’s gone on to be a #1 seller in hardcover and paperback all the same. Free on the internet is one thing, but books and portability are best.

Since most of the television shows my wife and I watch on Friday nights were suspended or repeats and I needed a mental vacation after the stress of pounding the keyboard all day, I picked up Diary of a Wimpy Kid and started turning pages. I didn’t stop till I’d devoured the last page.

The book is a flat-out laugh riot from page one to page 217. With pencil drawings that look like they were made by an early elementary school student, it was also an incredibly fast read.

The story is about Greg Heffley, which is kind of like Jeff Kinney if you look at it right. Greg’s in sixth grade and isn’t exactly a social butterfly or even much accepted by the other kids. In fact, he’s lucky if they notice he’s alive.

Greg’s got a regular mom and dad, but Jeff Kinney paints them so vividly with just little details that you can’t help feeling you know these people. His dad has a violent streak when it comes to punishing Greg on the spot. Greg even points out when there are good times to screw up and bad times to screw up. Hint: a good time is when his dad is reading the paper; a bad time is when his dad is building a brick wall. Line drawings accompany this. Greg’s also got an older and younger brother that helps drive him crazy at home. The younger brother, Manny, doesn’t really speak, but he’s into everything.

Greg’s older brother, Rodrick, has his own band and generally stays out of Greg’s life. However, the relationship between the two comes to the forefront every now and again. Rodrick doesn’t mind putting something over on Greg or making him look bad.

The things that make this book work the most, and kept me turning pages, are Greg’s insights on life. He’s not a good kid. He’s not a bad kid either. He’s just a kid. One part scared, one part “that’s not fair”, and one part selfish. It’s the selfish part of Greg that brings about observations about popularity, such as his acknowledgement that he’s number fifty-something popular among the boys, but he’s due to move up a spot because one of the other boys is about to get braces.

His efforts to get out of trouble without having to actually take responsibility for his actions are amazingly dead-on for the age group Kinney is writing about. The fact that Greg’s unwilling to give up trick or treating is good. The touchstones of elementary school life, like the Cheese that’s haunted the outdoor basketball court for a year and gave birth to the Cheese Touch myth that actually ended up making one kid movie way, are here as well.

There are literally hundreds of reasons to buy this book. Number one is that it is the perfect gift for kids who are reluctant readers. Christmas is upon us. Kids are going to be thrown in cars for trips to see relatives, and this book will guarantee some quiet time – except for snickers and outright belly laughs.

I had an absolute blast with it. Before I knew it, I was committing the unpardonable sin of reading sections aloud to my wife while she was watching television. Normally I enforce that one to keep my own television watching manageable. However, I was soon that guy. The book is just too good not to share, so here I am sharing it with you.

Do your kid a favor and go buy the book. But make time to read it yourself. This is one that I think a lot of people will read and tell friends about. Then mark February 2008 down as the release month of the second book, Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. I’ve already got mine on order.

Until Nickelodeon decided to revamp and update the children’s world in 1991, parents had no problem keeping up with their kids’ cartoon experiences. After all, Bug Bunny and Daffy Duck, the Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo (in so many incarnations) were all staples of a kid’s fantasy world.

As hectic as the world is for a parent, it’s hard to keep up with what shows they’ve watched or are watching when they’re growing up. Sad to say, television cartoons have served as babysitters and best friends for kids for decades.

However, Nickelodeon changed the package when they released Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren and Stimpy Show. Questionable content began to invade American living rooms and kids’ bedrooms in subtle ways. Doug and Rugrats tended to be wholesome fare – though with strange ideas at times.

But there was just no excusing Ren and Stimpy’s behavior. They were gross and inelegant at best, and downright disgusting and offensive at worst. However, your kids thought they were hilarious. If you sat down and watched part of an episode with them, you’d swear they were way too young to be caught up in something as crass as that.

You’d probably be halfway right. But Nickelodeon took the stance that kids were a lot more intelligent – and socially inelegant – than most parents wanted to believe. So they created entertainment that took all those facets into account.

And man, what a whirlwind it’s been these past 16 years. My oldest son turns 25 soon, and my youngest is 10. I had five kids, and Nickelodeon has been a constant feature in my house from the beginning.

The problem with having kids, though, is that you have to work to provide for them. And to provide cable TV. So even though I tried to get in front of the TV to check out what they were watching, I couldn’t do it often enough. I watched some of the Nicktoons (as they came to be called) but not all of them because I didn’t have time.

Thankfully there’s a book out now that will catch you up almost overnight with the thirty cartoon that have and are airing on Nickelodeon. Jerry Beck’s (author of The Hanna-Barbera Treasury and The Art of Bee Movie and other works concentrating on the cartoon pays much you’)monstrous compendium is kid-intelligent and adult-friendly, and it’s heavy and sturdy enough to use as a shield or as a weapon. Not only that, but it was produced with the full support and cooperation of Nicktoons.

When I first pulled the book out of the box, I thought some had gone badly wrong. The book felt…squishy. I let go in a hurry and decided to finish opening the box to have a better look. Then I realized that the book was covered in green slime, another trademark of the network.

Just like a kid, I couldn’t help mashing on the slime book cover to see what I could change and see how long it would retain the impressions I made. It was great fun. If you really want to get a strange reaction from another adult, just hand them the book without warning. The first time they close their fingers in slime, they’re going to freak – and be instantly interested.

Once I opened the book, I was even more impressed. The table of contents is set up with icons of the television shows. One of the games you can play as an adult is try to identify the series from the icon, then open the book to that page to find out if you were right. I got more of them right than I thought I would.

The sections on the cartoons are adult-friendly too. There’s not a whole lot of reading to be done to get up to speed on what the cartoon series was. Background and creative spark, as well as the names of the writers and or directors, are wrapped up in easy-to-read chunks. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, gleaned from storyboards and character concepts all the way up to finished presentations.

While I was reading through the book, picking out my favorite cartoons first (like Doug, Rugrats, The Angry Beavers, Danny Fantom, and Hey Arnold), my ten-year-old dropped in, saw what I was reading, and snuggled into the couch next to me. Then he started telling me what he knew about the characters, favorite episodes, favorite comic bits, and when it was going to be on again, if that was the case. There are unexpected benefits that come from owning this book. And, unlike the television episodes, the book can be turned on at any time.

There’s not a whole lot of reading here to be done, which should be encouraging to you as an adult, because I’m sure your lives haven’t slowed down any more than mine have, but there are a ton of pictures and graphic media. If you don’t think there’s a ton there, try holding this book straight out from your body in one hand!

Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoon! is an amazing compilation of info regarding these shows. The beauty of it is the book makes a great Christmas present (maybe not so much a stocking stuffer) for a kid or an uninformed adult on your list that doesn’t know about Nicktoons but has children. Pick up the book and wander back through the history of your child’s imagination and excitement.