My son turned 13 last week, and to celebrate during Spring Break we traveled to a waterpark for a few days. I decided to try out one of his library books on my own during the break, and I’m glad I did! My son’s been devouring these books every chance he gets—much like me with Garfield back in the day—so I really wanted to give one of them a shot during my vacation to see what’s got him so enthralled.
Big Nate is a serial cartoon I’d never heard of, probably since newspapers have been out of style for as long as I’ve been back in the country. Without a newspaper, I’d literally have to log into gocomics.com to access these great little stories each day, and that’s definitely not something I’d take the time to do. Instead, I (like my son) must wait until the local library buys another collection in paperback…and now, having read this first random one myself, I gotta say, that’s something I’d look forward to doing!
Nate Wright is a confident 6th grade boy with a handful of friends, a bunch of acquaintances, a grade-school crush, teachers he loves and hates, and a world to explore. He’s got a sister we rarely see (in this book, at least) and a dad who tries to maintain his sanity. I know nothing about his mom (dead? divorced?), so I think I’ll either have to read more books or ask my son to find out—and I’m ok with either option.
Most of the comics in this book are 4-panel deals that follow a weekly theme bookended by longer “Sunday” comics that generally stand on their own. It’s most reminiscent of an updated Charlie Brown, though I’d say it’s more like a mixture of Charlie Brown and Calvin and Hobbes (there: I’ve dated myself). The artwork is as simple as either of those legendary comics (only in full color), with only occasional background detail. Its humor is dialogue-driven, the punchlines consistently punchy causing smirks and sometimes outright laughs.
My favorite weekly theme in this book was the one tracking the “Yo-Mama-Smackdown” (154-159), though the one I’m pasting here about dibs was also pretty great (105-110). I can see why my son likes Big Nate so much, even if some of the jokes likely go over his head.
In fact there’ve been a few times over the past few weeks where he’s asked me the meaning of words he finds in the book, and he spells them out to me: i.e. “B-U-N-G-A-L-O-W.” I’ve wondered each time: “What in the world is he reading about?”
Pierce occasionally throws in cultural references that I’m also sure my son doesn’t understand (i.e. Snakes on a Plane, South Park, The Exorcist, Ulysses), but I’ve read enough of Big Nate so far to figure that these occasional passing references are the butts of jokes and not an enticement from the author towards R-rated entertainment. The references don’t bother me at all.
I’ve got no problem with my kid continuing to read this smart, funny comic. I’ve enjoyed it immensely—and don’t be surprised if you see another “Big Nate by Pierce” title on this blog again. Yes, I have plenty of other books to read, but this stuff takes me back to my own childhood, and dang it, that’s a place I need visit every once in a while!
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