Who Needs Donuts?

"Who Needs Donuts? - A rhetorical question, surely!

Originally published in 1973, Mark Alan Stamaty's hilariously surreal picture book follows young Sam, who "lived with his family in a nice house," but longed for more donuts than his parents could provide. Venturing into the city, looking for donuts, Sam falls in with maverick donut-collector Mr. Bikferd, wandering the streets with his cart...

"Who needs donuts when you've got love?" demands a sad old woman they pass, and sure enough, Mr. Bikferd - having met and instantly fallen in love with Pretzel Annie - soon abandons his quest for donuts. Now Sam, far from home and in possession of a mountain of donuts he can't eat, wonders what to do...

The illustrations in Who Needs Donuts? are show more eye-poppingly detailed, and young readers will enjoy poring over them, picking out the many clever little bits of text - in signs, on tee-shirts - that Stamaty has included. I discovered this underground classic, which has something of a cult following among children's literature devotees, a few years ago, and, despite the fact that it was recently reprinted, had been looking about me for an original, vintage copy. Imagine my surprise and delight when I finally found it, the same day I had been frantically searching for those lovely little home-made donuts at the farmer's market near work. Sadly, I didn't find the donuts, but the serendipity of the moment did not escape me. show less

I don't think anyone can see this book once and ever forget it. My sister and I loved our copy so much I would say it was one of our favorite possessions. It's a very simple and strange story---a boy who loves donuts goes to the city in search of more donuts and others who love them. The real story is the pictures---the MOST AMAZINGLY DETAILED pictures in the world. You can absolutely look at each one for hours and still find new little details. For years the book was out of print, and I think almost every copy that anyone had was stolen from someone else---my sister had her copy stolen long ago. Although I have never stolen a thing, I would have taken a copy from anyone if I found one during that long dry period! FINALLY it came back show more into print, and I bought it the day it did, as did my sister. if you love weird and fascinating books, you MUST own this one! show less

A really moving kids story with amazingly bizarre and insanely detailed illustrations. After you read the story to your kid and put him to bed, you re-open the book to figure out what's really going on.

This book, along with Minnie, Maloney, and Macaroni, were two of my favorite childhood books. The cluttered chaos of Stamaty's art combined with the weird irreverence of the food-based subject matter captured my imagination as a child, and I still keep copies of both on my bookshelf as a reminder.

This book was visually amazing. While the story of Sam and his quest for donuts throughout the big city is a entertaining tale that focuses on the love for others, the artwork steals the show. Not only complimenting the text, the art creates its own unique world filled with busy life and quirky play on words, such as "Boulevard Bowl of Lard." Several times I found myself becoming lost within the illustrations, trying to keep track of the twisting street signs and peculiar pedestrians. This book would be perfect for a child to discover.

More picture book brilliance! A young boy craves donuts and wants to collect as many as he can. He travels to "a big city" to find them and soon meets just the man to help: a fellow donut collector! Along the way, they meet an old woman who asks, "Who needs donuts when you've got love?" Great point!

Through a series of bizarre events, both the man and the boy discover the wisdom of her question. But the powerful message is only part of this book's appeal. The highlight is the style of illustration: tightly detailed pictures we get can get completely lost in.

Surreal is an understatement. Definitely for a niche audience. Not for me. I give it two stars instead of one only because I admire it for being creative. The details in the pictures are easier to see than those of [a:Peter Sís|8658|Peter Sís|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318830855p2/8658.jpg]'s works, but still much too much overwhelming and disturbing *for me.*