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Friday, September 3, 2010

The Gift of Nothing

Review by Michael May

Written by Patrick McDonnell
Illustrated by Patrick McDonnell

Published by Little, Brown, & Company
$14.99

I love it when I get to sneak in a review of something that's not exactly a comic, but is just comics-related enough that I can overlook its medium. Keeps things fresh. This is such a review.

Patrick McDonnell is best known for his syndicated comic strip Mutts about a cat named Mooch and a dog named Earl. The Gift of Nothing is a picture book starring these two characters. I almost wrote "a children's picture book," but that wouldn't be entirely accurate.

The story goes that it's Earl's birthday and Mooch isn't sure what to get his friend. Earl's already pretty well taken care of in the material goods department; he's the proverbial "person who has everything." So, in a stroke of inspiration, Mooch realizes that the only thing "someone who has everything" doesn't have is "nothing." And he sets off on a quest to find it.

In order to give the book a good test, I had my wife read it to our three-year-old son while I listened. My son loves animals and enjoyed the cute and touching illustrations. There's real emotion in the depictions of Mooch, who isn't trying to be cheap, but truly wants to give his friend the best gift possible. My son responded to that, and so did I.

My son didn't get the clever plays on words, like when Mooch's owner comes home from a shopping trip and complains, "There's nothing to buy," so Mooch hurries off to the store to get some. That's what I meant by it's not quite a "children's" picture book. It's not meant exclusively for them. Children will appreciate it, but so will the parents reading it to them. Parents, and even adults of the non-childbearing variety, will especially be moved by the message of the book, that sometimes "nothing" really is the best gift you can give someone.

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