GONZO PARENTING

Rooke presents humorous cartoons and essays celebrating the parenting experience.

The author has built an entire online community around “gonzo parenting,” which he defines as “full-contact parenting. Being in the thick of the messy, authentic, barely-controlled chaos.” His musings online, including stories, videos, and a podcast, have led to this delightful book, in which Rooke’s real-life stories about parenting his 7-year-old twins are paired with fun, full-color illustrations by Vijayan. The book covers a number of aspects of the parenting journey in more than 50 cartoon strips. Their titles (including “Sugar Shock,” “Lemonade Stand,” “No More Weekends,” “Dads Taking Care of Other Dads,” “Pillow Fighter,” and “Pandemic Parenting”) let the reader know what to expect. The topics will be familiar to many caregivers; “Nowhere To Hide,” for instance, is a four-panel look at a dad caught trying to hide out in the bathroom. “Screw the Instructions” is an account of an ill-fated father-and-son attempt to put something together. Interspersed between the strips are four essays that tackle some of the same parenting subjects, always with a humorous twist. The author’s strength in this collection is identifying topics that are as universal as possible in the realm of parenthood—some of the cartoon strips are funnier than others, but nearly all hit on truths that any caregiver could identify with. Rooke excels at writing the dialogue for the cartoon panels, and in his essays, which run a few pages each, he demonstrates that he’s just as effective with longer-form pieces. Compilations of cartoon strips often seem a bit haphazard; this collection avoids that pitfall with its focus on parenting, from which it never strays. And the trip, thanks to Rooke’s sense of humor, is a whole lot of fun.

Real-life parenting tales that will make readers laugh—and maybe recognize themselves.