Happy Happy Clover by Sayuri Tatsuyama

Clover is a young, energetic bunny growing up in Crescent Forest. Together with her bunny friends Mallow, Shallot, and Kale, and their babysitter, flying squirrel Hickory, Clover has fun and goes on adventures. Clover challenges the wandering rabbit Bramble to an obstacle course race; promises to deliver a letter across the forest for her teacher Mr. Hoot; and accidentally tells Kale's six little brothers about the human called Santa Claus-- and then has to bring them the presents they ask Santa for!

Appeal: Cute, animals, all ages, growing up, friendship

Art: Chibi, cute, stereotyped

Text: Busy but simple, exclamatory

Other: Happy Happy Clover has been adapted into an anime and a Nintendo DS game.

Awards: Tatsuyama's previous work, about puppies and other pets, won the Shogakukan Manga Award for kids' manga in 2001.

Tatsuyama, Sayuri, Sayuri Amemiya, and Kaori Inoue. Happy Happy Clover. San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media, 2007. Print.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and his best friend Hobbes, whom Calvin sees as a live tiger and whom everyone else sees as a stuffed animal, have lots of adventures. They explore in the woods, travel to Mars, fight with the girl next door, and make mayhem while discussing philosophy and life as seen from Calvin's six-year-old point of view. Calvin and Hobbes is available online at gocomics.com.

Appeal: Childhood mischief, imagination, environmentalism, philosophy, art, family friendly

Art: Calligraphic, dynamic, realism in some Sunday strips.

Textual style: Sarcastic, ironic, conversational.

Other: Bill Watterson is notoriously reclusive, and has given only a handful of interviews since the launch of Calvin and Hobbes. He refuses to allow merchandise or other media to be based on his comic strip.

Awards: Watterson has won numerous awards for Calvin & Hobbes, including the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year in 1986 and 1988, Harvey Awards in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1993 through 1996, and an Eisner Award for Best Comic Strip Collection in 1992. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes had a starred review in Publisher's Weekly.

Watterson, Bill. Attack Of The Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons. Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews And McMeel, 1992. Print. All.

Frazz by Jef Mallett

Frazz

A strip about an elementary school in Ohio. Among the characters are the school janitor, a brilliant third-grader, and a grumpy, older teacher. The janitor, Frazz, is an ally to and advocate for the children of the school, particularly brilliant Caulfield, whose precocious nature and boredom at school often turn into pranks pulled on his grumpy teacher Mrs. Olsen. The characters make puns, literary references, philosophical queries, and messes as they explore the world around them and the people in it.This strip does not talk down to readers, and treats children as people in their own right. It available online at gocomics.com.

Appeal: Puns, literary references, child-related humor, humor that can be enjoyed on many levels, all ages.

Art: Cartoony, sketchy.

Textual style: Wit, repartee, word play.

Other: Jef Mallett is a bicyling and triathlon enthusiast like Frazz. The strip often references his heroes, such as Bill Bryson and Bill Watterson.

Awards: 2003 and 2005 Wilbur Award for Promoting Ethics and Positive Values.

Mallett, Jef. Frazz: Live From Bryson Elementary. Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel, 2005. Print.

Blondie by Chic Young

Blondie

A gag-a-day strip about middle-class white family in America. Hapless husband Dagwood provides much of the slapstick humor at work and at home, where wife Blondie and children Alexander and Cookie provide the rest. Dagwood is always late leaving the house, colliding with the mailman on his way out the door, gets fired every month (hired back immediately), and eats enormous sandwiches as a midnight snack. It is available online at Blondie.com.

Appeal: Slapstick humor, family life, all ages, kids.

Art: Clear lines, cartoony, constant throughout the strip's run.

Textual style: Short exclamations, some humorous irony.

Other: Chic Young grew up in St. Louis and attended the Art Institute of Chicago. He drew Blondie until his death in 1973.

Awards: The National Cartoonists Society's Billy DeBeck Award (later renamed the Reuben Award) in 1948. Blondie was one of 20 comic strips commemorated in the USPS Comic Strip Classics stamp series in 1995.

Young, Chic. 25 Years With Blondie: A Silver Anniversary Volume. New York : Simon And Schuster, 1958. Print.

For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston

For Better or For Worse

A continuity strip covering 30 years in the life of a middle-class white Canadian family and their friends. Babies are born, children grow up, parenthood's ups and downs are explored, and characters experience changes in and conflicts with spouses, families, jobs, children, and lives. Ellie, the mother, goes from being a full-time homemaker to a part-time toy store employee to the store owner. Michael grows from a toddler to a teenager to an adult with a family of his own. Elizabeth spends years figuring out what to do her life, and whom to spend it with. In one infamous story arc, the beloved family dog saves the youngest, April, from drowning in a river and dies in the attempt. This is a comic about family, love, hardship, and joy. It is available online at gocomics.com.

Appeal: slice-of-life, family drama, realism, family-friendly, middle grade plus

Art: Starts off sketchy but expressive, becomes more detailed in the middle years.

Textual style: Lots of exclamations and pronouncements, some sentimentality.

Other: Lynn Franks Johnston was born and raised in Canada, and attended the Vancouver School of Art. Over the course of her career she has been awarded several honorary doctorates, and been made a member of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Manitoba, and been inducted into the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame and the National Cartoon Museum Hall of Fame.

Awards: The author has won the Reuben Award, the Gemini Award for Best Cartoon Series, and the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip Award.

Johnston, Lynn Franks. It's All Downhill From Here: A For Better Or For Worse Collection. Kansas City : Andrews, McMeel & Parker, (c)1987. Print.