Sunday, September 28

Happy Kitty Bunny Pony - Charles S Anerson Design Co, with text by Michael J Nelson

Essentially a collection of cutesy animal depictions, this "saccharine mouthful of super cute" (the subtitle) is witty and amusing thanks to ex-Mystery Theater 3000 host Nelson's text. Grouped thematically (happy kitties, bunnies, ponies, barnyard buddies [pigs and lambs feature prominently], chicks and ducklings, woodland creatures etc), the illustrations range from swap card pictures to (quite horrifying) wallpaper patterns.
And enlivening the collection are gems of commentary like (under a photo of cat looking up at a Christmas tree): "Buying a present for a cat is hard, because cats have only the dimmest awareness of their surroundings. Get them a bell or, if that's too extravagant, a small clump of earth. Because, it will hardly matter." On the facing page, illustrated by a posed, colourised kitten sitting between among superimposed flowering twigs: "Is this little fella aware of the incredible irony - a sweet little pussy wandering among pussy willows? No. Irony is beyond him. Again, dimmest awareness of their surroundings." Or, on a spread featuring Easter bunnies:

This familiar symbol originate in Germany where children would build a nest for the "Oschter Haws," in hopes he would lay a batch of colored eggs. That German children were so confused about biology does not speak well of the German education system. To all you German children out there, rabbits are mammals, which means they give birth to live young. No eggs involved. Perhaps you were confusing him with the Easter Duckbilled Platypus.
I read my (advertising/marketing exec) sister's copy while babysitting and that was enough for me, but every few pages I cracked up (generally on the inside but occasionally aloud). Without the illustrations I'm really not able to do Happy Kitty Bunny Pony justice, and there are many pages without commentary - rendering them less interesting for those of us lacking the appropriate aesthetic sense to appreciate the works for their own merits. If you have a slightly twisted sense of humour and/or an interest in pop culture, or in the work of the design team Pop Ink, this is the book for you.- Alex

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