A laugh out loud funny parable for the digital age

There once was a lady who was very creepy. She moved about the world in seemingly normal ways, except for one tremendously bizarre tic. First she sought out kids transfixed by their screens, staring blindly and blank-faced at nearly any device, and then she would snatch something precious from them.

In this picture book for grown-ups, sibling duo Keiler Roberts and Lee Sensenbrenner render a compelling--and downright creepy--modern fable about kids who are hooked on their digital devices. Creepy is the contemporary answer to the shocking tales of the Brothers Grimm and bedtime moral stories like the boy who cried wolf or the princess and the pea: in it, Roberts and Sensenbrenner provide a shrewd and comical commentary on the increasing digitization of childhood. Known for her award-winning autobiographical comics, Roberts's signature deadpan humor is on full display in these vibrantly painted pages.

It's safe to say that no one tackles the peril of screen time as vividly or absurdly as this pair.

Author: Keiler Roberts, Lee Sensenbrenner
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Published: 10/25/2022
Pages: 36
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.75h x 8.65w x 0.45d
ISBN: 9781770466197


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 10/01/2022 pg. 139
Publishers Weekly 11/21/2022

About the Author

Keiler Roberts makes autobiographical comics. She is the recipient of the Cartoonist Studio Prize and the Ignatz Award. She has taught comics at The School of The Art Institute in Chicago.

Early in her career, Roberts self-published Powdered Milk, Happy Happy Baby Baby, and Miseryland. Koyama Press published Chlorine Gardens, Rat Time, and Sunburning which was translated into Spanish as Isolada. The Joy of Quitting is her second book for Drawn & Quarterly, following My Begging Chart which was translated into Spanish as Mi Tabla De Súplicas.

Lee Sensenbrenner lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife, Meg, and their kids and dogs. He shared a room with Keiler until fifth grade.