Product details
- Publisher : Humorist Books
- ISBN: 978-1-954158-49-8
- Language : English
- Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.56 x 8.5 inches
One boy. One bear. Two days. Absolutely no ordinary adventures.
What happens when a boy and his best furry friend head into the great outdoors? Just about anything.
In The Wild Weekend, acclaimed cartoonist Rich Sparks takes readers on a wonderfully weird, laugh-out-loud adventure through a weekend of camping, exploring, playing, and getting into the kind of mischief only a boy and a bear could dream up.
From roller-skating escapades and lakeside adventures to campfire marshmallows and unexpected encounters in the woods, every page delivers another delightful surprise.
Told almost entirely through Sparks’s wonderfully expressive black-and-white illustrations, The Wild Weekend invites young readers to invent their own dialogue, discover hidden jokes, and imagine the stories happening between the pictures.
Equal parts sweet, silly, and surreal, this charming picture book celebrates friendship, creativity, and the simple joy of spending time together.
Perfect for children, parents, cartoon lovers, and anyone who’s ever wished their best friend was a bear.
A picture book you’ll want to explore again and again—because every great friendship deserves a little wild adventure.
PRAISE
“I’ve long been a fan of Rich Sparks’s cartoons, and I love that he’s finally flexed his funny bone with this sweet and hilarious BFF (Best Furry Friend) snapshot of a picture book.”
— Matthew Cordell, author/illustrator of numerous children’s books, Caldecott Medal winner for Wolf in the Snow
“In The Wild Weekend, Sparks’ playfully gorgeous line work and surreal-yet-adorable characters might be the hook that grabs a kid’s attention initially, but the real stroke of genius here is all the space left to the imagination in this wordless tale of Boy and Bear and their adventurous weekend. Each page is a snapshot of a friendship with just enough details—some goofy, some warm and fuzzy, some hilariously unexpected—to spur curious kids into filling the spaces of the story left untold with details of their own making. It’s exactly what a children’s book should be: fun, funny, challenging and, most of all, a perfect spark for a kid’s own creativity (pun intended).”
—Dave Coverly, creator of the comic Speed Bump
“This is what every camping trip promises and none of them delivers. Rich Sparks has made a book you can read to a four-year-old, then steal back and keep for yourself.”
— Jason Chatfield, award-winning cartoonist, author, and comedian
About the Author
Rich Sparks is a Chicago-based cartoonist, illustrator, author, and musician whose wonderfully weird sense of humor has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The American Bystander, Air Mail, Alta Journal, Weekly Humorist, and numerous other publications.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Sparks moved to Chicago in 1982, where he began his artistic career as an illustrator for the Chicago Tribune. He later discovered a talent for single-panel cartoons, developing a distinctive style that combines playful absurdity, unexpected humor, and a surprising amount of heart.
His first cartoon collection, Love and Other Weird Things, was published in 2020, followed by Horseshoes and Tardigrades and Other Drawings from Humorist Books in 2026.
When he’s not drawing, Sparks is also a guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of the indie bands The Last Afternoons and Lake County Breaks.
The Wild Weekend is his first children’s picture book, bringing his imaginative characters and offbeat humor to a new generation of readers.
