I dunno. I picked it up because I ran across it looking for another, and it's Steig, and he created some other fun & provocative characters like Sylvester, Shrek, Dominic, and Doctor de Soto. But this list really isn't meant to be read by grown-ups. The pictures didn't help me feel as if they were supporting the text, either - they were mostly just 'there.' I do say I would like to learn what a child, say age 7, would think of it.

One of the things I ponder when I encounter a disappointing book by a favorite author is the author's reputation. If this were Steig's debut, would it have been published? Or is it considered to be of value only because of his cachet? In this case, I do suspect the latter.... ( )

Just a silly book of all the things grownups do that annoy children. Steig's illustration style is similar to Quentin Blake's (aka awesome and old-fashioned). I thought it was really fun, but I don't know how well the humor would translate for kids - maybe older ones?

A little gem of a book, a gently humorous take on child-adult relations from a child's perspective. Not that bite is exactly missing - some of us weigh ourselves endlessly and have spirited discussions among adults right there in the living room that resemble the tone used in playground brawls. Illustrations have a retro look that somehow feels contemporary nevertheless. Recommended to adults as well as children.

While his illustrative style seems to remain constant, William Steig has at least two equally memorable styles of text: there's the strong, clever narrative, about mice and whales or mysterious bones and other such fascinating things - or there's the concept-driven book, each page with a simple, clever declaration exploring some facet of a topic, and illustrations to match. In other words, there's the Newbery-winning Steig and his delightful stories, and there's the critically-lauded, New Yorker-writing Steig and his amusing anecdotal perspectives on life.

"Grown-Ups Get to Do All the Driving" falls into the latter group - this is definitely the New Yorker-writing Steig, but in this case kids would find him just as much a delight as the storytelling Steig.

Published in 1995 (when Steig was well into his eighties), "Grown-Ups" feels strongly like it's a clever old man's nostalgic look back on life and the many peculiarities that go with it - all accentuated through the keen eyes of children, who are expected to obey many of the made-up rules of adulthood but never get to enjoy the "fun stuff" that adulthood also offers. Steig's ability to share with children's perspectives has never been on better display - this might as well be the secret, "hidden" handbook on living with adults that all second-graders get and can commiserate with; they'll surely be all too familiar with these unspoken rules of child/adult relationships.

In a way, it really seems that only young children and elderly men can fully appreciate this book. Sure, for everybody else, you might just recognize some of these peculiarities of "grown-up"-ness in your own life. But this is really a book for those, young and old, who consider themselves far out of the realm of "Grown-Up." ( )