OBSCURE MEDIA #2: Klutz by Henrik Drescher (1996)

Obscureness Rating:

There are a few hardcover copies of this book on Amazon, but good luck finding people who actually heard of this book, as there aren’t that many people who read this book.

Media Type: Book

Recommended?: DEFINITELY YES!

Summary:

Louise was always a klutz since her family was klutzes since the dawn of time. Every day, the Klutz family would trip over themselves; even in their own house and everyone they passed by would call them “Lumpish Yokels.” One night however, the Klutz family met up with Professor Squirmworm’s Magic Circus Caravan (after they literally crashed into it) and Professor Squirmworm decided to make them into clowns!

I have been a huge fan of Henrik Drescher’s works for many years and I have read many of his books, which I enjoyed a good majority of them. One of his books that I had read many years ago was a bizarre yet fun little children’s book called “Klutz” that I automatically fell in love with!

What I loved about this book was the Klutz family itself as they are constantly shown tripping over themselves and crashing into things because of their immense clumsiness. I just found the premise of this book to be unique and entertaining as I rarely read children’s books that dealt with the main characters being clumsy and how that clumsiness was ingrained into their family history. But the best thing about this book is Henrik Drescher’s crazy and bizarre artwork. I just loved how Henrik Drescher drew the Klutz family as having long and wobbly limbs, while they wear large black boots. I also loved the mixed media aspect of the artwork as there are photos of real people and objects being pasted onto Henrik Drescher’s drawings, giving the artwork an even more chaotic feel.

Overall, while the artwork might be a bit too weird for some people, “Klutz” is definitely one of the most unique and bizarre children’s books ever made and if you are a huge fan of surreal children’s books, then “Klutz” is the book you should read!

Check out this awesome review on Klutz by Henrik Drescher!

The Circus is Where It’s At: Oddballs and Misfits in Henrik Drescher’s Klutz and Maira Kalman’s Roarr Calder’s Circus