What'ss a real family like? These days it'ss bound to resemble the lovable clan in Stone Soup. Stone Soup is a funny, irreverent, sympathetic comic strip read by more than 8 million people every day. This first collection, with forward by Lynn Johnston, creator of For Better or For Worse, will help you find the humor in modern family.

One of the first questions that syndicated cartoonists are asked, besides "Where do you get your ideas?" is "Does anyone ever try to censor you?" The humor of Stone Soup rarely tilts toward something that would require censorship, but the day did come when Jan's syndicate editor called to tell her that one of her Sunday strips couldn't be published. Why? Because the gag line included the word "boobs"-which, according to the editor, you cannot say in the Sunday funnies. You can say boobs on Monday through Saturday, since readers of the daily funnies are apparently used to being "shocked."

The all-too-real humor of Stone Soup mirrors much of today'ss family life while cheering us on. It tells the story of a blended-by-necessity family of sisters, kids and the active breed family dog. It'ss a household of barely controlled chaos. Working-parent hassles, the terrible twos, middle-school angst, love and the single mom—it'ss all here in Stone Soup.

Enter stone soup land, where uproar rules. The extended, blended Stone family lives in a household where only the agile survive. Join Val and Joan - sisters and single moms - and their three kids, their live-in mother, their neighbor Wally and his teenage nephew, the Zen motorcycle cop, and others - as they attempt to navigate life.

Capturing the riotous and exhausting life of working mom Val Stone and her extended blended family . . . Jan Eliot has created a classic family story for our times." —"New York Newsday" \* Jan Eliot manages to find the humor in working parent hassles, the terrible twos, middle-school angst, love, and the life of the single mom in this all-color collection. The all-too-real humor of "Stone Soup" is very wise and very funny. Distributed to more than 150 newspapers in six countries with over eight million loyal fans, "Stone Soup" is a funny, irreverent, sympathetic comic strip that mirrors today's complicated family life . . . while cheering us on. \* Jan Eliot's "Stone Soup" follows the riotous and exhausting life of working mom Val, her daughters Holly and Alix, and her often too-close-for-comfort extended blended family . . . conveniently living right next door.

This Might Not Be Pretty is the seventh collection of the comic strip Stone Soup. Stone Soup is a syndicated comic strip by cartoonist Jan Eliot. It appears daily in 200 newspapers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. This Might Not Be Pretty features Jan Eliot's cartoons in full color. Stone Soup chronicles the constant chaos and misadventures of working moms Val and Joan, who also happen to be sisters. With their extended and blended families, they try their best to navigate modern life... and bring comic relief to the daily disasters we all experience. Val and Joan's two households, separated by only a fence, are a constant source of comfort—and irritation—to each other. The Stone family includes a middle-school diva and her tomboy little sister; a bouncing-off-the-wall three year old and a teenage boy cousin, their patient but bewildered stepdad; and an opinionated grandmother. And of course, there's a dog. Readers will see themselves or someone they know in this book.

This is the eighth collection of Stone Soup cartoons, which appear daily in 200 newspapers in the United States and around the world. The chaotic life of the extended, blended Stone family, headed by sisters who live next door to each other, is bared for all to see. Real-life, sympathetic, warm humor for all ages.

This is the ninth collection of Stone Soup cartoons. Stone Soup is a comic strip with wide appeal that has been syndicated in over two hundred newspapers for more than fifteen years. Stone Soup features an extended, blended multigenerational family, and the humor comes from their chaotic, messy, and joyful life. From the working mom trying to stay professional while her middle-schooler melts down on her office phone, to the toddler who prefers wearing his potty as a hat, all mixed with the surprise of an "oops" baby on the way...the Stone Soup clan lives a life that is just about as messy as it gets. Stone Soup follows the lives of Val and Joan, two sisters who, together with their families live next door to each other, just across the fence. Sometimes the fence is not high enough, but deep down they all depend on each other for a full and complete life.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time is the tenth collection of Stone Soup cartoons. Stone Soup is a syndicated comic strip that features a big, rowdy, multigenerational extended family, headed by sisters Val and Joan who live next door to each other. With precious little privacy and plenty of chaos, the Stone clan navigates life with toddlers, tomboys, and teens. Balancing work, kids, dating, step-parenting, money issues, and aging, the Stones struggle with the same issues we all face in life. Stone Soup is written with love and empathy for parents and kids of all ages.

Jan Eliot's funny and irreverent Stone Soup follows the saga of an extended, blended family, starring two working-mom sisters living just across the fence from each other. Val and Joan share life with their opinionated mother, a middle-school diva and 10-year-old tomboy, a reclusive teenage boy, a wild preschooler and his new baby sister...and of course Wally, the ultimate nice guy who steps into his stepdad shoes with grace amid the chaos. Working-parent hassles, pre-school tantrums, middle-school angst, love and the single mom... it's all here in Stone Soup. In Evie Rules, the poker-playing "Gramma" shows that enjoying life isn't just for the youngsters. Besides embarking on an African safari, she shows that Evie really rules by winning the lottery!