The ''Goops'' books, originally published between 1900 and 1950, were created by the artist,

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

, poet, author and humorist

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclast ...

. The characters debuted, conceptually, in the illustrations of Burgess' publication ''The Lark'', in the late 19th century. The ''Goops'' also appeared in panels in the popular monthly children's publication ''St. Nicholas'', as early as 1898. The ''Goops'' series is among his most famous works. :The Goops, they lick their fingers, :and the Goops, they lick their knives; :They spill their broth on the tablecloth, :Oh, they lead disgusting lives! Since the publication of the original ''Goops'' book, ''Goops and How to Be Them'', in 1900, the series has come to be seen as the quintessential series on teaching children the importance of manners and polite behavior. :When you are playing with the girls, :you must not pull their pretty curls; :if you are gentle when you play, :you will be glad of it some day! Though widely circulated during the height of Burgess' popularity, some of the ''Goops'' books have become difficult to find. ''Goops and How to Be Them'' and ''More Goops and How Not to Be Them'' are still widely available. Out-of-print titles such as ''Goops Encyclopedia'' and ''Blue Goops and Red'' may be found in rare book rooms and antiquarian bookstores. In addition to the books, Burgess created the syndicated

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

''Goops'' in 1924 and worked on it through its end in 1925. Elizabeth Metz Butterfield of Jamestown, N.Y. set a number of Burgess' Goop poems to music. They were published under the name ''The Goop Songbook''.

Books

*''Goops and How to Be Them'' (1900) Juvenile *''More Goops and How Not to Be Them'' (1903) Juvenile *''Goop Tales'' (1904) Juvenile *''Blue Goops and Red'' (1909) Juvenile *''The Goop Directory of Juvenile Offenders'' (1913) Juvenile *''Why Be a Goop?'' (1924) Juvenile *''New Goops and How to Know Them'' (1951) Juvenile

References

* * Strickler, Dave. ''Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index.'' Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. .

External links

Publisher of ''Goops'' booksGelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression
*

*
YouTube videos of ''Goops''
1900 books 1924 comics debuts 1925 comics endings American comics characters Educational comics Fictional families Comics about married people {{comic-strip-stub