It's Saturday Morning!: Celebrating the Golden Era of Cartoons 1960s - 1990s

beautifully illustrated book which my son loves

Bugs Bunny got his name because he was first drawn by an illustrator whose nickname was Bugsy; when anyone referred to the unnamed character they called it "Bug's Bunny". If you think that's interesting or amusing, then this is the book for you.It's organized by decade. Each major cartoon show opens with a details factoid box, (date of airing, number of episodes, and so on), and then there are two to five pages of narrative text giving you the history of the show's development and run and syndication fate. I say this is browseable because the tidbits can vary in appeal. I was actually a living kid when "The Flintstones" first came out, so I don't need a detailed explanation about how it was modeled on the TV show "The Honeymooners". Everyone knew that. But then, again, it never occurred to me that "The Jetsons" was a variation on the TV sitcom "Blondie", and was even voiced by some of the actors from that show. So, depending on how old you are, what you knew, what you now remember, and what you care about, there are all sorts of odds and ends that will entertain and amuse.The book runs from "the 60's" through "the 90's", which makes it a sort of multi-generational journey. I'm all 60's, with a thorough knowledge of Bugs Bunny, Flintstones, Jetsons, Johnny Quest, and Underdog. The 70's, featuring Scooby-Doo, Josie, Tarzan, and Fat Albert, is a dark glass. By the 80's my kids started coming on-line, and so I'm back up to speed with Smurfs, Alvin, Transformers, Care Bears and He-Man. Then we go vague again and Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Bobby's World are all strangers. The grandkids are now all Paw Patrol, the second life of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and P.J. Masks, but their shows are beyond the reach of this book. (The author argues that the great Saturday morning blocks ended at the end of the 90's when the networks moved away from that model, but cable and Nickelodeon would probably beg to differ on that score.)The narrative style suits the material. It's chatty without being corny and informative without being academic. There are lots of stills from the shows and even more behind the scenes photos of the actors and illustrators. A nice touch is that each decade has a few ads for contemporary toys, (Slinky, Battleship, Transformers), that create some childhood context and prompt a few fond memories.So, either as a trip down memory lane, or as a surprising bit of cultural history, this was an entertaining, and surprisingly informative find. And I liked the illustrations.(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)