Part of a Complete Breakfast: Cereal Characters of the Baby Boom Era Hardcover – September 2, 2012

If you remember eating cereal and watching cartoons on Saturday morning, then this book will bring those days back in more detail than you could have imagined. I haven't thought about Puffa Puffa Rice or Linus the Lionhearted for many decades, but once Part of a Complete Breakfast prodded those memories, the jingles came back to me word for word.It was a lot of fun reading about the ad campaigns and some of the behind-the-scenes details. The Linus the Lionhearted show started with a cast made entirely of Post cereal mascots, and the number of commercials in the cartoon show (which itself was a big commercial) was astonishing. I looked at one on the Duke University library site, which author Tim Hollis cites, and in a five-minute cartoon, there were three commercial breaks in the first two minutes (the archived cartoon did not include the commercials) and even more often in the remaining three minutes. I must have been aware of the ad saturation as a kid, but I don't remember feeling cheated or outraged, or even bored.I also don't remember being loyal to any one cereal. Mom sensibly limited our cereal-eating to Saturday mornings only, so one box would last several weeks. We were rarely able to collect enough box tops to send away for the tempting promotional items offered, such as figurines to balance on your spoon handle, club memberships, and coloring books. Fortunately, Hollis has collected an impressive collection of such prizes and uses them to lavishly illustrate Part of a Complete Breakfast.The cartoon studio/cereal manufacturer relationship was like the movie studio/fast food relationship now. Jay Ward, the Bullwinkle and Rocky producer, provided characters for General Mills and Quaker, Hanna-Barbera characters shilled for Kellogg's, Warner Bros. toons touted Post cereals, and Disney characters starred in Ralston-Purina cereal commercials. The importance of the commercials was emphasized by the fact that the studios sent the cartoon animation to be done on the cheap in Mexico (as The Simpsons and others do now by sending animation work to South Korea), but had the commercials done in the United States where they could manage quality control directly. The difference was obvious even to sugar-addled children.Cereal mascots (as well as cereals) came and went, and only a few characters lasted as much as a decade. Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, The Trix Rabbit, and Sugar Bear survived into old age, although they went through cosmetic changes over the years. Waffle-O Bill, Sir Grapefellow, and Hillbilly Goat were among the many mascots who faded quickly. So-Hi, the Chinese cartoon boy who couldn't pronounce "Rice Krinkles," is an embarrassing reminder of what many of us considered acceptable in the 60s.Hollis covers the cereal ad campaigns from pre-radio days to the 1980s. For reading or just snacking, Part of a Complete Breakfast is Gr-e-e-eat!

From Tim Hollis comes this volume dedicated to our fondest childhood breakfast memories! A trip down memory lane- illustrated with fun images that evoke memories of a simplier time! From Snap, Crackle and Pop to Linus The Lionhearted to Captain Crunch - all of your favorites are here! Learn the "back story" of the animators, the voice-actors and the cereals themselves. Hollis's writing style tells a story that unfolds with a downhome charm that "speaks" to the reader like a friend telling a story.I highly suggest this book to anyone who loves the nostalgia of breakfast long ago- and to anyone wishing to obtain a book that chronicles a history that stays crunchy - even in milk!

a very impressive book on this rare subject.

This is a great trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up in the 60's and 70's.

I thought this was a really fun book; I loved the humor and warmth.

Enjoyed immensely this book invoking phantoms from my past. I enjoyed the humorous style of the writer and have shared it with friends and family, delighting all who come within 30 feet of this book.

wasn't what I was looking for

Excellent!