1993 and 2003

Some have said these books, The Happy Hocky Family and The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country, were parodies of Dick and Jane. They were actually homages to Munro Leaf’s Can Be Fun… books.

Fun fact: The colors of the first Hocky Family book were all done by hand in separate plates. I made one for blue, one for yellow, one for red, and one for black. I wanted the pictures to look like pre-separated art from the 1950s. Ten years later when I made the sequel, all of the printing plants had updated to digital so I had to do the illustrations in Photoshop and mimic the look of the first. You might think this would have been easier but it actually took a lot longer.

—Lane

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 1993

★ STARRED

Step aside Dick and Jane or the very hilarious Happy Hocky family might just run you over.

Publishers Weekly

★ STARRED

An excellent choice for early readers. Short sentences, repetition, and generally simple vocabulary make it accessible to lower grade children, who will love the jokes. 

School Library Journal

What Mr. Smith has done here is quite deft and winning. He has used this earlier genre as a basis for an affectionate spoof, and he has also provided a fresh and sympathetic way for children to deal with such subjects as disappointment, accidents, mistakes and deceptions—and even happiness.

The New York Times

Here’s a funny New Yorker column. A slice-of-life from a quarter century ago.