Campbell Kids: A Souper Century

The opening page spread showing selected Campbell kids from each decade, starting with their creation in 1904 to their present (and possible future) incarnations, neatly illustrates this book's premise, which is to chronicle changes in America through apple-cheeked cartoon children. Chen begins with the story of the soup company itself, then focuses on the metamorphoses of the kids, first drawn by Grace Gebbie Drayton, whose ""full figure, round face, pug nose, and wide-set eyes bore a remarkable resemblance to the children she adoringly created."" As the book's many photos attest, the popularity of the characters propelled them into magazines, onto postcards and led to their formation as dolls. The American history that Chen imparts is predictably stereotyped, rooted as it is in advertisements: the kids are subdued in Depression years, patriotic in the '40s (""Food Fights for Freedom"") and prosperous and family-oriented in the '50s However, apart from half-hearted attempts to give the kids a modern feel (paisley pants, girls on skateboards, more diverse ethnicities, etc.) after the mid-century mark, they haven't changed much, though Chen offers glimpses of how Campbell's is looking to update the kids' appearance with anime and 3-D art. Even if the kids do take on personae ranging from ""the artsy bohemian and the techno-geek to the fashionista, skater... and high school jock,"" Drayton's cheerful cherubs will likely remain part of America's pictorial lexicon and a favorite with collectors, the likely readership for this illustrated retrospective.