Here in a picture book for adults, we have rhyming lessons about the mature life and what we're supposed to do with it, juxtaposed with all-ages-friendly imagery. The first piece shows a woman stuck in the rut at work, and the text implores she spend more time thinking of herself, doing things for her, and ignoring each and every demand of every side of her job, for her own sake. Next is the dilemma of the brain that is only active in the depths of the night – when we need it from minute one of the follow day, it's closing down to sleep. We're told the heart does similar, too.

Autobiography is seemingly in the fourth piece, as an artist wavers over the merits or otherwise of their latest effort. Someone else is also doing their own head in trying to find the perfect phrase to close out an email, and we hear the words of a clown on his seemingly thankless task.

All throughout the art is of a decent illustrative quality – again, nothing that would go amiss in a graphic for a newspaper or for a family comic strip. The text is often clunking about the meter of the couplet, somewhat pushily getting its rhymes onto the page, but it's not too bad. It's just the whole thing is a little ineffective – the 'sod it' shown by the woman in the first piece isn't really helping anyone else, and there are no real lessons to be had anywhere for any reader or character. Wordlessly things might tie up somewhat at the end, but then you get the blurb saying it's for those needing a laugh. What a vain hunt here. I can see this as being imminently forgettable, and the bang average three stars I'd give it won't exactly change that either.

I overall enjoyed reading this book. Each section was clever and tried to put a playful spin on a different task. Some of them reminded me almost of Dr. Seuss and appeared to be drawn in a similar style. As this book came to a close I was happy to have some nice laughs. Some readers will have a great time reading this graphic novel.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of Once Upon a Workday!

"Humorous and heartwarming tales of resilience, self-care, and mental health from the popular webcomic War and Peas."

I loved this! Some poems resonated with me and I had to revisit multiple times. A short book to remind us to prioritize self-care and our mental health.

Well, I guess I expected a lot on this one because of the authors' first book. It's a meh for me. I think the root of my disappointment with this book is because of my high expectation so take that with a grain of salt.

Once upon a workday is a book about adult working life. It is hilarious, relatable and funny. Though it is not something new, there are still enjoyable and made me smile while reading it :)
I would expect more from the book, but it was not a bad read.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

An adorable and all too relatable graphic novel.

Once Upon a Workday by Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz is a graphic novel that tells tales of resilience, self care, and the importance of mental health. Told in rhyming verse and delightful comic illustrations, these stories cover everything from heartache and personal growth to creative burnout and searching for the elusive perfect email signature. While the groundbreaking Webcomic duo War and Peas is famous for their dark style of humor, they decided to try something more poetic and purposeful to inspire their millions of readers during challenging times. So they created the short story “A Job is a Job“ and published it online. It got so much attention and praise that the authors decided to make an entire collection of inspirational illustrated stories for adults.

I just need this book to stop being so relateable.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Once Upon a Workday by Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz is a collection of short, illustrated, Seuss-like poems about jobs and the difficulties of being an adult in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek manner. Not much to say about this short read other than I was expecting it to be funnier.

This was a very cute quick read. I loved the illustrations and the rhyme of the poems. They were very relatable and I loved seeing myself in something often associated with childlike feelings.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for a free and honest review.

This Comic was really good and I loved the art. The comic comprises of 6 poems accompanied by beautiful illustrations. I really enjoyed the poems "A job is a job" and "Sincerely yours". A job is a job - is about burnout and the need for self-care and Sincerely yours - tackles the agony of signing out from an email (We've all been there 😂).

Otherwise, a short and sweet comic, I would recommend to everyone.

Once Upon a Workday looks like a funny take on the struggle of life as a working adult. The first poem was indeed cute, charming, and funny while also being reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's writing. The rest of the book was much less appealing. It didn't have the same tone or energy as the beginning. Overall, I didn't find it particularly uplifting or inspiring.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for a review copy of Once Upon a Workday.

I think that he is one of the wonderful readers of such books, as they contain many wisdoms and meanings with great depth. The book attracted me very much, as I enjoyed reading it.

I related to the majority of the themes in this short book - workaholic, depressed, overthinker. I really enjoyed the poems for these sections, and I thought the email signoff was particularly funny. I wish this had been longer.

Dr. Seuss never wrote about office culture because during his time, the modern office was still a work-in-progress. If he did, though, I suspect that he would have written in this style. It's not fair to call this one a comic book, since it's more like a picture book for adults.
These poems are optimistic about how to survive the modern world. We get some adorably whimsical illustrations, and some verses that really punched me in the heart.
I am totally buying a copy for myself on April 2. These poems are just what a modern person needs to seize the day.

Taylor Swift said, "Shake it off" to everyone who hates us. But, have you tried to "laugh it off" to our working-class lives?

Living as a working class is difficult. Sometimes it means "blood, sweat, and tears." We just want to go through it and get our money. But the world doesn't work that way. There are times when we need to be more gentle with ourselves and we can't do that. Deadlines are chasing us and the boss is ready with his loud voice, asking where our progress is.

However, even though we are trying to put in more hard work, we can't perform better if our minds never blink for a moment. We need something to release our stress so we can come back 100% fully charged. That is when you need a good laugh. And we can start by laughing our lives off.

Once Upon a Workday presents us with colorful (but not too childish) illustrations along with some satirical text formed as poems. There are 6 titles in the book that capture working-class lives. They are not presenting it as it is. They use analogies like mouse and clown.

I found the book quite entertaining with its rhyme. I feel my face getting looser because of smiling and thinking how genius the authors are. It is a quick and fun read. You don't need to think too much because it has no underlying or subliminal message. The critics and satire are there, lying in front of you.

Once Upon a Workday can be read in one sitting. It is only 60s pages, full of colorful illustrations, full of satire poems. If you feel stuck with your daily deadlines, please consider your (mental) health and go read this book.

(Thank you NetGalley and Amdrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!)

Beautiful artwork, hilarious and totally relatable to working life, this collection of poetry is an illustrated book of bedtime tales for adults. In the style of the original webcomic, it’s a perfectly enjoyable read (and a good chuckle at the state of your career without being utterly defeatist).

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book was fine. That's the best way I can describe it. There's nothing objectively bad about it. Illustrations were fine, the rhyming was good and the story was... meh. It didn't offer anything new in terms of insight, storytelling or something of that kind. I think if the book had something to say that was meaningful and not heard a million times through other contexts, I would rank it much higher.
As it stands, you don't loose anyhting from flipping through it. But you also don't necessarily gain something..

I very much enjoyed this fast paced, humorous, and touching comic, Once Upon a Workday. It seemlessly wove together an air of lighthearted playfullness, often synonymous with a children's book, with the grueling reality of a working class adult.

Once Upon a Workday follows a number of tales detailing the different strains on the heart and mind when trying to balance the truth of adolescence. It brought me both comfort within the detailed experiences of anxiety and burnout, and joy through the kind reminders needed as an adult, which most times, just feels like being a kid in a bigger body.

Overall, I had a wonderful time spent with this book!

I agree with the blurb, in that this book is pretty whimsical. The poems are easy-reads and I could relate to some of the sentiments about the nature of work and adulthood. However, the poems quickly became repetitive, not helped by the use of the same rhyming pattern throughout. I also found some of the rhymes a little forced. I enjoyed the art style, but again, it did feel a bit child-like. The clash between the format and the subject matter feels "off". Honestly, it doesn't feel like there is enough substances to justify making it a book. If it had been a children's book with poems specifically for young children, I would say great; the vibe, the style, rhyming pattern, text layout, colour scheme, and book length would be spot-on. But it's intended for adults and in this case, in my opinion, comes off as gimmicky. The back cover suggests the RRP will be $18.99 (USD) and if that's the case, I think it's wildly overpriced for what is being delivered. It might make a quirky coffee-table gift for a friend who could do with a surface-level motivation boost about their work life.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for review purposes.

Funny explains how I feel having to get up and go to a job I hate everyday. Great illustrations and would definitely recommend.

This is a collection of short stories that revolve around work related things, like how you should take care of yourself so you don't get burnt out at work. It covers a lot of different real world things, along with some well drawn art it really sheds some light on some topics alot of us don't really talk about. This book is good for Adults and Teens, even if you don't have a job as a teen some of these stories could help a teen not be so stressed out with school and other things that can be stressful at the time of your life.