Since it’s Book Week here at S&D, the Donut of the Week is aptly book-related. There are actually multiple books about donuts, but I choose to highlight this 1970s children’s book, Who needs Donuts? by Mark Alan Stamaty, a cult classic among children and artsy adults. (More pictures etc after the jump.)

Though Who Needs Donuts? has a heartwarming and unique plot (seriously, read the description below), it’s the artwork that turned this book into a classic. Like the books it is often compared to — Where’s Waldo, I Spy — each page is filled with drawings so detailed that the book can be looked at over and over with new intrigue each time.

“Sam’s love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: ‘Who needs donuts when you’ve got love?’ Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drowning in a basement flooded with coffee” (amazon.com product description).

This interview with the author reveals what a “cult” following the book really has. While the book was out of print for twenty some years, Mark was constantly contacted by people requesting a copy of his book — telling stories of how the book had sparked a love, would win back a girlfriend, had been stolen, lost, or wrecked. He was paid hundreds and hundreds for signed first editions when that was all their was available.

Now, the book is back in print and only $11 rather than hundreds, so you and I can have one, too!

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