Life — April 12, 1928 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Portrait of a Small Boy Reading" This is a twelve-panel comic strip by Gluyas Williams showing a young boy progressively getting more animated and physically engaged while reading a book in an armchair. He begins sitting calmly, then increasingly squirms, twists, contorts, and sprawls across the furniture as he becomes absorbed in his reading material. The satire gently mocks how children lose physical control and self-awareness when engrossed in exciting stories—they abandon proper posture and decorum. It's a humorous observation of childhood behavior that would have resonated with early 20th-century readers who valued composure and proper sitting positions. The cartoon celebrates the power of reading to captivate young minds, even as it pokes fun at the resulting loss of dignity.