Who Invented Droodles?

Roger Price with son. Photo courtesy of Phil Peachey-Price Roger Price, a comedy writer, created Droodles. His books, "Droodles", "Classic Droodles" were first published in the 1950's and were reprinted every few years. (They are currently out of print.). Together with his good friend, Leonard Stern, they also created Mad Libs, a mixed-up story-telling game.

Droodles were so popular that they became the subject of a 50's TV gameshow. Roger Price and Leonard Stern founded the Price Stern Sloan Inc., a publisher of educational books. Roger Price passed away in 1990.

Shortly after, Price Stern Sloan was acquired by Penguin Putnam. In 2000, L.L. Sloan and Leonard Stern launched another publishing company, Tallfellow Press, and acquired the rights to Droodles.

Droodles have become part of a baby-boomer's psyche. Presented with a few of the classic droodles in this website, an adult born in the 50's and 60's will say they seem to recall these puzzles when they were younger. Roger Price's name is probably not well known, but the images of drawings like "Boat Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch" proves that his work resides in the deep recesses of our minds.

In addition to their entertainment value, Droodles are also used in cognitive research and, my favourite use, for building creativity. I've used them a lot in my lectures. I firmly believe that all children (and most grown-ups, too!) are born creative. I encourage parents and educators to use Droodles as a tool to build young creative minds.

-L.