A rousing and wholesome sequel.
The fearless apprentices are back with more adventures as they try and prove themselves as heroes.
Moxie Battleborne has become stronger, wielding her weapon like a proper Level 2 hero; Pan Silversnow, particular as ever, has increased her abilities—but Fart is still working on beginners’ skills. It’s been one month since they’ve been on their own after their masters were killed by goblins, and Fart yearns to be further along, mastering the most difficult spells. Now that the three have more experience under their belts, the Great and Powerful Kevin sends our favorite phibling assistant, TickTock, to retrieve the heroic trio for his next perilous quest. Kevin needs the barf of a bedazzler, a rare and potentially deadly creature. The trio sets off to the city of Wetwater in search of Diremaw the Dread, a menacing pirate captain who supposedly knows the whereabouts of a bedazzler. Along the way, they are kidnapped by muck elves, made to defeat the muck man SquishRabble, and robbed by a mischievous crew. Through it all, the friends stick together, overcoming assumptions about themselves and one another. Simple, humorous text and compelling action sequences from start to finish make this a fun, accessible read. Black-and-white illustrations convey helpful information in an amusing and succinct manner, often extending the meaning of the text. Pan is cued as Asian; Moxie appears White; Fart reads as Black.
A rousing and wholesome sequel. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20638-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
File under “laugh riot.”
A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.
Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.
File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063315280
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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