A wide-ranging survey of insect homes delivered with humor and heart.
Burt checks out all the places other insects can live, but none seems quite right for a June bug.
Can a ten-lined June beetle with sticky arms and a fondness for hugs find a comfy home? Alas, as our hero discovers in this follow-up to Burt the Beetle Doesn’t Bite! (2021), not in the tunnels of yellow meadow ants or in the nests of cathedral termites, not in human houses like stink bugs or in a spittlebug’s shelter (“I made this with my bum! Want a tour?”), nor with bees or wasps or tent caterpillars. Spires sandwiches this informative look at where and in what insects live between cartoonish galleries of real estate–style listings trumpeting a beehive’s “quality craftsmanship,” the “charming layout” of a wasp nest, the “open floor plan” of a flea’s furry backside domicile, and so on, then closes with pages of additional facts about select insect builders. She doesn’t leave her six-legged house hunter unprotected from predators and the elements either, as a simple leaf turns out to be not only excellent shelter for one…but big enough to fit an entire coterie of chance met new friends of diverse species: “GROUP HUG!” “Bring it in, everybody!” Whether a massive network of tunnels or a single leaf, that’s one good way to make a house a home.
A wide-ranging survey of insect homes delivered with humor and heart. (Graphic nonfiction. 6-9)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781525310119
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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