The stupid jokes only make this comic book more brilliant.
Only very brave writers would create a character who’s smarter than they are.
A brilliant character requires brilliant ideas, and, remarkably, this graphic novel has one ingenious twist after another. A balloon shaped like a cactus uses the air from a bouncy castle to clear away fumes of dangerous gas, and she uses melted popsicles to stall an escaping villain, an inflatable avocado. Cactus and her friends must prevent the avocado from taking over their water park. The plot, of course, is mostly an excuse for goofy jokes, most of which are puns. Some are good. Some are bad. Many are both. A balloon shaped like a watermelon says, “You really are one in a melon!” The black-and-white drawings look like they were inspired by clip art from the ’90s, but, again, they’re just an excuse for more jokes, like a book of dastardly plans with the title Dastardly Plans. Beyond the humor, it’s impressive and, these days, sort of inspiring to find a story where victories are achieved by teamwork and intelligence. While the main characters are talking balloons, the human beings who do appear are diverse in appearance.
The stupid jokes only make this comic book more brilliant. (Graphic humor. 8-12)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-74899-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Superbly written and illustrated; keeps readers breathless and guessing until the end.
A 22nd-century picaresque with nefarious characters, chosen family, unavoidable camping, and lifesaving butterflies.
It’s 2101, and most mammals have died from sun exposure—a fate the few remaining humans suffer if they don’t live underground as Deepers. Some Deepers are friendly; others will take what they can get by any means necessary. Since Elvie’s parents departed for Michoacán, Mexico, 8 years earlier in search of more monarch butterflies, ran into danger, and have not returned, 10-year-old Black science whiz Elvie has been cared for by her guardian, Flora, a White scientist. Flora and Elvie hope to make a vaccine that enables humans to tolerate sunlight. They struggle to find food, and Flora’s awful cooking sometimes makes their foraged food inedible. Elvie’s journals, which contain her homework, science notes, and sketches, trace their journey—including tracking their latitude and longitude daily—as they follow the amazing migration path of the monarchs, whose young have the ingredient necessary for making both the sun sickness antidote and the vaccine. The eclecticism of Case’s lively visuals in this riveting graphic novel will keep readers both enthralled and learning. The book teaches some astronomy, botany, biology, entomology, animal science, knot tying, and more. Elvie’s special relationship with Flora, along with her quick wit, scientific knowledge, and careful observation skills, makes her a character worth following. Yet she’s all kid—and one who badly wants to be reunited with her parents.
Superbly written and illustrated; keeps readers breathless and guessing until the end. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4260-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Imaginative, feel-good fun.
More magical al fresco adventures abound!
In this full-color follow-up to Aster and the Accidental Magic (2020), Aster and her talking dog, Buzz, return in two new tales. In the first, “Why So Much Wool?” strange accidents repeatedly occur around Aster’s village, and upon investigation, she and Buzz discover a rogue band of muttonheaded sheep (known as the BAAAAAH-ligerent Army) led by a talking ram named Keras, who has proclaimed himself the Great Leader of the Sheep Revolution. Lucky for Aster, the dimwitted sheep are easily outsmarted, but not Keras, whom she must stop before he destroys her home. The second tale, “The End of Everything (and What Was Left),” focuses more on the natural magic from the previous volume. Each season has a royal who helps preserve the balance, passing along a crown to mark the transitions between their reigns. When the crown disappears, Aster ventures to the Labyrinth of Chimeras in an attempt to reforge it and restore the balance before the trickster Rapscallion can escape. This second outing pulls readers into a delightfully wrought world with a strong emphasis on nature and the outdoors and the real and imaginary magic contained therein. Joyous, effervescent illustrations mark this French import. For Aster aficionados, further journeys are hinted at in a subsequent volume in which Aster and her family travel to Japan. Aster and most human characters read as White.
Imaginative, feel-good fun. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12534-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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