Mr. Putter is a conscientious gift-giver, and for Christmas this year he wants to give his good friend and neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, something very special. He knows that Mrs. Teaberry adores weird gifts, like coconuts made to look like the heads of monkeys and walking, wind-up salt shakers. She also loves fruitcake, which worries Mr. Putter. So he decides to make her a light and airy Christmas cake, one that won't break her toe if it drops on it. Trouble is, Mr. Putter doesn't know the first thing about baking cakes. Determined Mr. Putter gets the advice of an expert, buys $100 worth of equipment, and stays up all Christmas Eve baking under the watchful eye of his cat companion, Tabby. After three failed attempts, Mr. Putter finally creates the most marvelous cake. He wraps it up and brings it over to Mrs. Teaberry and then promptly falls asleep. The friends share the cake 12 hours later when Mr. Putter wakes up. Rylant (Something Permanent, p. 706, etc.) doesn't need many words to pack a whole lot of personality into this fun early chapter book. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-15-200205-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1994
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
Thanks to parrot-toting Braidbeard and his gloriously disreputable crew, a lad discovers the ups and downs of a pirate’s life in this rousing mini-epic. His mom and dad busy on another part of the beach, young Jeremy happily joins a band of hook-handed, eye-patched, snaggle-toothed pirates aboard their ship, learning pirate table manners (none), enjoying a game of nautical soccer until a shark eats the ball, then happily retiring without having to brush teeth, or even don pajamas. But then Jeremy learns that pirates don’t get tucked in, or get bedtime stories, and as for good night kisses—Avast! Worse yet, no one offers comfort when a storm hits. So, giving over the pirate’s life, Jeremy shows the crew where to bury its treasure (his backyard), and bids them goodbye. Shannon outfits Braidbeard’s leering, pop-eyed lot in ragged but colorful pirate dress, and gives his young ruffian-in-training a belt and bandanna to match. This isn’t likely to turn pirate wannabees into landlubbers, but it will inspire a chorus of yo-ho-hos. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-201848-4
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
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