It’s a little labored, but poop jokes never get old, right? (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-9)
Early Bird’s underachieving little brother finally gets a taste of worm in this daft series opener.
Too proud to accept any worm he hasn’t caught or at least earned himself but unable, despite repeated efforts, to beat his annoyingly zippy sibling out of the nest in the morning, Tweety Pie–look-alike Speed Bump (related only in name to the author’s syndicated cartoon) at last nerves himself to take a scary pre-dawn stroll—and comes upon a veritable convention of angry Nightcrawlers setting a trap for Early. Coverly sets up and presents the outing in a mix of prose and pen-and-ink sketches, with the pictures tending to shoulder out the text. Both, however, are liberally festooned with gags, sight gags, potty humor, and puns: “They hatched plans, but got eggsasperated because they knew none of them would work, and this was no yolking matter.” Speed Bump is assisted by avian sidekick Slingshot, who is first met gleefully shooting an unwary squirrel in the “derrière” with a berry. He also enlists unlikely new buds Soda Pop the mouse and Hoover the owl to help spring the trap (prematurely). Unfortunately, his squirmy reward leaves him scurrying off in search of vegetarian fare (“CHEESABLE MERCY! WORMS ARE DISGUSTING!”) and further misadventures.
It’s a little labored, but poop jokes never get old, right? (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8886-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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