Joyful, charming, and fantastically funny.
Is there a monster in Central Park?
Cordelia (who describes herself as “squirlish”—“a little bit girl and a little bit squirrel”) was abandoned in the park as a baby and raised by a squirrel; she lives in a treehouse and knows Chittering, the language of squirrels. One day, Fenton the rat (well versed in Chittering himself) tells Cordelia and her human friend Isaac that the Central Park Zoo sea lions have been spooked by a monster lurking around their pool. Groundskeeper Viola informs them that the beast is in fact a coyote that she and her colleagues have been trying to catch so they can bring him to a wildlife rehab center. Using their special skills, the trio track down the lonely, frightened coyote, who’s been separated from his pack. The ensuing adventure is filled with twists and turns and a quirky cast of human and animal characters. Moments of suspense and danger are leavened by humor. This third series entry finds Cordelia more secure in herself, and her friendship with Isaac has deepened. The Central Park setting is key to the narrative—where else but New York could a squirlish youngster encounter a wild coyote, take part in a dog parade, and earn the admiration of the Yankees’ star pitcher? Detailed cartoon art captures the action and depicts a diverse cast of humans. (Cordelia is light-skinned, Isaac is brown-skinned, and Viola presents Black.)
Joyful, charming, and fantastically funny. (Fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781665926812
Page Count: 112
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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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
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