A food fight for the ages, epic in both action and laughs.
The cafeteria foods must defend the school against the conquering office supplies and their bad ruler in this series opener.
At night, all of the food and objects of Belching Walrus Elementary come to life. With the premise stated, the main trio are introduced in profiles: upbeat Slice (pizza), artistic Scoop (ice cream cone), and shy spoken-word poet/rapper Totz (a tater tot). When Baron von Lineal, both a ruler and the ruler of the office supplies, demands nightly freezer access (on account of broken air conditioning in the office), what results is an invasion and hostile takeover. The heroic protagonists set out across the school in search of allies but find most of the school denizens either apathetic or openly hostile. Even a diplomatic summit fails to unite the downtrodden against the totalitarian ruler, leaving the cafeteria crew standing alone in a full-tilt battle that takes several chapters, twists, and some quick thinking to resolve. Throughout the story, characters make time for running jokes such as a discussion about whether a hot dog is a sandwich (which manages to pay off in the main storyline). The punny humor is absolutely delicious, pitched perfectly to the target audience. Black-and-white cartoon doodle illustrations decorate chapter heads and margins, as well as showing the characters in action. The simple yet effective facial expressions, expressive motion, and stick limbs enhance the zany humor and action.
A food fight for the ages, epic in both action and laughs. (Graphic fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-73035-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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