Further reading for fans of Timmy Failure and Big Nate.
Sam Lyttle has a little problem with the truth: even when he’s telling it, it isn’t totally true.
Nine-year-old Sam has a reputation for being a bit of a stranger to the truth. When things go wrong around the Lyttle house, the family knows whom to ask…and they also know they won’t get a straight answer. When Sam rescues a frightened pussycat from the school bully, Sam gets his mother to allow it to stay by saying the cat (eventually named Pudding) will keep him honest (as if). Strange things do transpire: a treasured dog figurine breaks; a dirty ping pong ball finds its way into the peanut butter; a sack of potatoes from Grandpa’s garden goes missing. Grandpa helps Sam deal with the school bully in exchange for a promise from Sam that he tell the truth about the occurrences around the Lyttle house. While the story Sam tells is plausible…it’s not the actual truth. This British import launches a new series focusing on young prevaricator Sam, heavily illustrated in the now-familiar graphic/prose style. The truth behind Sam’s complex lies is as much fun as the philosophical calisthenics he does to justify his falsehoods. Berger’s black-and-white comics and illustrations advance the silly plot nicely; they depict Sam, his family, and his best friend as white, though some of his classmates seem to be children of color.
Further reading for fans of Timmy Failure and Big Nate. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-11)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7083-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs.
Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls’ 30th-floor classroom haven’t changed a bit.
The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn’t either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened “Ultimate Test” allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind them—even to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue (“Arithmetic makes my brain numb,” complains Dameon. “That’s why they’re called ‘numb-ers,’ ” explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school’s contents “like a deck of cards,” and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush’s improvised “Rainbow Stew.” Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-296538-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Fluffy, fast, fun reading for fans of Clueless McGee and the Wimpy Kid.
Miles used to live near the sea. Miles had friends. Miles was his school's greatest prankster...how will he survive a move to Yawnee Valley?
Yawnee Valley is famous for one thing: cows. All new students at Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy receive a booklet of 1,346 interesting cow facts from fussbudget fifth-generation principal Barry Barkin. On the first day of school, when Principal Barkin's car is found mysteriously parked on the school's steps, Barkin suspects Miles and assigns Niles Sparks to be Miles' buddy. Miles can't think of anything more awful than spending every moment of every day with smiling, officious, king-of-the-obvious Niles. On top of that, Barkin's son, Josh, has decided Miles is a good bullying target. To make life interesting, Miles plans a perfect prank in his pranking notebook, but it’s foiled. That's followed by an invitation to join forces in pranking from an unexpected source...no way! Let the prank war commence! Barnett and John launch their cow-resplendent illustrated series with the humorous origin story of the pranking duo who lend the series its name. Characters may be stock; however, the pranks are anything but, and it's peppered with cow facts. Cornell’s goofy cartoon illustrations (especially the blasé cows) add giggles aplenty.
Fluffy, fast, fun reading for fans of Clueless McGee and the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1491-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
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