TRACTION MAN AND THE BEACH ODYSSEY

The intrepid, square-jawed action figure Traction Man is back, but is he ready for the likes of Beach-Time Brenda™?

The endpapers alone are worth the price of admission to the third comic-book–style picture book in Grey’s award-winning Traction Man series, thanks to the commercial glory of Beach-Time Brenda™. She is “fully accessorized with lots and lots of stuff,” including "teeny tottery microshoes," a "pinkly patterned towel" and "unrealistic Vital Statistics." Traction Man collides with Beach-Time Brenda™ when he and Scrubbing Brush head off for a beach holiday, or more grandly, “odyssey.” Granny comes, too, with her new pet dog Truffles. Once at the beach, it soon becomes Traction Man’s charge to defend the picnic—especially the quiche—against Truffles. Truffles buries him, literally. The ever-loyal Scrubbing Brush digs him up, but watch out! Both hero and sidekick end up adrift in the ocean, then seaweed-compromised in a Beach-Time Brenda™ Bucket that belongs to another kid. Every vivacious spread teems with delicious details in a world where both the tide-pool creatures and the quiche have eyes. The spare, dryly funny text on bits of torn graph paper is perfectly choreographed with the colorful, boldly designed spreads.

A wonderfully satirical, action-packed romp that echoes the grand tradition of comic books as it ingeniously communicates the complete absorption of imaginative play.