Bad Kitty fans will certainly embrace Puppy’s first outing since Poor Puppy (2007).
Puppy and Uncle Murray escape a rampaging Bad Kitty for a day’s adventure on the town.
Bad Kitty’s acting crazier than usual. Puppy never minds, but Uncle Murray rescues him anyway, and the two go for a walk. Uh-oh! Uncle Murray forgot Puppy’s leash, so he gets a ticket from a police officer. Puppy has to do his business and…Uncle Murray has no bags to clean up—another ticket. Puppy’s collar and tags are at home…another ticket. Poor Uncle Murray! Maybe a trip to the dog park will help. Puppy meets a new friend—in the way puppies do—and when he and Uncle Murray get separated, Puppy ends up in the pound. Will Uncle Murray rescue him? What about Puppy’s new friends? And what of Bad Kitty’s conniption? Bruel lets Bad Kitty’s drooling, happy canine sibling have a tale of his own. As in previous chapter-book–length outings in the series, the story is heavily illustrated and dotted with two-page informational spreads. This time, Bad Kitty takes over Uncle Murray’s lecturing duties to speak on differences in potty habits between cats and dogs and the reasons dogs sniff bottoms. Perhaps it’s not the best of the series, but it offers plenty of good, goofy fun that’s ever-so-slightly instructional.
Bad Kitty fans will certainly embrace Puppy’s first outing since Poor Puppy (2007). (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59643-976-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Neal Porter/First Second
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to...
A group of talking farm animals catches wind of the farm owner’s intention to burn the barn (with them in it) for insurance money and hatches a plan to flee.
Bond begins briskly—within the first 10 pages, barn cat Burdock has overheard Dewey Baxter’s nefarious plan, and by Page 17, all of the farm animals have been introduced and Burdock is sharing the terrifying news. Grady, Dewey’s (ever-so-slightly) more principled brother, refuses to go along, but instead of standing his ground, he simply disappears. This leaves the animals to fend for themselves. They do so by relying on their individual strengths and one another. Their talents and personalities match their species, bringing an element of realism to balance the fantasy elements. However, nothing can truly compensate for the bland horror of the premise. Not the growing sense of family among the animals, the serendipitous intervention of an unknown inhabitant of the barn, nor the convenient discovery of an alternate home. Meanwhile, Bond’s black-and-white drawings, justly compared to those of Garth Williams, amplify the sense of dissonance. Charming vignettes and single- and double-page illustrations create a pastoral world into which the threat of large-scale violence comes as a shock.
Ironically, by choosing such a dramatic catalyst, the author weakens the adventure’s impact overall and leaves readers to ponder the awkward coincidences that propel the plot. (Animal fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-33217-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
Epic lunacy.
Will extragalactic rats eat the moon?
Can a cybernetic toenail clipper find a worthy purpose in the vast universe? Will the first feline astronaut ever get a slice of pizza? Read on. Reworked from the Live Cartoon series of homespun video shorts released on Instagram in 2020 but retaining that “we’re making this up as we go” quality, the episodic tale begins with the electrifying discovery that our moon is being nibbled away. Off blast one strong, silent, furry hero—“Meow”—and a stowaway robot to our nearest celestial neighbor to hook up with the imperious Queen of the Moon and head toward the dark side, past challenges from pirates on the Sea of Tranquility and a sphinx with a riddle (“It weighs a ton, but floats on air. / It’s bald but has a lot of hair.” The answer? “Meow”). They endure multiple close but frustratingly glancing encounters with pizza and finally deliver the malign, multiheaded Rat King and its toothy armies to a suitable fate. Cue the massive pizza party! Aside from one pirate captain and a general back on Earth, the human and humanoid cast in Harris’ loosely drawn cartoon panels, from the appropriately moon-faced queen on, is light skinned. Merch, music, and the original episodes are available on an associated website.
Epic lunacy. (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308408-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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