The Wimpy Kid’s got nothing on the King of the Mole People—he’s got more laughs and more mud.
Being “a normal, average kid” is next to impossible when you’re a total weird magnet.
Doug Underbelly is on a quest to rise from the bottom of the school social order, which requires the appearance of normality. He and his father live in a creepy old house surrounded by graves (some open), so Doug pretends he lives in the quaint house next door. Crushes on girls are normal, so he fakes one. Everyone has a best friend; that must be Simon, who once gave him a stick of gum. But Doug has a supercolossal weird secret: He’s King of the Mole People. That’s why he’s always covered with mud and, often, grubs. Their former king Zoooooooooooooooog (lots of O’s means high rank in Mole country) had been deposed for not enforcing Mole laws. The Royal Guard and the people like Doug, but Croogoolooth the Royal Advisor seems to be up to something. When a crisis inside the Earth threatens the surface, is there any hope Doug can achieve his goals? In his middle-grade debut, Gilligan, creator of the comic strip “Pooch Cafe,” communicates the myth of “normal” with goofy (and often slimy) good humor. His many cartoons and goggle-eyed illustrations make for added laughs. Characters appear white (or various shades of green).
The Wimpy Kid’s got nothing on the King of the Mole People—he’s got more laughs and more mud. (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-17134-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun.
In a race against their enemies, the Porch girls must find a peculiar pearl in order to foil a fiendish plot.
After defeating a monstrous Kyrgalops in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (2024), Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch find themselves (after a series of madcap events) at Lake Kagloopy’s Purple Pearl Hotel with their mentor, Millicent Quibb. Quibb informs the trio that they must find the titular pearl before the members of their evil mad-scientist rivals, the KRA, do. If they fail, the KRA (whose members include the malevolent mayor, Majestina DeWeen, and her slimy sycophantic lawyer, Ashley Cookie) plans to use the gem to bestow the Gift of Endless Vibrancy on the villainous Talon Sharktūth. Hilarity ensues as the Porches attend the annual Shrimp Ball, encounter Umbrella Turkeys, search for Cloudite (floating cloud rocks), and don invisible but smelly woolen coats. Jokes aside, the girls’ story is intriguing, offering more clues to their mysterious backgrounds and tantalizing tidbits promising later adventures. McKinnon offers bountiful backstory (alongside a running joke to encourage readers to pick up the preceding volume) and enough guffaw-inducing jokes, zany footnotes, and creative jargon to enthrall readers both new and old with her delightful sophomore effort. Mixing humor, found family, and well-wrought worldbuilding, this sequel is a certain crowd pleaser. Final art not seen; in the previous book, the grayscale illustrations showed the girls with varying skin tones.
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun. (appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780316555296
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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