By turns goodhearted and goofy—and always entertaining.
Rocket into new adventures with a kindly extraterrestrial and a streetwise pigeon.
Pluto Rocket, a magenta antennaed creature who only recently landed on Earth but who’s happily taken to the planet with guidance from self-assured Joe Pidge, has a great idea. Today, the two will venture to a different neighborhood as Pluto attempts to fulfill a secret mission: proving that Earthlings are nice. The usually cocksure Joe Pidge is uncertain, but he gamely faces his fears of the unknown. Having apparently gotten all his information from nursery rhymes, Joe’s convinced that the local candy shop is in fact owned by an evil witch and that a nearby bridge conceals a nasty troll. But the pair swiftly realize that these community members are generous and helpful. As they continue exploring, Joe’s self-serving perspective conflicts with Pluto’s more altruistic point of view. When Joe finally performs a good deed at Pluto’s urging, he discovers how rewarding helping can be—especially when it comes with plenty of adulation. But amid all the attention, Pluto’s mission is compromised. Lovable friends, lots of action and humor, a quirky but generally low-stakes plot, easy-to-read layouts, and bright, blocky graphics are a formula for a winning read. The interplay between the naïvely optimistic Pluto and the more cynical Joe is a delight.
By turns goodhearted and goofy—and always entertaining. (Graphic fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781774885413
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts.
Beachcombers and shell seekers, gather ’round and meet Shelby and Watts, Planetary Investigators.
When Fred the hermit crab can’t find a new, larger shell to move into, he seeks out the “brilliant brains” of Shelby and Watts. Shelby, a fox, is the detective in the duo, and Watts, a badger, loves facts, adding simple fun ones—about hermit crabs, tides, tide-pool dwellers, how shells are used, etc.—throughout the story. Watts also loves to catalog clues in his notebook. In fact, the first mystery that Shelby solves is that of Watts’ lost notebook. Young readers can watch Shelby investigate, solve, and explain her deductive process, all while learning to carefully examine all the details in each graphic panel. Once the missing shells are found, it’s “time for the hermit crab shuffle,” in which the members of a colony of hermit crabs all line up and trade up to larger homes. Final pages include “Earth-Saving Tips from Shelby & Watts,” such as taking pictures of shells instead of collecting them, eating seafood from sustainable sources, and cleaning up the beach. The seven chapters are of varying length, but with several one-panel pages and many pages with low word count, the book is shorter than it appears, which should be a confidence boost for young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts. (Graphic early reader/mystery. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20531-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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