Children who appreciate being a little smarter than the characters they read about will relish it.
In Chapter 1, their old frenemy Meatball introduces the anthropomorphic ziti to honey, but the noodleheads understand it as “trouble.” Seeing an opportunity for mischief, Meatball then gives them a bag of “trouble.” The paper bag contains bees, but luckily, their mother intercepts it. By sheer coincidence, she has just built herself beehives, and what starts as a problem ends up being a boon. In Chapter 2, Meatball sells the brothers a watermelon that can hatch cats. Of course it doesn’t, but of course they end up with a kitten anyway thanks to the generosity of Farmer Spud. Chapter 3 shows them trying to think of a strong name for the kitten, starting out with Sky and Cloudy, then moving to sillier names such as Hippopotamus, Blippopotamus, and Nincompoop. (The cat’s expressions as they try these names out are hilarious.) When Mom says that the kitten is lucky to have the brothers as caregivers, they fasten on the right name and shout: “We got Lucky!” Arnold’s paneled cartoons extend the silliness. Fun-loving kids will laugh out loud as Mac and Mac make mistakes but end up OK. Adults will enjoy the excellent story source notes.
Children who appreciate being a little smarter than the characters they read about will relish it. (Graphic early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4002-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular!
A “scaredy-spud” puts on his brave face.
All “mutant potatoes” love mud. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore—and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and—brilliantly—potato stamps. Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken.
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular! (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6764-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Dog lovers and young Dr. Moreaus alike will guffaw.
Split pages allow mixing and matching sections of 10 purebred canines.
Forget cockapoos and labradoodles—flipping the three segments here back and forth makes for some truly unlikely hybrids: “I’m a Bulldog— / Yorkshire Terrier— / Great Dane mix”; “I’m a Komondor— / Greyhound— / Poodle mix”; “I’m a Dachshund— / Shar-Pei— / Dalmatian mix.” Ball (Flip-O-Storic, 2011) cranks up the drollery with a set of big, handsome pooches drawn and colored to set off their distinctive characteristics, posed naturalistically against plain yellow backgrounds, and looking up or out with doggy devotion. She also adds the occasional tail-pulling puppy, silly hat, or other comical side business. In addition to the identifying captions, Garczynski contributes a table of descriptive information about each breed at the beginning. This includes to-scale silhouettes that are helpful since all of the interior dogs are rendered the same size so that the transitions more or less match up. (Although the Yorkie’s stubby forelegs still make a peculiar mismatch with the lanky hind limbs of the Great Dane.) Also, each sturdy strip features a “personal” observation, such as the Dalmatian’s “I’m known for my distinctive spots. If I open my mouth, you’ll even see spots in there.” Aside from the note of condescension in the Shar-Pei’s claim that its tongue “was once thought to ward off evil spirits,” these last are at least innocuous and sometimes informative.
Dog lovers and young Dr. Moreaus alike will guffaw. (Novelty picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7892-1310-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abbeville Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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