Silly, messy, fast-paced fun.
DJ Funkyfoot—a butler, not a DJ, despite his parents’ wishes—has a chaotic day babysitting.
DJ Funkyfoot is not a hip-hop star, though it’s “a common mistake.” He is, however, currently unemployed and can’t afford to be too picky about what jobs he takes. The anthropomorphic dog (identified as a Chihuahua in prior volumes of the related Inspector Flytrap series) accepts a job as a nanny to “ShrubBaby, the Adorable Baby Shrub,” whose previous 43 nannies have all quit. The problem, as DJ Funkyfoot explains to ShrubBaby, is that it’s a nanny’s job to say no, but a butler’s job to say yes. If a butler’s charge requests, say, to drive a pickle-relish truck into the pond, the butler must agree. Saying yes to ShrubBaby leads DJ Funkyfoot into constant catastrophes. First he’s covered in pickle relish, then in pickle relish and soda, then in pickle relish, soda, and cake frosting, and finally in pickle relish, soda, cake frosting, and slime. Everything they encounter is exciting, extreme, and ultimate. (DJ Funkyfoot and ShrubBaby appear on both Ultimate Disaster Masters Showdown: Extreme and Extreme Cake Bakers Showdown: Ultimate.) Fox’s two-toned cartoon illustrations of huge-eyed plant and animal characters are supplemented by a few pages of nearly wordless comics panels in this first collaboration between author and illustrator. Repetition and cumulative buildups add to the comedy while giving transitioning readers helpful scaffolding.
Silly, messy, fast-paced fun. (Adventure. 6-9)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4728-1
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely
Two friends embark upon a high-seas adventure.
Kondo, a large lemon-colored creature with wide round eyes, spends his day on his island home with his best friend, tangerine-hued Kezumi. Together, they frolic on their idyllic isle picking berries (tall Kondo nabs the higher fruit while Kezumi helps to retrieve the lower) while surrounded by tiny “flitter-birds” and round “fluffle-bunnies.” One day, Kezumi finds a map in a bottle that declares “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” Inspired by visions of a larger world, Kondo and Kezumi fashion a boat from a bathtub and set sail. The pair visits fantastical islands—deliciously cheese-laden Dairy Isle, the fiery and fearsome Fireskull Island—until they eventually settle upon the titular Giant Island, where they meet Albert, a gigantic gray talking mountain who is—obviously—unable to leave. Enthralled by his new friends, Albert wants them to stay forever. After Albert makes a fraught decision, Kondo and Kezumi find themselves at a crossroads and must confront their new friend. Goodner and Tsurumi’s brightly illustrated chapter book should find favor with fans of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen’s similarly designed Mercy Watson series. Short, wry, descriptive sentences make for an equally enjoyable experience whether read aloud or independently. Episodic chapters move the action along jauntily; the conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but it promises more exploration and adventures for the best friends. (This review was originally published in the June 1, 2019, issue. The book data has been updated to reflect changes in publisher and date of publication.)
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02577-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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