PUNK SKUNKS

BSFs, best skunks forever! Maybe….

Kit, a pink-and-white–haired girl skunk, and Buzz, a boy skunk with green, spiky hair, spend every day together. Kit on her skateboard and Buzz on his bike, they zoom through urban streets and play in the park. “And best of all…they rocked out. / Kit drummed. / CRASH! / BAM! / BOOM! / BOOM! /Buzz strummed. / WAHH! / WAHH! / REN! / REN!” One day they disagree on what to write a song about. The next day they don’t get together. Both become so sad they decide to sell their instruments. When they meet outside Mole’s new and used music store, they find BSFs can rock on even through disagreements. This debut by a husband and wife team is a passable tale of music and friendship full of onomatopoeic phrases. The bright, digital cartoon illustrations are exuberant and inviting and help to (but don’t quite) lift this above the pack of similar fare. Some visual jokes (Kit’s “ABCD” T-shirt and band posters for “Shrewsie Shrew” and the likes) may make parents giggle, but the target audience probably won’t notice. Strangely, Buzz sprays paint out his backside rather than stench, which may raise a few eyebrows, and although Kit’s pretty fierce, does she really need to be color-coded pink?

Not a stinker, but no hit record either.