Being bad is work. Delightful.
An anthropomorphic bunny and chipmunk set out to be bad.
Bunny and Clyde are tired of being good, tired of “saying please and thank you,” tired of “keeping burps to themselves.” They ask the librarian, a robin named Rowena, to show them the “bad section”; she points them to the tornadoes and hurricanes books—not quite what they were looking for. But then they discover the picture books Interrupting Chicken and Bad Kitty—now here’s bad! Inspired, they mess up Bunny’s tidy room, putting her books in “un-alphabetical order” and coloring on the walls. Undaunted—even after Bunny’s Maw-Maw makes them clean up—they hole up in their shed hideout, thinking up more ways to be bad. But when they pull up the flowers in Darby the squirrel’s yard, she thanks them for getting rid of her pesky dandelions. And after, under cover of darkness, they wrap toilet paper all around Thornton the possum’s prize roses, he tells them how grateful he is that they’ve saved his flowers from the unexpected frost. And when they scheme to take the pennies out of Rowena’s piggy bank…well, readers will just have to find out for themselves how that goes down. The clever plot is anchored by Bunny and Clyde’s Hollywood gangster-speak, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, and groan-worthy puns, all of which will charm young readers. The illustrations are well placed for visual interest. Final art not seen.
Being bad is work. Delightful. (Chapter book. 5-9)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781536228731
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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