Provided they’re able to follow it, readers will have a difficult time putting it down.
Dolls, socks, and dryer lint all come alive in Leijten’s disorienting graphic novel.
When a few buttons, a bit of wool, some yarn, and a ball of lint come together in the back of a cozy dryer, Lint Boy and his brother, Lint Bear, are born. The pair lives happily among several lonely socks missing their mates until a large pair of wrinkly hands reaches into the dryer and snatches Lint Bear away along with a pile of clothes. The hands belong to a mean old woman named Mrs. PinchnSqueeze, who was formerly a cruel, young white girl named Tortura. Decades ago, Tortura delighted in stealing and ruining the dolls of other children, until one doll managed to escape the girl’s clutches, igniting her suspicions that the dolls she has snatched are actually alive. Now, as an old woman still infuriated by the one doll that escaped, she means to carry out a destructive vendetta against them all. With some heartfelt motivational speeches, Lint Boy stages a daring revolt with the other captured dolls to rescue his brother and rid everyone of Mrs. PinchnSqueeze for good. Although this enthrallingly dark adventure is enlivened by narration just this side of the fourth wall, disorganization of both story events and page layout undermines the narrative intrigue and momentum. And unfortunately, the lack of experience of those readers at which this book is aimed—those easing into chapter books or just starting with graphic novels—makes them most susceptible to being disoriented by this complex tale.
Provided they’re able to follow it, readers will have a difficult time putting it down. (Fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-52860-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Santa Claus hates you and wants you to die. 364 days a year, he’s a tyrant who forces children to fight to the death in an...
It’s surprising that a book with zombies and talking celery isn’t quite goofy enough to work.
Santa Claus hates you and wants you to die. 364 days a year, he’s a tyrant who forces children to fight to the death in an enormous coliseum. Once a year, on Christmas Eve, he travels across the dimensions to Earth, where his entire personality transforms, and he becomes a jolly gift giver with a bag stuffed with candy canes. Pilot and Huxley have the bad luck to meet him on December 23rd. To get home on his world-hopping sleigh, they’ll need to defeat Bruto the giant elf and Rudolph, who’s armed with a rocket launcher. Luckily, Huxley has a bowl of noodles. All of this is very silly. It’s the Simpsons’ fault it doesn’t work. Kids who’ve grown up on Captain Underpants and Shrek and Family Guy will recognize the formula: Sarcastic comment, self-referential joke, ridiculous occurrence that our heroes take perfectly in stride. In spite of the familiar pacing, some of the jokes are right on target. PILOT: “But isn’t Limbo supposed to be like an empty, blank place where lost souls roam forever?” TALKING STRAWBERRY: “…It seemed like a waste of good real estate, so we all moved in.”Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-545-26845-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Different plot, different format, same cast: Running in parallel to published chapter-book episodes such as Magic Pickle and the Planet of the Grapes (2007), this scenario-setter introduces the bulked-up cuke superhero. Blasting out of a lab hidden beneath the floor of feisty everylass Jo Jo Wigman, he propels himself into battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Produce—in particular the quick and canny Romaine Gladiator. “Weapon Kosher” (his codename) comes through of course, dispensing “Dill Justice” to all villains while JoJo takes on class princess Lu Lu Deederly on the side. Portraying the nonstop action with an effervescent blend of discrete panels and insets, Morse depicts his flying pickled protagonist with muscular arms and a “tasteful yet mysteriously revealing” star above a pair of ferociously squinting eyes. Evidently to make up the page count, the author tacks on a short yet silly encounter between Pickle and a lottery-winning bazillionaire who’s been transformed into a coconut, then closes with basic advice for aspiring cartoonists. Diverting and dill-ectable. (Graphic novel. 8-10)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-87995-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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