A silly gem of a chapter book.
Pig Pigsticks and hamster Harold return for a third installment of their odd-couple story for newly independent readers.
This short chapter book is tall on laughs as it tells the story of Pigsticks and Harold’s determined efforts to pay off the greedy Sir Percival Snout before his claim to their beloved town is realized. He’s produced a deed saying he owns Tuptown, and he plans to destroy it all to make way for “a gold-plated mansion…IN THE SHAPE OF MY HEAD!” unless the pair can come up with a huge amount of money. Luckily, Pigsticks remembers that ancestor Pirate Pigbeard the Awesome left a map to a hidden treasure, and he and Harold follow the clues to find it. High jinks ensue, and a map and many labeled illustrations on several spreads ratchet up the absurd humor of the friends’ adventure. A twist at the end of the story leaves the pair triumphant with “Sir Pervical Snout squeal[ing] off into the distance, his curly tail between his legs.” The digital art is bright and energetic, and it’s at its best when adding humorous asides through comic-art conventions such as sound effects and dialogue bubbles (the seabirds’ song is particularly amusing).
A silly gem of a chapter book. (Adventure. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8157-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Waking from a dream of Pussycat Paradise, Bad Kitty learns her humans are going on a trip. Of course, they’ll bring her a surprise on their return. In the meantime, Uncle Murray will stay with Bad Kitty and Puppy. Puppy droolingly snuggles up to Uncle Murray, but in Bad Kitty’s overactive imagination Uncle Murray is a cat-eating ogre. She tries hiding from him, but he “finds her” every time (and she scares the bejesus out of him each time she spazzes). Bad Kitty finally escapes for a chase around the neighborhood. When it ends back at home, Uncle Murray’s had enough! Détente is achieved, and as usual Bad Kitty’s surprise on her people’s return is anything but a reward. Bruel’s third chapter-book–length Bad Kitty tale includes more pussycat hijinks and googly-eyed kitty freak-outs. Uncle Murray’s questions about cat fears are answered with actual facts, and a list of phobias follows in an appendix. A few lapses in the frenetic pace won’t keep fans from enjoying this and looking forward to the promised sequel. (Graphic hybrid fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-596-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Appealing any time of the year.
Brooklyn fourth-grader Hank Wolowitz faces his worst Halloween ever when his invisible friend, Inkling, discovers that pumpkins are his favorite kind of food.
It's hard enough to keep the bandapat in the laundry basket a secret from his parents, his sister, Nadia, his downstairs neighbor Chin and his classmates. Just keeping him fed takes all the pay from his job at the family ice-cream parlor, and he's had to invent a top-secret project to explain all the squash he's been buying. When Inkling goes bananas and chews up Nadia's artwork—four intricately carved pumpkins—Hank takes the blame for the violence. Worse, although his father had promised to use one of his ideas for their special Halloween ice-cream flavor this year, they are advertising his sister's stupid candy crunch. Finally, he has no one to go trick-or-treating with. Hank’s first-person narration is appropriately self-pitying. But while his unseen pet can cause trouble, the bandapat also helps. Gentle humor and a realistic urban setting add interest to this solid middle-grade read. Unlike Hank, readers can actually see the bandapat in Bliss’ gray-scale cartoons. (Final art not seen.) Events of the first book (Invisible Inkling, 2011) are summarized early on, and Jenkins introduces her characters and the situation so smoothly that readers can easily start here.
Appealing any time of the year. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: July 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-180223-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
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