Young or reluctant readers seeking something very brief and a bit dark might enjoy one enough to try a second.
“Graves” and her Nightmare Club have some stories to spook young readers.
Glen is a nasty young man. He has a high screechy voice, and he only opens his mouth for two reasons: to complain or to lie. One day Glen becomes lost during a class trip to the woods. He complains loudly, and a strange, tiny creature offers to help, but Glen rudely spurns assistance. The creature tells Glen to watch himself or it will turn him into something more useful. Glen ignores the warning, and his nasty behavior triggers a change. Worried, he dials back his nastiness. But when he thinks no one’s looking, he starts to kick a stray dog…and is never seen again. Published in the U.K. in 2011 and 2012, the Nightmare Club books are very short, highly illustrated tales ostensibly written by “Annie Graves,” a (fictional) 12-year-old who lives near Dublin. The actual author of each tale (in this case, Katherine Farmar) is acknowledged in the “Thank You” in the frontmatter of each volume. McElhinney’s black-and-white illustrations appear on every page. Publishing simultaneously are Help! My Brother’s a Zombie, Mirrored, Guinea Pig Killer and Frankenkids.
Young or reluctant readers seeking something very brief and a bit dark might enjoy one enough to try a second. (Horror. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-4350-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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