Readers and listeners with a taste for the quietly surreal may find this an (almost) perfect option; the rest will find...
Bruno, an anthropomorphic cat whose yellow eyeballs and hipster vibe may remind readers of Pete the Cat, recounts experiences with friends new and old in this French import.
Small, gray Bruno walks upright and wears a blue-checked cap on his oversized head. Valckx divides the first-person narrative into six chapters of varying lengths. Each describes a day in Bruno’s life, whether odd, damp, sans electricity, dumb, boring, or pretty great. On the first, “peculiar” day, Bruno and his friend “Ringo, the old pony,” meet a fish flying through the air then visit her underwater world. The day without power is candlelit and cozy, recounted in just two pages. The rainy day includes a narrow escape from a hungry wolf, and the almost perfect one offers opportunities to play with friends, enjoy ice cream, and (almost) do a good deed. The deadpan tone contrasts humorously with the unlikely events and the quirky all-animal cast. Sophisticated vocabulary and an episodic plot, as well as the relatively lengthy format, suggest that this will be most accessible to older listeners. Hubesch’s cartoon-style illustrations, with a palette dominated by blues and creams and slightly wobbly linework that recalls William Steig, feature vaguely European-looking cityscapes and a wide variety of species.
Readers and listeners with a taste for the quietly surreal may find this an (almost) perfect option; the rest will find other ways to fill their days, and that’s OK. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-7765-7124-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young space pirate Sardine checks in for a dozen more mini-adventures, in most of which she, her sidekick Little Louie and hulking captain Yellow Shoulder get the better of evil Supermuscleman and his rubbery orange minion Doc Krok. Along with occasional side trips to play soccer with a giant Dunderhead’s detachable navel or to rescue Yellow Shoulder, the heroic pirates sabotage Supermuscleman’s child brainwashing machine, treat him to an explosive set of Christmas presents and engage in a high speed chase along the Milky Way that ends suddenly when the Milk turns. In one episode that edges perilously close to over-the-top, a pair of his stuttering star thieves briefly captures them. All related in cartoon panels, printed on coated paper to brighten the colors and featuring easily legible lettering in big dialogue balloons, these episodes might seem a touch repetitious to adults, especially those familiar with volume one (May 2006), but they will keep the younger audiences to whom they’re actually addressed chortling. (Graphic novel. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-59643-127-X
Page Count: 128
Publisher: First Second/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
Younger readers who prefer their tales of knightly valor straight up should eschew this droll, double-stranded import. Expressing doubts that King Alfred really burnt those cakes, or that Canute got wet feet, Wilson proceeds in paired cartoon panels to deliver a rhymed official rendition and a slangy factual account of how young Dave the peasant drove a fearsome beast out of Princess Peach’s bedchamber—thus, naturally, earning her hand in marriage. Dave’s quick-thinking mother expedites the process, determining that the “horrid creature” squeaks and is fond of cheese, but persuading the suspicious King Arfwitt and Queen Girdlestein that it’s a dragon nonetheless, then letting nature take its course with the young folk. Wilson outfits every character with eyeglasses, “arms” Dave with a wooden sword and a bucket for a helmet (“you look a right wally,” his mom observes), and encloses verses, dialogue and the frequent asides in balloons. Children trained to expect action on every page may find the episode a bit wordy and slow-going, but there’s certainly food for thought here, as well as an amiable, silly story. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-84507-496-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2006
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