Combining graphic wit and wordplay, Niemann delivers a joyful package.
The cartoonist and picture-book illustrator offers a chunky book of some 330 or so words, one per page, each illustrated by a cartoon.
Niemann introduces his effort by explaining that he hopes to make “the discovery of words as fun and inspiring” as that of images, which, he argues, are learned “through happenstance or playful discovery.” Many, though not all, of the double-page spreads ponder relationships. A child gazes hopefully at a cupcake on a shelf to illustrate “could” on verso, while on recto, a pair of adult hands offers the cupcake on a plate, illustrating “would.” Other relationships are more opaque or even evidently nonexistent. On the very next spread, a freaked-out face illustrates “what,” while opposite, a satisfied diner sits back smiling over a plate that contains only crumbs—evidently “good” ones. The author plays with homographs, as in one delightful spread in which a “long” dachshund dreams “long”ingly of a (very “long”) sausage. Some pictures require a beat or two to understand, as in the one of a smiling saucepan about to be covered by a similarly smiling lid—clearly made “for” it. Some words are far beyond elementary but are beautifully clear in illustration, as when a dismayed child regards a “scintilla” of ice cream (represented by an atom falling into a cone), while opposite, a figure marvels at the “Brobdingnagian” ice cream cone that dwarfs skyscrapers.
Combining graphic wit and wordplay, Niemann delivers a joyful package. (index, parts of speech) (Picture book. 5 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-245550-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.
Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.
Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories.
Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast.
Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude’s patter: “He’d forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn’t all yelling up in his face.” Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy’s gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning—so readers will also meet Makaria, “goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,” and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: “He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime—like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.”
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories. (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8364-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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