Fun, not-too-scary school-themed spooks.
Weird is the norm in this school.
Gray-haired custodian Gertie guides readers through the cafetorium of Newville Elementary (home of the Flying Pickles!). A cafetorium can be anything you need it to be—a cafeteria, an auditorium, a gym, or maybe even an interdimensional portal. No matter what, though, odd, downright eerie stuff happens there—and also sometimes things that are just superannoying. Even the staff are weird; one never stops talking, and the other never says anything (some people believe they’re a robot). Six tales by different authors comprise this animated collection, each featuring a different protagonist but connected through recurring characters. The stories include a doppelgänger made of Jell-O, an earworm that continually plays in everyone’s heads, a sinister balloon in search of hot air, a basketball that won’t bounce, a book full of excuses (that come with a price), and a spotlight that focuses on the one person who most wants to avoid it. While the characters may be rolling their eyes or quaking in nervous fear, readers are more likely to have fits of giggles. A few loose ends are not resolved but add to the general atmosphere. Jung’s fun and kooky full-color illustrations add to the Saturday-morning–cartoon feel of the collection and include visual jokes for readers to enjoy. The illustrations depict characters with a range of skin tones.
Fun, not-too-scary school-themed spooks. (cast of characters, recipe) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5248-6880-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
“Freakity freaking freakiness!” (to quote Carlos) on a high and gleeful level.
Seasoned fourth-grade monster hunters Carlos and Benny find heaping helpings of horror in the lunchroom.
Cued by a spectacular transformation on the lenticular cover, the sudden replacement of Monterrosa Elementary’s formerly motherly lunch ladies with thinly disguised giant praying mantises is just the beginning of disturbing changes. It seems that while the boys are now getting all the fattening fast food they can handle, the formerly well-adjusted girls, even monster-hunting ally Tina, are being fed a revolting glop made from bugs that has them mouthing off, becoming physically aggressive, and eyeing boys—hungrily. Further spurred by the disappearances of several younger (male) students, the sleuths enlist the help of gung-ho comics-store owner (and wheelchair-using Samoan ex-wrestler) Mrs. Tamasese in a desperate ploy to expose the culinary cabal. Along with trotting in a cast of exemplary diversity (in a departure, Latino Carlos narrates, while white boy Benny acts as best pal), Hale spins the scenario in such wild and hilarious directions that even the climactic release of whole garbage bags full of roaches in the crowded lunchroom isn’t the grossest thing that happens. By the end, though, all is set more or less right amid discussions of gender expectations and claims of mass hallucinations.
“Freakity freaking freakiness!” (to quote Carlos) on a high and gleeful level. (Horror. 8-10)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1324-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
An entertaining story with sly humor and an old-fashioned vibe.
Wealthy, odious collectors of marine life pursue the last creature needed to complete their collection—a “genuine rainbow-scaled, green-skinned, fluorescent mermaid.”
This latest translated chapter book from Funke (Ruffleclaw, 2015, etc.) opens with a pair of Roald Dahl–type villains, Mr. and Mrs. Snorkel. Owners of many businesses, they devote their wealth to obtaining all sorts of sea creatures for their not-quite-so-well–tended collection. They’ve invested enough in their hobby to have their own “lightning-fast submarine” and to hire multiple underwater detectives to try to find them an elusive mermaid. Finally, the most famous of these underwater detectives succeeds, locating a secret underwater mermaid city. Meanwhile, at the city, adventurous young merpups like titular Lilly and Fin ignore warnings about the Two-Legs to explore and play beyond its borders, making them vulnerable to the Snorkels’ minion. Sure enough, they manage to nab Fin. Lilly escapes through a dark crevice only to find the other cautionary tale she didn’t really believe in—the kraken. The kraken is friendly, lonely, and playful—though his manners aren’t exactly on point—and moreover is willing to help his new friend rescue Fin. The green-skinned merpups find the white villains pretty disgusting (the kraken deems dark-skinned Two-Legs somewhat less repulsive). The illustrations provide scale—and scales—enhancing the straightforward story.
An entertaining story with sly humor and an old-fashioned vibe. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: May 16, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-0101-7
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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