A quick pull on a reliable, if not exactly minty-fresh, formula.
Walliams drills into a primal fear with this tale of a new dentist with a decidedly evil agenda.
In a blatant grab at Roald Dahl fans, the author pulls out a cast of cheeky children, thoroughly rotten villains, and clueless but well-meaning grown-ups for a Brit-flavored romp that combines moments of intense terror and bracing courage with biting satire—oh, and gruesome bits. Ross offers a plethora of loosely sketched ink-and-wash vignettes generally indistinguishable from Quentin Blake’s. All over town, children have been putting lost teeth beneath their pillows and, instead of money, getting cat poo, oozing scabs, and like rewards. Worse yet, following shocked comments about the state of 12-year-old Alfie’s “teet,” canny Winnie, a flamboyant new West Indian social worker, tricks the lad into visiting the newly arrived (with her cat, Fang) dentist, Miss Root. Alfie regains consciousness with nary a tooth in his mouth—it seems that Miss Root is the Tooth Witch herself. She’s not to be stopped, either, without help from new, dreadlocked friend (not girlfriend) Gabz, a vat of acid with revolting ingredients (carefully listed), and lots of dynamite. Walliams spritzes the narrative with made-up but not particularly inventive words and large-type screaming. Winnie, dark-skinned Gabz (short for Gabriella), and newsagent Raj are the only notable nonwhite characters; Winnie’s accent is an unfortunate running joke.
A quick pull on a reliable, if not exactly minty-fresh, formula. (pictorial cast list) (Horror. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-241704-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
A worst day to remember among the pantheon of Wimpy Kids and Dorks.
A supremely unlucky kid’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first day at a new school.
Only a bold or foolish narrator would start a book by calling out the upcoming story beats like Babe Ruth predicting a home run. But Justin Chase does just that, warning readers of the mortification to come. Now that his mom has married Vlad, his new stepdad, both of whom work the night shift, he’ll be living with his dad during the week and spending weekends with his mom—and that means attending a new school. His ill-fitting clothing, the embarrassing car his plumber father drives (“a giant TOILET on wheels”), and the fact that he shares his name with a famous singer set him up for bullying from the get-go. Neighbor and classmate Mia is a rare social lifeline throughout Justin’s trials, which include two scatological incidents so gross that the book cuts away to images of cute animals. Cosgrove’s humorous, cartoonish illustrations appear on nearly every page. The text frequently employs large, bold, and capitalized words, suggesting an emphatic reading whether out loud or in one’s head. These visual elements help exaggerate the many outlandish incidents that occur. Readers won’t be able to look away while wondering how much worse this day can get. Justin and most of the cast have skin the white of the page.
A worst day to remember among the pantheon of Wimpy Kids and Dorks. (trivia, how to draw Justin, authors' note) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781338857542
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adds up to a promising, challenging start.
Endowed with awesome powers thanks to an Arithmetic Meteor, three young friends work to defend the “math-centric city of Computropolis” from evil in this series kickoff.
First villains up: Null Void (and her “vile cohorts”), who snatch the newly invented Divmulti Ray—which allows users to multiply or divide anything—for their nefarious purposes. The Solvers—Leo, Shahi, and Moe—multiply their powers, calculate their way out of numerous pickles, and, bottom line, send their nemesis packing after cleverly foiling her schemes. Along the way, there are frequent pauses so that their sidekick Duncan (they also have a feline assistant, Rosy, who minds the Math Mansion when they’re out) can explain topics such as factors, skip-counting, and long division. Action takes a distant backseat to instruction here, but Chad depicts both clearly and puts Leo, Shahi, and Moe at the head of a cast notably diverse of species as well as race. Along with demonstrating that there are usually multiple ways of arriving at correct answers, he also repeatedly challenges the invidious notion that multiplication and division aren’t useful in daily real life. Leo, Duncan, and Null Void are light-skinned, Shahi is dark-skinned, and Moe is tan-skinned; Moe uses they/them pronouns.
Adds up to a promising, challenging start. (glossary, step-by-step explanation of long division) (Graphic superhero nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781523512065
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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