This Dahl-esque tale may not be quite scrumdiddlyumptious, but it’s a mostly entertaining one.
Jack and his grandfather, a former RAF pilot, are inseparable, even though Grandpa’s grasp on reality is slipping.
It’s 1983, and 12-year-old Jack adores his grandfather and the stories he tells of the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. Problem is, Grandpa lives in his stories now. Jack knows just how to talk to Grandpa: he’s Squadron Leader, and Grandpa is Wing Commander. When Grandpa is found stuck on a church steeple thinking he’s flying his plane, the vicar suggests Twilight Towers. Jack insists Grandpa never be put in a home, but after a disastrous class trip to the history museum that ends in police custody, Grandpa is carted off to Twilight Towers, which is run by the ominously named and more than a little peculiar-seeming Miss Swine. Can Jack and Grandpa effect an escape? And what is really going on with Miss Swine and her cadre of burly nurses? Walliams walks a fine line in his attempt to make dementia funny and doesn’t always succeed. Grandpa’s misunderstanding of the world around him gets repetitious. Though Jack and Grandpa have a realistic and touching relationship, Jack acts much younger than 12. The book’s use of various typefaces and fonts for emphasis and drama, plus ample illustrations from the always splendid Ross, will keep the pages in this plump volume turning, though.
This Dahl-esque tale may not be quite scrumdiddlyumptious, but it’s a mostly entertaining one. (Historical fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-256089-6
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Readers who get a gas from such relentlessly fart-sical humor will come away with aching cheeks.
Lunchroom burritos fuel superpowers in a series blastoff aimed at alimentary readers.
When the disappearance of his homemade pickles-and-sauerkraut sandwich forces him to buy lunch (“Horrified gasps erupted around the table”), Darren Stonkadopolis proceeds shortly afterward to issue a “burrito blooper from below the belt” so fiery that his seat melts. The widely feared Five-Bean Burritos cause different but equally powerful effects in three fellow students at Harry Buttz Elementary School. Who is stealing lunches, and why? Can Darren and the others learn to control their vicious vapors and get to the bottom of the mystery? It doesn’t take long to sniff out the culprit—Harry Buttz II, noxious grandscion of Buttzville’s founders—and (literally) poot paid to his scheme to steal a magical butt scratcher that will spread his itchy family curse to the whole town. Illustrations are frequent but were not seen in finished form.
Readers who get a gas from such relentlessly fart-sical humor will come away with aching cheeks. (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: April 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236631-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Cody is sure to make friends with many readers, who will cross their fingers and hope for further adventures.
Well-meaning Cody is excited about the first day of her summer vacation.
First Cody communes with her beloved ants, and then she wakes her 14-year-old brother, Wyatt, with her special rendition of “You are My Sunshine.” But Wyatt’s no fun—if he can’t sleep, he would rather think about science or his crush on popular Payton Underwood. Meeting visiting Spencer and his grandmother’s deaf cat, MewMew, brightens Cody’s mood. Spencer is younger than Cody and glum that his parents are away, but he is drawn to sunny Cody and her promise to hypnotize the cat. Cody wants to help everyone, but things go awry. Her mother’s trial promotion to Head of Shoes is threatened when her boss finds Cody’s thoughtless note; Cody gets in the middle of her brother’s romantic life; and MewMew goes missing, all because of Cody. It’s hard not to cheer for Cody, with her sunny disposition and penchant for optimistic similes. Frequent black-and-white illustrations show a short-haired Cody and her bespectacled, curly-haired, brown-skinned friend enjoying the joys and sadness that summer friendships bring. Secondary characters are fully fleshed, allowing for a deep, satisfying reading experience for children ready for longer books.
Cody is sure to make friends with many readers, who will cross their fingers and hope for further adventures. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5857-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
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