by Deb Lucke ; illustrated by Deb Lucke ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2015
Truly, far too often school lunch ladies get a bad rap. In this case, it’s justified, and stout-stomached readers who have...
A troubled student leads an evil lunch lady astray…at least temporarily.
Though Grunhilda has recipes, inherited from her witch ancestors, for Hansel-and-Gretel pie and like delicacies, at Salem Elementary she limits herself to putting floor sweepings in the meatloaf and (at least according to student rumor) substituting legless spiders for blueberries. Moved to uncharacteristic pity by the pleas of Madison, a new student who’s gotten off on such a wrong foot that she’s being demoted a grade, Grunhilda concocts what she thinks is an Intelligence potion. Instead, it turns Madison into a toad. Now what? Lucke’s cartoon panels are drawn on coarse brown paper that has been evocatively decorated with pencil shavings, ketchup, spatters of grease and less identifiable substances. They alternate between views of the matronly witch, struggling to make a go of it in a world that has lost its respect for her kind, and Madison, struggling to survive in a wetland (while developing a taste for bugs) until rescue in the form of an anti-potion can arrive. The humor is unapologetically black, and Grunhilda’s concoctions are equally unashamedly disgusting.
Truly, far too often school lunch ladies get a bad rap. In this case, it’s justified, and stout-stomached readers who have always suspected the truth should enjoy seeing how. (Graphic novel. 9-11)Pub Date: March 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62991-162-5
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
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by Joshua Wright & illustrated by Joshua Wright ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004
Monty Python meets Captain Underpants in a prose/cartoon hybrid from Down Under featuring Sir Glame, a puffed-up, borderline psychopath in armor, and his sarcastic equine sidekick Bill. The plot, insofar as there is one, involves a hunt for the author of Saucy McRascal’s Book of Fun!, a collection of smarmy verse (quoted at length) deemed entirely unsuitable for young readers. In a mix of cartoon panels and paragraphs liberally strewn with line drawings, the questing duo encounter a host of adversaries along the way, from motherly rival Hero Mrs. Honeychurch and her feathered sidekick Sir Quacksalot, to a space-alien cooking-show host, a literally downsized giant, and an Evil Giant Killer Robot From Hell. By the end, the pernicious poet is unmasked, but the bickering between Sir Glame and Bill escalates into an all-out battle that leaves the town of Sausagopolis in ruins. Wright blithely brings dead characters back to life, frequently veers off into irrelevant side episodes, and ratchets up the sarcasm along with the violence: so what’s not to like/offend—particularly for young readers who consider the Captain’s outings so third grade? (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-86508-785-8
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
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by Lewis Trondheim & illustrated by Fabrice Parme ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2007
Taking child spoilage to a whole new level, six-year-old King Ethelbert performs some world-class acting out in these 12 graphic-format misadventures. With no parents around to say him nay, Ethelbert takes great delight in watching all of the grownups scrambling to deliver whatever he demands, from an elephant-sized sundae to having all of the children in the kingdom replaced with robot replicas of him. Not only, though, do his notions rarely turn out quite as planned, but those grownups are smart enough to outmaneuver him at need—and even deliver a few counter-pranks of their own. Though the small pictures and truly tiny typeface will challenge all but the most acute eyes, the retro ’60s-style art perfectly conveys the slapstick action and sly tone of this import. Calvin and Hobbes fans will be particularly delighted. (Graphic fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59643-094-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: First Second/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
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