by E.S. Redmond ; illustrated by E.S. Redmond ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018
If the story feels episodic and unresolved, the jokes work, and most of the time, they work twice as well as necessary.
Some humor writers have a rule of thumb: always make the jokes funnier than they need to be. This book is much funnier than it needs to be.
When Bug Blonsky goes skateboarding, he doesn’t just let a dog ride on the board with him. There’s also a very alarmed-looking frog at the front of the board, sitting in a bowl of cereal to keep damp. “Bug” got his nickname because he’s “super wiggly and never sit[s] still” or—according to his sister—because he’s “super annoying.” He’s proud of his superpower and pictures himself in a superhero outfit with bug-eye goggles and four arms. A lot of authors and illustrators would have left off there (the drawing is quite funny), but Redmond tops the joke by listing all Bug’s abilities (“Two sets of armpits for twice as many fart sounds”). The book is almost entirely a collection of jokes. The plot can be summed up in seven words: Bug gets in trouble, over and over. The pictures often improve the jokes; they’re unpolished but effective. They almost resemble characters from graffiti art, like a much more detailed version of “Kilroy was here.” The cast is a largely white one, though Bug’s best friend, Louie, is black.
If the story feels episodic and unresolved, the jokes work, and most of the time, they work twice as well as necessary. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8935-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by E.S. Redmond ; illustrated by E.S. Redmond
More by E.S. Redmond
BOOK REVIEW
by E.S. Redmond ; illustrated by E.S. Redmond
BOOK REVIEW
by E.S. Redmond & illustrated by E.S. Redmond
BOOK REVIEW
by E.S. Redmond & illustrated by E.S. Redmond
by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Dr. Seuss ; introduction by Charles D. Cohen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014
Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent.
Published in magazines, never seen since / Now resurrected for pleasure intense / Versified episodes numbering four / Featuring Marco, and Horton and more!
All of the entries in this follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011) involve a certain amount of sharp dealing. Horton carries a Kwuggerbug through crocodile-infested waters and up a steep mountain because “a deal is a deal”—and then is cheated out of his promised share of delicious Beezlenuts. Officer Pat heads off escalating, imagined disasters on Mulberry Street by clubbing a pesky gnat. Marco (originally met on that same Mulberry Street) concocts a baroque excuse for being late to school. In the closer, a smooth-talking Grinch (not the green sort) sells a gullible Hoobub a piece of string. In a lively introduction, uber-fan Charles D. Cohen (The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss, 2002) provides publishing histories, places characters and settings in Seussian context, and offers insights into, for instance, the origin of “Grinch.” Along with predictably engaging wordplay—“He climbed. He grew dizzy. His ankles grew numb. / But he climbed and he climbed and he clum and he clum”—each tale features bright, crisply reproduced renditions of its original illustrations. Except for “The Hoobub and the Grinch,” which has been jammed into a single spread, the verses and pictures are laid out in spacious, visually appealing ways.
Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-38298-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dr. Seuss
BOOK REVIEW
illustrated by Dr. Seuss
BOOK REVIEW
by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Andrew Joyner
BOOK REVIEW
by Chris Van Dusen ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education.
A young visionary describes his ideal school: “Perfectly planned and impeccably clean. / On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!”
In keeping with the self-indulgently fanciful lines of If I Built a Car (2005) and If I Built a House (2012), young Jack outlines in Seussian rhyme a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies (including one in a wheeled cart) greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches range from “PB & jelly to squid, lightly seared,” and the library’s books are all animated popups rather than the “everyday regular” sorts. There are no guards to be seen in the spacious hallways—hardly any adults at all, come to that—and the sparse coed student body features light- and dark-skinned figures in roughly equal numbers, a few with Asian features, and one in a wheelchair. Aside from the lack of restrooms, it seems an idyllic environment—at least for dog-loving children who prefer sports and play over quieter pursuits.
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55291-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kate DiCamillo
BOOK REVIEW
by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
BOOK REVIEW
by Chris Van Dusen ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
BOOK REVIEW
by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.