It’s sketch-comedy nonsense, but preteens will be onboard immediately and asking for the next volume at the close of this...
Catwad’s a blue-gray cat. His best friend Blurmp’s a sunny, orange-colored cat. Both have dispositions to match their pelts.
Benton’s collection of comic strips, some only a page of panels but others stretching to seven pages, offers humor in the odd-couple vein. Direct descendants of Ren and Stimpy, cantankerous Catwad and airheaded Blurmp trade quips back and forth, spouting nonsense, often with a child-pleasing disgusting edge. Each ministory has a title. In “Love,” Blurmp announces an all-encompassing love for “everything.” Catwad demands, “Well, what about hatred?” After a lengthy think, Blurmp affirms that “everything” includes hatred, trumping Catwad’s incredulity with, “I love you. And hatred is your favorite thing.” “Stop wrecking hate for me!” Catwad screams. In “The Cold,” when Catwad tells an ailing Blurmp that the virus is inside him, Blurmp makes the (il)logical leap to pregnancy and names the supposed fetal virus Sniffleen, later framing her “baby pictures.” “Are those all old Kleenexes?” Catwad asks. And so on. Farts, rat sweat, giant mosquitoes—it’s all in there. The full-color comics show the two wildly expressive cats on plain or patterned backgrounds, Catwad with a perpetual frown and Blurmp with a vapid grin.
It’s sketch-comedy nonsense, but preteens will be onboard immediately and asking for the next volume at the close of this short collection. (Graphic fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32602-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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