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
A thoughtful, humorous, community-centered exploration of identity and Buddhism.
Stories of Buddha’s past lives help a young boy “find [himself] in the moment.”
Binh and his siblings, who are of Vietnamese descent, can’t believe they’re spending the weekend at a silent meditation retreat. Binh would rather play his Game Boy so he doesn’t have to meditate and inevitably think about the bullies at school. It is only when Sister Peace tells stories about the Buddha and his past life that Binh is able to imagine himself entering a video game–inspired world and thus process his feelings of shame, isolation, and anger. With each Jataka tale, Binh’s awareness expands, and so, too, does his ability to be present for and helpful to those around him. A welcome addition to the handful of middle-grade stories featuring Buddhist protagonists, this exploration of identity and Buddhist principles will find an audience with young readers who love Raina Telgemeier but aren’t quite ready to level up to the complexity and nuance of Gene Luen Yang’s epic American Born Chinese (2006). The video game elements are compelling, although they understandably diminish as the story progresses and the protagonist’s inner life grows. Warm fall colors and luscious black lines anchor the story as it transitions among flashbacks, stories, and the present day. Filled with talking animals, the parables can be a little heavy-handed, but the witty banter between Binh and the narrator during fantasy sequences provides levity. (This review was updated for accuracy.)
A thoughtful, humorous, community-centered exploration of identity and Buddhism. (bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780759555488
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample...
A home-schooled squireling sallies forth to public school, where the woods turn out to be treacherous and dragons lie in wait.
Imogene Vega has grown up among “faire-mily”; her brown-skinned dad is the resident evil knight at a seasonal Renaissance faire, her lighter-skinned mom is in charge of a gift shop, and other adult friends play various costumed roles. As a freshly minted “squire,” she happily charges into new weekend duties helping at jousts, practicing Elizabethan invective (“Thou lumpish reeling-ripe jolt-head!” “Thou loggerheaded rump-fed giglet!”), and keeping younger visitors entertained. But she loses her way when cast among crowds of strangers in sixth grade. Along with getting off on the wrong foot academically, she not only becomes a target of mockery after clumsy efforts to join a clique go humiliatingly awry, but alienates potential friends (and, later, loving parents and adoring little brother too). Amid stabs of regret she wonders whether she’s more dragon than knight. In her neatly drawn sequential panels, Newbery honoree Jamieson (Roller Girl, 2015) portrays a diverse cast of expressive, naturally posed figures occupying two equally immersive worlds. In the end Imogene wins the day in both, proving the mettle of her brave, decent heart in finding ways to make better choices and chivalric amends for her misdeeds.
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample the wares and fun. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-525-42998-2
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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