A surefire crowd pleaser.
In this sophomore romp, the silly investi-gators take to the sewers to once again save their city.
Mango and Brash, the utility vest–sporting A- (for alligator) Team of the Special Undercover Investigation Team, are on the case to locate a rogue robot that received an accidentally transmitted code giving it the ability to combine two things (which is great in the case of the wheels and shoes that make rollerskates but suboptimal in the case of broccoli candy). Also seeking this bot is their foe Crackerdile, an ex–S.U.I.T. agent who’s been turned into a crumbly cracker. Crackerdile hopes to use the bot to combine himself with something less brittle. When the city floods, Brash and Mango are blamed and demoted, and S.U.I.T. assigns B-Team badgers Bongo and Marsha to the case. Green’s second entry in his ongoing graphic series is as fun and fast-paced as predecessor InvestiGators (2020), with its recognizable candy-colored art and high-octane punning. Young readers who like their humor dialed up to the max should feel right at home here with breezy bathroom humor, chuckle-causing wordplay (puns and goofy acronyms abound), and snort-inducing names including Bill Plungerman the plumber and a reporter called Cici Boringstories. Even for those unfamiliar with this series, this installment makes for a fine jumping-in point, and it should certainly whet appetites for the next proposed volume. Human characters display a variety of skin tones.
A surefire crowd pleaser. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21998-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
A winner.
When a young girl’s imagination and creativity are co-opted by a mysterious new friend, she must find a way to regain what is rightfully hers.
Sandy is a brown-skinned, dark-haired girl with big black eyes and a vivid imagination. At night, as she goes to sleep, she catches the lights bobbing about in her room and turns them into anything she imagines. The next day is spent drawing the fantastical creatures from her dreams, much to the detriment of her schoolwork. When a tall, pale-skinned girl with purple hair befriends her, Sandy is excited, though there is something eerie and unsettling about her new companion. Her excitement soon turns to anger as Morfie enters her imaginative nighttime world and tries to take it over. Readers will cheer at the clever way in which Sandy regains control. Using a lovely palette that includes a liberal amount of rich, dark purple, Colombian-born Alvarez has drawn a world that harks back to her native Bogotá and days in Catholic school, evoking it in wonderful detail and atmosphere. Her pages are not crowded yet are filled with details that will engage readers. The beings that inhabit Sandy’s nighttime world are simply delightful. The album size, cloth spine binding, and spot gloss on the cover are the icing on the cake of this beautiful graphic novel.
A winner. (Graphic fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-910620-13-7
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Nobrow Ltd.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A little ruff around the edges.
A new series features puppies with magical unicorn horns.
The Cutiecorns are thrilled when they learn that they’re about to have their Enchanted Jubilee, which means they’re ready to start learning how to use their magic. Golden retriever puppy Sparkle gets an extra surprise—her parents celebrate her Jubilee by gifting her a locket that’s a precious family heirloom. As with any book for this age group, as soon as an important item is introduced it’s guaranteed to be promptly lost; poor Sparkle is robbed of it by a mysterious stranger. While investigating, the Cutiecorns overhear a scary story about a bad cat wizard, Claw—and the description fits that of Sparkle’s assailant. They venture off into the Furbidden Forest to find the cat and retrieve the locket. The narration is filled with entertaining wordplay for young pun lovers (“pawsome”; “furever”), and the concept of magical puppies is an appealingly childcentric one. The art is a mixed bag—enormous-eyed puppies with shapes that highlight the various breeds (even Claw, despite pointy claws and teeth, is adorable in a chubby way), but the vaunted horns distractingly look an awful lot like party hats. The story really goes to the dogs and falls apart in a confusing climax that relies on deus ex machina magic and an on-the-spot plan that’s perfectly coordinated without any communication among the Cutiecorns. Book 2, Purrfect Pranksters, publishes simultaneously.
A little ruff around the edges. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-54036-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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