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
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)
Two kids get up close and personal with some great works of art in this first in a new series.
Tiger Brooks is used to his little sister’s fantastical stories. So when the top-hatted orange pig she describes turns out to be not only real, but a next-door neighbor, Tiger enlists the help of his kooky new friend, Luna, to investigate. It turns out the pig works for the reclusive painter Viola Dots. Years ago a magical picture frame swallowed up her only son, and she’s searched for him in artworks ever since. When Tiger’s tinkering starts the magic up again, he and Luna are sucked into a reproduction of Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! or Tiger in a Tropical Storm, hungry predator and all. After meeting and failing to rescue Viola’s son in this adventure, the series is set up for the intrepid pair to infiltrate other classic paintings in the future. Backmatter provides information on the real Rousseau and his life. Oliver keeps the plot itself snappy and peppy. While there are few surprises, there’s also an impressive lack of lag time. This is helped in no small part by Kallis’ art, which goes from pen-and-ink drawings to full-blown color images once the kids cross over into the painting. Tiger is a white boy, and Luna is a dark-haired Latina.
Eeney meeney miney moe, catch this series before it goes! (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-448-48087-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fun-filled adventure that celebrates the true superpowers of the middle-grade imagination: chaos and creativity.
Two dramatically different boys acquire the power of invisibility, with raucous results.
Stanley is anxious about starting a new school—it’s the middle of the year, and everyone else already knows each other. He’s also poorly prepared for the Science Fair, for which he creates a wonky robot cobbled together from recyclable materials. Gene, an aspiring scientist with a collection of crackpot inventions, has a far more ambitious entry: a powerful stain remover. Both Stanley and Gene become drenched in the mixture and are rendered invisible. Stanley, in stealth mode, explores his new town and enjoys relief from social pressures. Meanwhile, Gene, incensed that Stanley’s robot has won first prize, takes revenge, secretly wreaking havoc by vandalizing bikes and destroying Stanley’s treehouse. Though Stanley’s search for justice and an invisibility antidote drives the plot, the book’s buzzy energy relies on Gene’s zany creations. The conflict between aspiring hero and eager villain reaches its apex in Gene’s basement laboratory, where the two battle each other using Gene’s collection of contraptions in a broadly comical, captivating denouement. In the wake of this destruction, the boys’ final reconciliation opens the door for more creative adventures. Action-packed artwork feels reminiscent of comic strips or animated shows; Stanley recalls a particularly earnest Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes), while Gene is reminiscent of the titular character on Dexter’s Lab. Both Stanley and Gene are white.
A fun-filled adventure that celebrates the true superpowers of the middle-grade imagination: chaos and creativity. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593532645
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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