Feel-good phantasmic fun.
Ghost siblings find numerous causes for celebration.
Boredom drives Cleo to invite her brother, Fitz, to play games. But her unbreakable winning streak makes Fitz feel bad—and makes Cleo feel “really, really, really, REALLY bored.” Craving “LOTS of pizzazz,” Cleo invents the “Party Squad.” The club (initially the two ghosts and their cat, Mr. Boo) has one rule and one rule only: “HAVE FUN!” Joy abounds in chapter after chapter as the group comes up with party ideas, inventions like the Wrap-O-Matic 400, and more. No matter the situation, the Party Squad can “PUT A PARTY ON IT!!” and let every and any day be the party it deserves. This third series entry maintains a jovial tone, with simple yet expressive full-color art. As in previous installments, Fox consistently uses black lines to connect speakers with dialogue (with occasional speech bubbles). The plot is primarily dialogue-driven, with short sentences and relatively few descriptive text boxes overall. Though the book has 13 chapters total, most are just a few pages long, which keeps the pace quick and the content accessible to emerging comics readers. As a trio, Fitz, Cleo, and Mr. Boo have an entertaining dynamic that caters to Cleo’s infectiously enthusiastic whims. Scenes showing Mr. Boo’s reactions and kitty shenanigans are comedy gold. Additional paranormal characters briefly appear in a few group party scenes.
Feel-good phantasmic fun. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781250830890
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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