Golden-brown puppy George had his own existential difficulties finding his voice in Feiffer’s last offering (Bark, George!, 1999). This time, a boy named Bobby has an existential emergency of his own when he declares (repeatedly and loudly), “I’m not Bobby!” It’s the old deny-thy-parent-and-refuse-thy-name ruse, not for reasons of a familial feud, but just to get away from a demanding mother’s agenda. Bobby’s mother is always yelling for him, shown in three-inch-tall letters hand-scrawled across the page in thick, black lines. She yells his name, issues vague threats, and enlists the help of other relatives to chase him, but Bobby is busy transforming himself (through his considerable imagination) into commanding animals, monsters, and vehicles, with a running first-person text at the bottom of each page. Bobby’s powerful emotions fairly burst off the page in Feiffer’s edgy watercolors, especially when he turns into a whirling wild thing of a monster. (“A monster comes all right. And it tears you to pieces.”) Eventually, after a fanciful journey in his spaceship, Bobby gets hungry and transforms himself back into a lion with “a Bobby face,” who returns home, where he expects to find dinner and the restoration of his TV privileges by his parents. (“Or I’ll eat them.”) Some adults will object to Bobby’s emotional excesses, and others will object to the mother’s screams and threats, but plenty of youngsters who are wild things at heart will eat this up. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0906-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Michael di Capua/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
IN THE NEWS
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Engines won’t be the only thing roaring their approval when this book hits storytime.
Who needs sanity when you’ve got family?
The title character of Elbow Grease (2018) and his family of Demolition Derby trucks return to face an all-new competitor. Once again, ’Bo is feeling inadequate next to his fan-favorite brothers. Despite Mel the Mechanic’s encouragement—he’s “the best at getting better”—he wants to be noticed. But instead, he notices someone unavoidable. Motozilla, the monster machine that turns trucks “into crunch sandwiches,” is currently undefeated. Trouble is, you’d need a truck with an array of skills to take him down. Thinking fast, ’Bo makes the wild and somewhat improbable suggestion that he and his brothers join together to form a single supertruck. Will it be enough to take down this bully? Quips, jests, and teamwork are the name of the game as pro wrestler Cena improves on his writing in this second outing, which demonstrates that individual glory falls in the face of concentrated cooperation. Rollicking, radical art portrays the battle in all its gritty glory, mud and twisted metal galore. Human crowds show a diverse range of races and genders, and the trucks’ keeper, Mel, has light-brown skin and wears glasses.
Engines won’t be the only thing roaring their approval when this book hits storytime. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7353-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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