Tom may be brilliant, but he’s unlikely to unseat Greg Heffley in American hearts.
The winner of the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize for readers ages 7 to 11 makes its way across the pond.
In this British contribution to the Wimpy Kid bandwagon, Tom doodles his school days away, fails to do his homework, schemes to get the upper hand on twit Marcus Meldrew, tries to attract the attention of lovely Amy Porter, jockeys for tickets to the Dude3 concert, designs logos for his band, DogZombies, and annoys his older sister, Delia. His account is set in a typeface named for the author (generated from her handwriting, perhaps?) and is liberally illustrated with Tom’s cartoons and doodles. Some of his artistic tics are pretty funny: When he refers to his teacher’s gaze, he adds two little eyeballs as visual punctuation; goth Delia’s expression hardly ever changes, even when she’s feeling “jolly”; particularly embarrassing moments are labeled “shame” with little arrows. The book has been unevenly Americanized, leaching from it some of its potential distinctiveness. Most insultingly, “Mum” is now “Mom,” but some terms found in the glossary such as “biscuit” and “jumper” have been translated in the text as “cookie” and “sweater,” rendering those entries rather baffling. Although Tom’s account is diarylike, it is undated, making it feel like the book’s action is much shorter than the school term it evidently spans.
Tom may be brilliant, but he’s unlikely to unseat Greg Heffley in American hearts. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-11)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7472-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse.
It’s a Bigfeet family reunion!
Everyone’s favorite frosty, furry cryptid, the yeti, actually has a name: Blizz Richards. From his supersecret HQ in Nepal he keeps in touch with his fellow cryptids, all of whom have sworn an oath to keep themselves hidden. That’s not always easy, especially when there are cryptozoologists, like the nasty (but bumbling) George Vanquist, who are always trying to expose the secretive creatures. Vanquist got a picture of Blizz’s cousin Brian near his home in British Columbia, causing the mortified Brian to disappear entirely. When Blizz receives an invitation to a Bigfeet family reunion in Canada, he calls his buddies Alexander (one of Santa’s elves), Gunthar (a goblin) and Frank the Arctic fox to help him get ready. When they arrive in Canada, Brian is still nowhere to be seen. Can Blizz and his skunk ape and other sasquatch cousins find Brian, have the reunion and evade Vanquist? If anyone can, the Bigfeet clan can. Illustrator Sherry’s first volume in the Yeti Files is a fast and funny graphic-prose tale full of labeled pictures and comic-style panels. Those just starting chapter books may have some trouble with a few big words, but they’ll enjoy the big friendly monsters and immediately ask for the next tale—which looks to be about the Loch Ness monster.
Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-55617-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Deliberately inspirational and tinged with nostalgia, this will please fans but may strike others as overly idealistic.
Veteran picture-book creator Polacco tells another story from her childhood that celebrates the importance of staying true to one’s own interests and values.
After years of spending summers with her father and grandmother, narrator Trisha is excited to be spending the school year in Michigan with them. Unexpectedly abandoned by her summertime friends, Trisha quickly connects with fellow outsiders Thom and Ravanne, who may be familiar to readers from Polacco’s The Junkyard Wonders (2010). Throughout the school year, the three enjoy activities together and do their best to avoid school bully Billy. While a physical confrontation between Thom (aka “Sissy Boy”) and Billy does come, so does an opportunity for Thom to defy convention and share his talent with the community. Loosely sketched watercolor illustrations place the story in the middle of the last century, with somewhat old-fashioned clothing and an apparently all-White community. Trisha and her classmates appear to be what today would be called middle schoolers; a reference to something Trisha and her mom did when she was “only eight” suggests that several years have passed since that time. As usual, the lengthy first-person narrative is cozily conversational but includes some challenging vocabulary (textiles, lackeys, foretold). The author’s note provides a brief update about her friends’ careers and encourages readers to embrace their own differences. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Deliberately inspirational and tinged with nostalgia, this will please fans but may strike others as overly idealistic. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2622-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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