by Lee Nordling ; illustrated by Scott Roberts & Flavio B. Silva ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2017
An excellent adventure for reluctant readers, fierce competitors, lovers of wordless tales—and readers who just love an...
Belinda knows how to win and does it often, but she also understands the value of a good friend.
The confident, brown-skinned, cornrowed protagonist of this wordless graphic adventure leads the line to the school gym until she sees another, dejected-looking brown girl sitting on the hallway floor. Foreshadowing things to come, Belinda relinquishes her line-leader role to offer the surprised girl her hand and make her feel included in the game of musical chairs. While the teacher observes only a mundane game, readers and the players witness an extraordinary, larger-than-life competition in which huge, multicolored musical notes become flying obstacles that sometimes antagonistically interfere with the players as they rush for seats when the music stops. Allegiances form and dissolve, but Belinda remains true to her new friend, Barbara (whose name appears only in the rear endpapers), until the end of the game. The book’s cartoonish cover suggests a lighthearted story, but the tale delivers rich conflict (including person-versus-self on several occasions), strong emotions, complex relationships, and ferocious competition. Roberts uses framing, varying perspectives, close-up images, and stark, contrasting facial expressions to help readers absorb both the action and the characters’ emotions as the story unfolds. Refreshingly, colorist Silva renders the children of color with different skin tones.
An excellent adventure for reluctant readers, fierce competitors, lovers of wordless tales—and readers who just love an action-packed, rollicking story. (Graphic fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-1331-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2017
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
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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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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
What a wag.
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What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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