This cute cat seamlessly works an education on bodegas into a playful story.
A spunky bodega-dwelling kitty describes the ins and outs of a bustling neighborhood market.
Life for Chip the bodega cat is full of interesting new friends, great food, hard work, and a lot of fun. A bodega, Chip explains, is a “store that sells a little bit of everything you could need!” From tasty snacks to laundry detergent, the bodega has you covered 24 hours a day. The feline narrator details the rhythm of the day, which includes working diligently through the early-morning deliveries, the busy breakfast rush, the lunch crowd, and the lively after-school hours. Chip helps out around the store, at least in theory, by counting up inventory and lending a paw at the cash register. Of course, the friendly feline is never too busy for a round of hide-and-seek with its many “adoring fans,” the neighborhood kids. Characters depicted in the book represent many cultures and ethnicities, including Chip’s Latinx human family, headed by Papi, who’s from the Dominican Republic. Chin’s vibrant illustrations are touched with a graffiti-artist vibe and bring the world of the bodega to life with engaging full-color spreads. Details will feel perfectly executed to those familiar with bodegas already and will quickly transport those who haven’t yet had the pleasure. Readers’ mouths will water at the delicious-looking food prepared in the bodega’s kitchen.
This cute cat seamlessly works an education on bodegas into a playful story. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-57687-932-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: POW!
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here's one story that would be better with no words at all.
Burks manages to turn The Odd Couple into an adventure story.
The Odd Couple is one of the most important stories in the history of Western culture. Oscar and Felix were archetypes when they were called Bert and Ernie and when they were called the Grasshopper and the Ant. In that tradition, Squirrel is a fussbudget who’s afraid of beetles, spiders, running out of acorns and forgetting his toothbrush. Bird isn’t afraid of anything and can usually be found flying upside down. The story only works if the characters get on each other’s nerves. The problem here is that it works much too well. Bird is more annoying than Bert and Felix put together. Bird never stops talking, even when being chased by an enormous cat. That’s the moment when Bird says, “Is it true that dogs are smarter than cats?” Some readers may decide to ignore the dialogue and just look at the pictures, which are so cinematic that you can almost see the cat’s whiskers twitching. The character design is astounding. Squirrel’s head is shaped like a little acorn (complete with cap), and even the trees look like fractal patterns, spiraling off the page.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here's one story that would be better with no words at all. (Graphic adventure. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-31283-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
Pull this out whenever you or someone nearby could use some joy and clever comics.
No public-domain tomfoolery here; this adaptation is an act of love.
An innocent, shirtless bear wanders through a forest. His blank, dot-eyed face is as aimless as his gait, although he is not without purpose: the location and consumption of honey. Woodland friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit all have encounters with this silly bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, often to lend each other a hand in friendship or in pursuit of a Woozle or Heffalump. The mixture of personalities balances the sugar-sweetness of the genteel adventures, from the morose Eeyore to the verbose Owl. Rabbit has mean intentions for Kanga and her baby Roo, but they never escalate beyond playful mischief. Christopher Robin, who’s drawn with paper-white skin, is the comparably capable human who cheerfully gets along with the many anthropomorphic animals. Dandro’s black-and-white artwork skillfully renders the forests, fields, and streams of the outdoor setting while amplifying the playful dialogue with precisely timed pauses. The inventive use of layouts and paneling makes this an adept adaptation of Milne’s text to the graphic format. That silly old bear has learned some new tricks, and they may inspire a new generation of readers to discover the delights of Milne and Ernest H. Shepard’s original volumes.
Pull this out whenever you or someone nearby could use some joy and clever comics. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781770466968
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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