A welcome throwback to the way recess should be.
Update that cootie shot: zombies have taken over the playground.
In this graphic series opener, Emerson introduces Bryce, aka Scrap, a plucky, young superhero who, with the help of his jump-rope–wielding cohort, Yoshi, must battle a group of cootie-infested ashen-faced zombies who have taken over their playground. Suddenly, the fight changes course, and Yoshi and Scrap find themselves facing a fierce pirate who wants to take over the entire schoolyard. These events, however, are one big, constantly morphing game of pretend that takes place outside at recess on an average day. Through busy and expressive panels, young readers are transported into a world where kids play outside without mention of any electronic devices and with only imaginations to propel the action. Bryce and his friends visit all the well-established tropes of pretend: zombies, superheroes, cowboys, pirates, and playing house. Age-appropriate silliness runs rampant; for example, as the zombie horde clamors for brains, one is continually reprimanded for moaning “Briiians.” The denizens of the schoolyard are a gently diverse gang, and though race is never overtly stated outside of naming conventions (readers are likely to assume Yoshi is Japanese-American, for instance), the spectrum of skin tones among Emerson’s characters should be varied enough to help most readers self-identify.
A welcome throwback to the way recess should be. (Graphic fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62672-708-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Monty Python meets Captain Underpants in a prose/cartoon hybrid from Down Under featuring Sir Glame, a puffed-up, borderline psychopath in armor, and his sarcastic equine sidekick Bill. The plot, insofar as there is one, involves a hunt for the author of Saucy McRascal’s Book of Fun!, a collection of smarmy verse (quoted at length) deemed entirely unsuitable for young readers. In a mix of cartoon panels and paragraphs liberally strewn with line drawings, the questing duo encounter a host of adversaries along the way, from motherly rival Hero Mrs. Honeychurch and her feathered sidekick Sir Quacksalot, to a space-alien cooking-show host, a literally downsized giant, and an Evil Giant Killer Robot From Hell. By the end, the pernicious poet is unmasked, but the bickering between Sir Glame and Bill escalates into an all-out battle that leaves the town of Sausagopolis in ruins. Wright blithely brings dead characters back to life, frequently veers off into irrelevant side episodes, and ratchets up the sarcasm along with the violence: so what’s not to like/offend—particularly for young readers who consider the Captain’s outings so third grade? (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-86508-785-8
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
The dream phantasms of a high-spirited narrator intersect, even crowd, reality, but the stream-of-consciousness text makes for a rambling, radically personal tale. Playful images of a stuffed lion, trampoline, purple shoes, and a cat named Pine-Cone take hold in a young girl’s imagination, despite her “old” mother who makes her go to bed when she’d rather “stay up early” and a big sister with a cranky disposition. At home, she likes counting flea bites and pretending to be a worm, but is afraid of the dark and going to Grade One. The second half of the book takes off in a separate first-day-of school direction. Wild dreams precede the big day, which includes bullies on the playground and instant friend Chelsea. The childlike articulations of the text are endearing, but not quite of universal interest, and don’t add up to a compelling story; children may more readily warm to Gay’s illustrations, which include a dreamlike flying cat, a menacing hot dog, and an uproarious stuffed toy looming over everyday domestic scenes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1999
ISBN: 1-55143-107-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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