Funny kid’s far from LOL-funny…but he’ll elicit some giggles.
Run for class president? Now that’s a funny idea.
Eleven-year-old Max Walburt is not the most popular kid at Redhill Middle School, but he is Mr. Armstrong’s favorite person to blame when things go wrong. When a dollop of poop appears in the class storeroom and an incensed Mr. Armstrong blames Max without evidence, Max plots revenge with his fat, dim buddy, Hugo. The plot’s exposed by too-short (and very evil) Abby Purcell, and the ensuing chaos causes principal Mrs. Sniggles to order a class election. Max throws his hat in the ring, but something’s up. Handsome (and lactose-intolerant) opponent Kevin experiences a vomit event in the library, and he’s out. Tall Ryan has a disastrous gym class, and he’s out. Can Max, using his sense of humor, join with unlikely allies and discover what’s going on (while escaping a psycho-stalker duck)? Stanton kicks off a series of illustrated misadventures with a more-than-slightly scatological mystery. The kids are not a lot more than their central quirks, but the straightforward if mean-spirited story does have moments of good comic timing. The poop-centered mystery won’t be to everyone’s taste, but Wimpy Kid fans may seek the sequel. Max, Hugo, and the teachers are white; Kevin and Abby have brown skin, and Ryan may be Asian.
Funny kid’s far from LOL-funny…but he’ll elicit some giggles. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-257291-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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