Readers will giggle at these beleaguered gnomes’ misguided attempts at achieving their goal.
“Jumping Jitterbugs!” This is not the way to open a coconut!
This graphic novel opens with a map of Gnome Woods, orienting readers on the journey and struggles of two tiny bickering gnomes: Mossy (light-skinned, in a red slouch hat) and Tweed (light-skinned, slightly taller, and in a pointy red hat). When a wayward coconut rolls into their garden, the gnomes notice an attached tag with an image of a seashore and mistakenly conclude that a beach is somehow trapped inside. Although the tag has simple and clear instructions on how to open a coconut, Mossy and Tweed are sure that their methods are better. Their plans are clever, but the results are disastrous and hilarious, with the tone of Saturday morning cartoons. A malfunctioning catapult sends Tweed flying. Helpful, blue- and purple-skinned pixies supply dynamite to blast the coconut open, but that doesn’t do the job. The frustrated gnomes scuffle and, in the process, manage to solve the problem that has been plaguing them. The text within the speech bubbles is brief, and though the vocabulary is simple, the dialogue is delightfully dramatic. Colorful and detailed cartoon illustrations capture the comedy well and will keep beginning readers turning the pages.
Readers will giggle at these beleaguered gnomes’ misguided attempts at achieving their goal. (Graphic novel. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5234-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Ghostly fun for the gentlest of readers.
Newly arrived with his parents in seemingly quiet Kersville, an anxious young Latine boy discovers that his new house isn’t quite as normal and boring as he’d hoped.
This graphic reboot of the opener to a proliferating series of early chapter books dispenses with most of the explication but sticks closely to the original’s plotline and dialogue. Hardly has Andres Miedoso—who shares a name with the tale’s author—had time to unpack before a flurry of weird noises and events sends him hurrying over to consult with his grinning, brown-skinned new neighbor, who earlier handed him a business card provocatively labeled “Desmond Cole, Ghost Patrol.” Yes, there’s a ghost in Andres’ house—a jagged, seething cloud of ectoplasm that makes a terrifying first impression…but then gleefully chows down on some unfortunate lasagna and, after paying the gastric price, admits to being a sad, lonely specter searching for a permanent home. By the end, all three have bonded, Andres has a card of his own, and the stage is set for further supernatural exploits. The illustrations are closely based on those in the book’s antecedent, with the addition of bright colors that nicely show off Desmond’s big personality—and the massive green sliming Andres gets when the ghost upchucks all over him. The chills are, if anything, even lighter than the original’s, and the fresh format may draw some new fans.
Ghostly fun for the gentlest of readers. (Graphic ghost fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9798347100811
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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