KIRKUS REVIEW
Two irreverent friends navigate the cutthroat world of playground politics in this hilarious picture book about feeling sad.
Ira Crumb, a brown-skinned boy, and Malcolm Cake, a blue dog, are back with humor, friendship, and a shared love of pickles (Ira Crumb Makes a Pretty Good Friend, 2017). On a trip to the playground, the two double over with laughter as they tell a knock-knock joke, but the fun takes a turn when Ira wants to play hide-and-seek but Malcolm wants to play tag. When all their new playground chums prefer Malcolm’s game, Ira finds that his “feelings are feeling feelings.” Ira even passes up a joyful dance-a-thon as he delves deeper into the abyss of his emotions. The dance-a-thon participants try to cheer Ira up, and even his surroundings try to lighten his mood, but Ira does not want to be distracted from his grief. When Malcolm sees how sad Ira is, he has a novel idea…why don’t they be sad together! This brings Ira right out of his funk, and the two bond over fart jokes. This beckons the offense of an actual fart, depicted as a green cloud adorned with a top hat and single spectacle. Nothing can bring two friends together like a classy fart joke! The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the playful use of speech bubbles adds motion and zeal.
Being sad has never seemed funnier. (Picture book. 4-8)
