Maybe the next episode will be less derivative. There’s always hope.
The second doll-sized literary mashup to come out of a wimpy kid’s magic closet (see Wonkenstein, 2011) adds wizardly spells and, far more frequently, noxious smells to a standard catalog of preteen misadventures.
Having reintroduced his family (“I mean my mom calls me Ribert, and if she’s not humiliating me, she’s sleeping”), Robert explains the origins of the pocket companion he dubs “Hairy.” He chattily goes on to record efforts to save his little buddy from rough friends, his little brother, a garbage truck and an aggressive owl, along with his repeated transformation into a dork whenever he runs into dreamboat neighbor Janae. Amid references to monkey waste, a modified version of Old Maid called “Yo Mama” and other strained laffs, he recruits said friends to reform a bully by tying the punk to a graveyard tree one night. He also creates what turns out to be a revolting concoction for a cooking contest in hopes of appearing on Average Chef, “TV’s third most watched reality cooking show.” Still sailing along in Jeff Kinney’s wake format-wise, Skye presents Rob’s tally of haps and mishaps in a mix of block print and frequent, wobbly line drawings with punch lines and side remarks in dialogue balloons. In the end, Hairy leaves his tiny wand as a keepsake and returns to the closet, setting the stage for Rob’s next visitor: Pinocula.
Maybe the next episode will be less derivative. There’s always hope. (Comic fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9451-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Jamie isn't looking forward to starting sixth grade at her 10th school since kindergarten (her 11th if you count the two...
When Jamie carves out her own niche in the social hierarchy, she makes quite a splash.
Jamie isn't looking forward to starting sixth grade at her 10th school since kindergarten (her 11th if you count the two days she spent at Magley Wood Elementary before she was expelled). Her mother swears that this time they'll stay in one place long enough for her to make friends. “Be whatever you want to be!” her grandmother says in a rare lucid moment. Confronted with school clubs populated by mean, popular girls, Jamie forms her own club: The Outcasts, for kids “the weirder the better.” The club members have quirks aplenty: a glass eye, 12 toes, nine body piercings. One member has four mothers and three fathers, while another escaped her homeland as a refugee. Club outings are sweetly kooky, ranging from a private showing of demolition-derby practice to an afternoon volunteering at a shelter. Their popularity grows, and the Outcasts turn away many would-be weirdos (sadly, without ever examining the hypocrisy of being outcasts who exclude perfectly nice classmates for being "just average, regular kids"). The principal, cartoonishly mean, seethes at this disruption of the social order, and demands the Outcasts disband.Pub Date: July 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-930773-97-7
Page Count: 179
Publisher: Black Heron
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
A lad bearing the “curse” of unfailing politeness wages peace in this graphic version of a 2002 novel.
Much trimmed from its original, the tale sweeps Horrendo and the other 12-year-olds in his ill-tempered town aboard a pirate ship that puts in regularly to pillage and replenish its crew. Being cursed at birth by a “wise woman” annoyed at everyone’s hostility, he cannot curse, swear or hurt anyone—but he can cook like a pro and also concoct clever, if not always successful, escape plans. Ultimately, he beguiles the salty pirates with tasty victuals and kindness, leads them to hidden treasure and at last returns in triumph to his town. There, he helps to found a tavern with pirate gold and to revise the local school’s curriculum to include classes in (wait for it) anger management. The story still bears a heavy message. Still, thanks to the tongue-in-cheek premise, a cast with names like Blusta and Mongrel, some colorful invective (“Now get off my ship, you bottom-dwelling swill-suckers!”) and the uncomplicated humor in Simard’s angular cartoons, it manages to stay afloat. Just a sketch of the earlier plotline remains, but the pictures make the action easy to follow, and the theme is as sweet as Horrendo’s delectable French toast. (Graphic novel. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-549-3
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
