A fun, lighthearted tour around an infinitely goofy universe.
It’s up to two children, a dog, and a pumpkin-shaped alien to save the world in this debut sci-fi comedy for kids.
Chuck is a laid-back prankster with no head for math, and he sees Kia, who has an IQ of 170, as an insufferable know-it-all. They’re neighbors but not friends, until one day, they both see a whale floating in the sky overhead. It turns out to be a disguised spaceship belonging to Oops, a creature called a “gurgle” from another dimension. This heroic gurgle turns out to need their help saving the Earth from the groinks, a race of green, piglike aliens who are furious about their portrayal in the “Angry Birds” video game. Together with Chuck’s dog, Floppy, the boys climb aboard the camouflaged “spitter” craft, which is fueled by beer, and begin hopping across the galaxy; along the way, they meet dancing penguins, aliens called Cerebums who have brains in their rear ends, and, of course, the aforementioned groinks. They face the dangers of black holes, “brainmashers,” “peabrainers,” and the wrath of Oops’ overbearing overseers, the Department of Space-time for Analysing and Improving Reality, aka DESPAIR. Along the way, the four unlikely teammates learn to appreciate one another’s strengths and use their talents for the good of the world. This book is sprinkled throughout with whimsical humor and will appeal to young children who can get a laugh out of the idea of aliens like the Cerebums, but it also contains several references to high-end mathematics and literature—sometimes with explanatory footnotes. As absurd as the story’s fictional universe is, it’s well-built and always follows a certain kind of Lewis Carroll–like logic. The author even includes translations for occasional “Gurglese” phrases, such as “Ooee bree gurr?” (“Can I jump on your head?”) The premise may be too silly for older kids, and the humor descends to rather crude levels on occasion, but overall, this book is the perfect galactic romp for the intelligent, discriminating 12-year-old.
A fun, lighthearted tour around an infinitely goofy universe.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-9381626931
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Tranquebar Press
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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