by Sandra Dumais ; illustrated by Sandra Dumais ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2021
Talking animals! Costumes! Mysterious symbols! This book has everything except logic. (And who needs that?)
Inspector Billiam Van Hoof may deserve to be an honorary Muppet.
Muppets are always getting hilariously confused—like Traveling Matt, who explored the human world and decided that yellow cabs were fierce creatures who’d learned to sit when they heard “Taxi!” The goat detective at the center of this Québecois graphic novel follows in the same tradition. When a cow disappears from the farm, he decides she’s been kidnapped by aliens. He has evidence. She was wearing a shiny silver dress that resembled a space suit, and the spiral patterns that suddenly appeared on the lawn might have been crop circles. There are competing theories. Pig, for example, thinks the tractor might have broken down and started spinning in circles. But Pig can’t claim to be the “world’s #1 goat detective.” Van Hoof’s ads also say that he’s the “Winner of Best Disguise, goat category, Grade 8 Costume party.” The most literal-minded readers may wonder if he was a goat disguised as a goat. But that actually fits into the book’s goofy, absurdist sense of humor. It includes a raccoon with a mask tied around his face. None of it makes much sense, and, of course, the youngest cows know the solution before the adults. But the loopiness is appealing, and the minimalist, wavery ink drawings are delightfully simple.
Talking animals! Costumes! Mysterious symbols! This book has everything except logic. (And who needs that?) (Graphic mystery. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77147-442-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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by Mary Amato ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2010
A mystery, a school story, sibling rivalry and the loss of a pet blend surprisingly well in this engaging chapter book. Charmingly awkward fifth grader Edgar Allan decides to solve a series of minor thefts that are plaguing his teacher, Ms. Herschel. Clues are plentiful—and rhymed—but the competition to solve them is fierce. Edgar’s nemesis, Patrick Chen, seems to have the inside track since his dad works in forensics. Edgar, however, finds that the friends he makes along the way provide the winning edge. Including transcripts of Edgar’s ingenuous interviews as well as poems written by a number of class members in her narrative, Amato provides a clear picture of both social and family dynamics while keeping the story moving smoothly along. The author’s characteristic humor is somewhat muted, but examples of amusing wordplay abound. Some readers may guess the identity of the culprit more quickly than Edgar and his friends do, but whodunit is not really the point. Solving puzzles, making friends and learning to see the world more clearly are the true aims of this adventure. (Mystery. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2271-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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by Kate Biberdorf with Hillary Homzie ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020
A fun-if-flimsy vehicle for science lovers.
A fifth grade girl brings her love of chemistry to the school play.
Kate loves science so much she’s determined to breathe fire. Of course she knows that she needs adult supervision, and so, with her science teacher’s help, Kate demonstrates an experiment with cornstarch and a blowtorch that nearly sets her teacher’s cactus on fire. Consequences ensue. Can someone who loves science as much as Kate does find pleasure spending her fall break at drama camp? It turns out that even the school play—Dragons vs. Unicorns—needs a chemist, though, and Kate saves the day with glue and glitter. She’s sabotaged along the way, but everything is fine after Kate and her frenemy agree to communicate better (an underwhelming response to escalating bullying). Doodles decorate the pages; steps for the one experiment described that can be done at home—making glittery unicorn-horn glue—are included. The most exciting experiments depicted, though, include flames or liquid nitrogen and could only be done with the help of a friendly science teacher. Biberdorf teaches chemistry at the University of Texas and also performs science-education programs as “Kate the Chemist”; in addition to giving her protagonist her name and enthusiasm, she also seems represented in Kate-the-character’s love of the fictional YouTube personality “Dr. Caroline.” Kate and her nemesis are white; Kate’s best friends are black and South Asian.
A fun-if-flimsy vehicle for science lovers. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11655-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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