This well-intentioned offering is ultimately too poorly executed to successfully convey its message of female empowerment.
This attempt at girl power goes very wrong.
When three little girls—Oceana, Kinney and Sammie—find a shiny silver bag in the woods and open it, a puff of smoke escapes and coalesces into the Fairy Teacher Mother Superstar Queen (whose name is Betty). Betty explains that because they have gentle hearts, the girls have been chosen to receive special tiaras that confer on them magic powers, transforming them into Super Duper Power Princess Heroes. Betty also takes the time to explain some rules: The girls must use their powers to help others, they must work together, and they must remain humble. The excited trio soon spots a prince with his leg stuck under a tree. They manage to both rescue him and correct some of his outdated assumptions. Oceana tells him like it is: “[W]e have way more important things to do than marrying you, like saving the world.” Nambiar’s evident desire to create empowered girl characters and turn the traditional rescue story on its head is worthwhile, but it is that agenda that awkwardly takes center stage here. Minus that, readers are left with a haphazard storyline, prose that tries too hard to be cool and fresh, and unappealing illustrations with an amateur, mangalike feel.
This well-intentioned offering is ultimately too poorly executed to successfully convey its message of female empowerment. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9838243-9-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Umiya Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Here’s hoping there will be a bunch of Baloney in the future.
A new chapter-book series promises tons of fun for everyone.
Baloney the pig couldn’t be happier about starring in his very own book—until pals Peanut D. Horse, Bizz E. Bee, and Krabbit (a crabby rabbit) crash the introduction, leaving him frustrated. Baloney perseveres and goes on to star in several, short comic book–style stories that often break the fourth wall and that always rely on the very different personalities of the characters to deliver humor. Peanut is a Pollyanna and just a bit daffy. Bizz is a sensible, thoughtful bee-ing. Krabbit is so crabby he’d give Oscar the Grouch a run for his money. Baloney? Well, Baloney is a sensitive sort who, in two longer episodes, wants to entertain his friends with a magic show and join in their fun at swimming. Shorter “mini-comics” between these sections provide good breaks for new readers who are, perhaps, just starting to make their ways through a longer text like this. Pizolli saves the strongest story for last, delivering a sweet and satisfying portrait of Peanut’s kindness to her friend Baloney when he feels blue. And readers needn’t feel blue themselves that the story is over since they can follow handy backmatter instructions to draw their own versions of the simple, line-drawn characters.
Here’s hoping there will be a bunch of Baloney in the future. (Graphic fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-05454-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion/LBYR
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
This tater trio, and worm, will keep readers laughing, singing, and cheering from the first page to the last.
One grumbly day, two mutant tater brothers vie to determine who is the greatest in the world.
It’s goofy-looking Rot Poe Tater, with an awesome unibrow and “surprisingly sturdy stick legs,” versus big brother Snot, a sleepy, upset couch potato with bedhead. Tot, their “usually super chipper” little sister, acts as the judge. The first challenge, a potato sack race with shades of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” ends in a tie. The second contest is Hot Potato Hill, where the brothers must roll down a hill after Tot. No one wins, and the third contest is a laugh-off. Rot declares he’s laughing so hard that he needs to pee his pants but then remembers he doesn’t wear pants. When Rot and Snot are laughed out, Tot is still giggling. That’s when the plot twists and twists again. The text, primarily boastful speech-bubble banter between Rot and Snot, also contains songs, cheers from an enthusiastic worm, and fun wordplay, including alliterative places names like Barrel Bottom Bog and the Moldy Mounds. Text in a smaller typeface alternates with graphic panels, keeping the action moving. Expressive potato faces make the action and emotions clear. Fans of the picture book Rot: The Cutest in the World (2016) will enjoy seeing the protagonist again; Clanton relies on the same simple yet expressive cartoon illustrations and humor.
This tater trio, and worm, will keep readers laughing, singing, and cheering from the first page to the last. (pictures of other taters who have excelled in the Hot Potato Hill challenge, facts about potatoes, lesson on how to draw Rot) (Graphic novel. 5-7)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9318-6
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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