A mostly entertaining romp, but the ending underwhelms.
How to create a story…with some help from an anthropomorphic pencil.
In this metafictive picture book, the illustrated version of the actual author/illustrator is stymied—she’s got to start a new book but doesn’t have any ideas. Cleverly opening with three back-to-back double-page spreads that function like a camera zooming out, it shows the metafictive author sitting at her worktable, staring into space. She admits to her dog, Sweet Pea, that she has no ideas. The dog sagely replies, “Why didn’t you just ask your pencil for help?” And, voilà, pencil springs to assistance. With the pencil encouraging her, “You could start by drawing some recent adventures,” the two begin to create their story. That is, until the imaginary characters take over. The book’s design, black-outlined illustrations often within panels and with dialogue bubbles for characters’ speech, has the look of a simple graphic novel. There are cute sight gags, and the dialogue bubbles are lively and often funny. The insertion of narrative conflict (which the pencil says a story needs and Sweet Pea rejects, insisting they’re all friends) is slyly effective. The ending, though, is disappointing, failing to bring the story to a conclusion that is likely to satisfy readers, though the protagonist and Sweet Pea are happy with it. The protagonist has beige skin and brown hair; other human characters are illustrated with both lighter and darker skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 35% of actual size.)
A mostly entertaining romp, but the ending underwhelms. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-59643-589-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely.
A child finds adventure and a change of perspective on a dreary day.
Clouds cover everything in a palette of unending gray, creating a sense of ennui and gloom. A child stands alone, head down, feeling as gray as the day, and decides to ride through town on an old bike. Pops of color throughout the grayscale illustrations go unnoticed—there are yellow leaves scattered about, and the parking lot is filled with bright yellow buses, but this child, who has skin the grayish white of the page, sees only the empty playground, creaky swings, a sad merry-go-round, and lonely seesaws. But look—there’s a narrow winding path just beyond the fence, something to explore. There are things to be noticed, leaves to be crunched, and discoveries to be made. Imagination takes over, along with senses of wonderment and calm, as the child watches a large blue bird fly over the area. The ride home is quite different, joyful and filled with color previously ignored, reaffirming the change in the rider’s outlook. The descriptive, spare text filled with imagery and onomatopoeia is well aligned with well-rendered art highlighting all the colors that brighten the not-so-gray day and allowing readers to see what the protagonist struggles to understand, that “anything can happen…on a gray day.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781797210896
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Comic fun for those who appreciate farce—or monsters.
The creators of Goosebumps and Arthur team up for a monster of a joke book.
Two monster friends, one big, one little, perch on a tree branch. Funny decides to improve glum Hunny’s mood with some irresistible jokes. Hunny remains unimpressed and resolutely grumpy, but Funny increasingly ups the ante, assuring Hunny more and more firmly that the best gags are yet to come. Funny tells a dozen jokes in total. Some are incoherent, while others are mildly amusing; all but one feature monsters, many involving monstrous appetites: “What’s the monster’s favorite school lunch?” “The teacher!” Funny believes that each one is hilarious and cracks themself up, but Hunny is unmoved. The impasse is resolved with one moment of slapstick: Funny jumps up and down on the branch in frustration, then becomes unbalanced, falls off the limb, and lands in the water below with a huge splash. Hunny thinks that the pratfall is hilarious and finally guffaws, good humor restored. Many readers will find the so-bad-they’re-good jokes and the ending satisfyingly absurd. Blocky collage illustrations of varied textures and cheerful colors, set against a flat background, carry readers through the text; the monsters are toothy, but most are reasonably friendly looking. Touches of red provide accents. Large text and mostly simple words will appeal to beginning readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Comic fun for those who appreciate farce—or monsters. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-338-81525-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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