A lighthearted, slapstick series starter that’s sure to please.
A duck in a trench coat dispatches his duties as barnyard spy.
Ducky is a wacky-looking spy, always seen in profile, his rounded beak poised for inquiry, one big blue-irised eye expressing every emotion, be it suspicion, confusion, or glee. His boss is the exasperated Mr. Pig, and Ducky’s surveillance sidekick is Donny, a wonky-eyed, usually drooling donkey. They form an unlikely team, often getting in their own way as they conduct their investigations. Ducky’s spy skills, or lack thereof, are tested in two stories. First, Mr. Pig enlists Ducky to uncover who’s been eating from his slop trough, but they soon discover that the trough is doing double duty as Donny’s treat bag refill station. Reluctantly, Mr. Pig then asks Ducky to help retrieve his son (a goat, inexplicably) from the clutches of the Cat Gang. The spy content is secondary to the story’s comedic beats, with Ducky’s placid personality, Mr. Pig’s perturbability, and Donny’s clouded consciousness colliding on repeat. Employing high-paced absurdist humor akin to that of Aaron Blabey’s The Bad Guys series, Avery puts visual gags front and center, as when a poorly-put-on cat costume makes Donkey’s butt appear to be a feline face. Backgrounds simulating half-tone-style comic printing and bold foreground lines give the series an appreciably retro look.
A lighthearted, slapstick series starter that’s sure to please. (Graphic fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781760659356
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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