Disappointing.
Grumpy Monkey moves from picture books to a graphic-novel chapter book, in which he tolerates his friends’ goofy antics during a group journey to an orange grove.
Divided into three chapters of cartoon-style comics, with bonus interludes in between, the book features Jim Panzee, the protagonist of the Grumpy Monkey picture-book series. He is on his relaxing Wednesday Walk, stress orange in hand, but little is quiet about his journey once his jungle friends appear. After the accumulation of unwanted companions causes Jim to squeeze his stress orange so hard that he destroys it, the group seeks a replacement, stopping for a papaya fight, a splash party in the water, and some swinging from vines. They eventually escape angry parrots with the only orange the parrots didn’t devour. There’s a good dose of potty humor: Leslie the giraffe responds to Norman the gorilla’s invitation to come along with “you bet your butt I do,” and two spreads are devoted to poop humor (with Jim as the butt of the joke). There’s also wordplay (a chapter called “Orange Ya Glad We Made It?”; Jim’s repeated mantra, “Squeeze, squeeze, mind at ease”; and a guide to speaking Jim’s nonsense language, in which the syllable ob is inserted before vowels in every word). That the book pauses for a “Primate Primer” with talking simians will be like pouring lemon juice on a cut for those readers who see in anthropomorphized monkeys a perpetuation of pernicious anti-Black stereotypes.
Disappointing. (Graphic fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30601-7
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
A lighthearted read that will offer comfort to young children that others too face challenges of friendship, teamwork and...
In her debut chapter book, Platt shares the story of a young girl navigating friendships and the challenges of trying to win her school’s science triathlon.
Young Parker Bell is a curious child who loves science and aspires to match up to Mae Jemison and Jane Goodall one day. Her best friend and partner in science is coding whiz Cassie Malouf. They have been best friends since kindergarten, but Parker gets jealous when Cassie suddenly starts becoming friendly with Theo Zachary, a shy boy in their class. Parker worries that Cassie likes Theo more than her, and she fights hard to keep her friend. Matters only get worse when Cassie invites Theo to be part of their team for the science triathlon, which features a science trivia contest, an egg drop, and a presentation. In a somewhat predictable plot, Parker realizes she has a lot in common with Theo as she spends more time with him. Platt works hard to defy gender stereotypes. In addition to the girls’ STEM enthusiasm, Parker’s mom teaches phys ed, her dad owns a bakery, and Cassie’s mom teaches math. Zhai’s simple black-and-white illustrations of Parker, Cassie, and the classrooms provide a good visual aid to the story, depicting Parker and Theo as white and Cassie with dark skin and long black hair.
A lighthearted read that will offer comfort to young children that others too face challenges of friendship, teamwork and competition. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-97347-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
A fun-filled adventure that celebrates the true superpowers of the middle-grade imagination: chaos and creativity.
Two dramatically different boys acquire the power of invisibility, with raucous results.
Stanley is anxious about starting a new school—it’s the middle of the year, and everyone else already knows each other. He’s also poorly prepared for the Science Fair, for which he creates a wonky robot cobbled together from recyclable materials. Gene, an aspiring scientist with a collection of crackpot inventions, has a far more ambitious entry: a powerful stain remover. Both Stanley and Gene become drenched in the mixture and are rendered invisible. Stanley, in stealth mode, explores his new town and enjoys relief from social pressures. Meanwhile, Gene, incensed that Stanley’s robot has won first prize, takes revenge, secretly wreaking havoc by vandalizing bikes and destroying Stanley’s treehouse. Though Stanley’s search for justice and an invisibility antidote drives the plot, the book’s buzzy energy relies on Gene’s zany creations. The conflict between aspiring hero and eager villain reaches its apex in Gene’s basement laboratory, where the two battle each other using Gene’s collection of contraptions in a broadly comical, captivating denouement. In the wake of this destruction, the boys’ final reconciliation opens the door for more creative adventures. Action-packed artwork feels reminiscent of comic strips or animated shows; Stanley recalls a particularly earnest Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes), while Gene is reminiscent of the titular character on Dexter’s Lab. Both Stanley and Gene are white.
A fun-filled adventure that celebrates the true superpowers of the middle-grade imagination: chaos and creativity. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593532645
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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