NOODLEHEADS FORTRESS OF DOOM

Back for the fourth time, the pasta-headed duo keeps up the fun with their literal way of thinking.

In an introduction, the pair visits the library and borrows some books. The brothers admit that they don’t understand the joke in one of their books: “What is the tallest building in the world?” The answer: “The library. It has the most stories!” Young readers of this three-chapter graphic novel will pride themselves on being smarter than Mac and Mac. They will “get it.” They’ll chuckle when one Mac is left to guard the door of the “Fortress of Doom” they just built while the other Mac goes to get something to eat. When one brother returns, he finds the other brother far from the fortress—but not the door. Fascinating information on tale types and folklore motifs used in each chapter is found in the authors’ notes, and adults can point these out and find other examples of tales about people doing foolish things. The last chapter features a “lying contest” with old frenemy Meatball, who tells a tall tale. A generous font, amusing comic-book–style artwork, the stories themselves, and excellent notes add up to a book that can be thoroughly enjoyed by one child or easily acted out in a readers’ theater activity.

Very old, very funny stories made evergreen thanks to the graphic format and inventive casting.