Only the very specific audience Clark has in mind will care, and even they may not care very much.
In a series opener heavily sprinkled with references to butts, boogers and farting, a fourth-grader discovers that frozen treats give him superpowers.
Irwin Snackcracker makes this discovery when chomping into a Fudgsicle results in superspeed and a conversation with a squirrel. Hot on the heels of this incident, he comes home to the revelation that such abilities run in the family—in fact, his Grandpa Gus and flatulent canine sidekick are actually renowned heroes Mighty Super Gus and Capt. Corgi. Both the amateurish cartoon illustrations, which look like they were digitally crafted in the 1980s, and Irwin’s accompanying narrative are so redolent with booger-waving and other heavy-handed juvenile crudités (“Butt…now that’s a funny word. Classic”) that the plot comes off as an afterthought. No sooner does Irwin get a cool costume of his very own (with ICK, for “Ice Cream Kid” across the chest) than he’s off with his elder relative to corral Sweaty Crocker, a school lunch lady jailed for “excessive toenails in the meatloaf” and other crimes but now on the loose. Can she be stopped before she releases the monstrous repurposed school kitchen oven Choptimus Grime upon the unsuspecting citizens of Mock City?
Only the very specific audience Clark has in mind will care, and even they may not care very much. (“fun facts and activities,” not seen) (Fantasy. 8-10)Pub Date: June 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4494-4424-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
A weak outing in a worthy series, with camp safety plainly playing second fiddle to science instruction.
The latest graphic Summer Camp Science Mystery fills readers in on the ups and downs of acoustics—but not without sounding some sour notes.
A pair of thunderstorms provide opportunities for camp counselors to explain the rule of thumb for approximating lightning’s distance and to reveal the cause of mysterious murmurs heard down by the lake. (They aren’t ghosts but noises carrying across from another camp on the opposite shore.) In between, young campers see how an umbrella can be turned into an amplifier for an old cassette recorder, encounter bats, learn how a sonar fish finder works and make cardboard-tube flutes as another counselor tells an unsourced (Lakota, she claims) legend about the instrument’s invention. Also, in what amounts to a direct tutorial in risky behavior, two children linger at the water’s edge as the second storm rolls in, then flee into the woods in panic until they are lost and plunge blindly into a dark cave for shelter. They are quickly rescued, and a weak joke leaves everyone laughing. Interspersed with explanatory glosses, Torres’ dispensable panels depict bug-eyed figures looking over one another’s shoulders and pointing.
A weak outing in a worthy series, with camp safety plainly playing second fiddle to science instruction. (glossary, recap, experiments) (Graphic fiction/nonfiction hybrid. 8-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4677-0734-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Definitely on the Wimpy Kid bandwagon, but less vicious with the satire and therefore all the more welcome. (Graphic novel....
Scenes from the life of a middle-grade Everydonkey.
Aside from a few tears after being suddenly struck by the expressions “dumbass” and “dumb as a donkey” (his mother gently joshes him out of his funk), Ariol travels a relatively gentle emotional landscape in this series opener. Giggle-inducing episodes usually involve Ariol’s friend Ramono the pig, who sets off a nose-to-nose, no-hands game of “pass the tissue” at school and later brings fake vomit on a class outing (“My dad had bought it to play a joke on my mom, before their divorce”). Other experiences range from providing commentary for a triumphant tennis match against illusory opponent Stevie McFailure to cutting up in gym and, in the finale, suffering a nightmare in which he has to choose between class crush Petula the cow or becoming an interstellar knight with beloved equine superhero Thunder Horse. Boutavant arranges the all-animal cast in large sequential panels that never look crowded even when the dialogue balloons multiply.
Definitely on the Wimpy Kid bandwagon, but less vicious with the satire and therefore all the more welcome. (Graphic novel. 8-10)Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59707-399-8
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
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