Jelly-bean–flavored snack reading.
A kid zombie escapes from a lab—and it’s not brains he’s after, just freedom.
United States government documents from 2024 tell of a top-secret human reanimation program known as Project Z. Three years later, a juvenile zombie named Norbus Clacknozzle is the first (and only) one to escape. He’s rescued by a friendly human couple—aptly named the Kinders—who bring him to their home. Under their direction, Norbus begins masquerading as a human fifth-grader. But even jeans and a T-shirt can’t hide Norbus’ pale skin, strict jelly bean diet, or ridiculously advanced vocabulary. And the pseudonym Arnold Z. Ombee is a dead giveaway. Can the Kinder family keep the secret, or will the government catch on? Greenwald breathes new life into the zombie story with a few twists and Norbus’ fresh, funny narration. Bardin’s cartoon spot illustrations add a cinematic quality that matches well with the short chapters and quick pace. Overarching messages about embracing difference are reflected by a diverse cast to complement the white Kinders and deathly white Norbus: Kiki has dark skin, Evan uses a prosthetic leg, and Sarah Anne is nonverbal. However, Sarah Anne’s participation in the conclusion tiptoes dangerously close to “pitiful disability”–trope territory.
Jelly-bean–flavored snack reading. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-30592-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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