A satisfying second helping for readers unfazed by gimmicks.
Raccoon Billy Stuart and his multispecies scout pack continue their hide-and-seek through time, venturing back into ancient Greece.
Picking up right where series opener Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids (2018) left off, the crew emerges from the passageway in Belcher’s Cavern and tries to get their bearings. A note from Billy’s grandfather suggests they get to “the heart of the city’s maze” to find a clue that will offer some direction. After a crawfish snack and a crocodile attack, Billy and friends find themselves in the company of armed human soldiers who take them to the island of Crete, where King Minos sends the animal quintet into the labyrinth to be the Minotaur’s next meal. Will they survive long enough to find the clue that will lead them to Billy’s grandfather? And, better yet, home? True to the format established in the first book in this French-Canadian series, this sequel has no shortage of comedic moments (often exaggerated via comic-book panels) or brain-busting puzzle interludes. Unlike the first book, which supplied an overabundance of exposition, this text strikes the right balance. Billy’s histrionic first-person narration is further exaggerated by words set apart from the text in various brightly colored display types. Though amusing, the author’s sticky-note interjections border on distracting. Another abrupt ending implies a third text will soon be translated. A tendentious conversation with one of the soldiers about the date reifies Christian cultural primacy; human characters appear white.
A satisfying second helping for readers unfazed by gimmicks. (puzzle solutions) (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-10)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1840-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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