A witty and entertaining cautionary tale.
A humorous contemporary twist on the old story of the boy who cried “Wolf!”
On nearly every page of this tale, light-skinned, orange-haired Sam’s rather cavernous mouth gapes open as he laughs loudly at his own lies. His falsehoods start small but rapidly intensify—from his declaration to readers that his bike is yellow (it’s in fact blue) to his claim that a big hairy monster ate his homework to his excuse for not bathing (the tub has been invaded by gators). Sam’s fed-up classmates start avoiding him, and he decides to tell a whopper of a lie so he can stay home from school: “Evil space ROBOTS with fire-shooting eyeballs…are attacking my house!” The very funny result is much lighter—and goofier—than that of Aesop’s traditional fable, but the moral remains. Part of a series intended to “instill confidence and the joy of reading in new readers,” this graphic novel features speech bubbles and bright, funny, frenzied-looking art, giving youngsters plenty of visual help in making sense of the text. The sentences and phrases are short, with random vocabulary words poised to enter a new reader’s collection of sight words. At one point, when Sam’s classmates are rightly annoyed at his fibs, one of them uses the ableist word lame.
A witty and entertaining cautionary tale. (Graphic early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780823459490
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome.
Can Rot Poe Tater scare the snot out of Snot, his irritating big brother? Maybe with help from friends!
Tired of being the victim of his sib’s mischievous pranks, Rot, an anthropomorphic potato, is determined to turn the tables. Unfortunately, Snot seems to have eyes in the back of his head (no surprise, considering that he’s a potato), and even with a new pair of sneakers, Rot just can’t get the drop on him. Where can Rot learn to be even sneakier? Spy school, of course! Though Rot makes a hash out of lessons in keeping secrets and other spy skills, he finds classmates with complementary talents willing to help dish up a plan clever enough to startle the smirking older spud into a spectacularly gooey sneeze. And rather than mashing down his booger-blasted little bro, Snot gives him grudging props. Rot and pals rush to celebrate over a plate of only slightly slimed cupcakes (yum!), and the tale closes with a roguish final twist. The art, peeled down to the essentials and made with a mix of earth-toned paints, digital effects, and potato prints, adds to the episode’s air of mildly decayed charm.
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome. (nature facts, pranking guidelines, drawing lesson) (Graphic fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781665964302
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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