Skip.
A YouTube cartoon launches a chapter-book series with a story about rival summer camps.
Anything superhero kid Drew Pendous draws with his Pen Ultimate magically becomes real. As it’s summer, instead of Cool School he’s attending Camp Cool School. While the text reads with the evident presumption that readers are familiar with the show, early pages also give a rundown of characters and names (along with Drew, the protagonists are all white with the exception of a lone black character, Ella). The capstone activity of the summer is a color war against the Cruel School Camp, where instead of traditional activities they practice “drilling holes in one another’s canoes and making fun of small woodland creatures.” A second character rundown reveals that these campers are mostly evil versions of the heroes, especially Ray Blank, Drew’s evil twin, who has a magic eraser to counter the pen. Instead of offering up a parallel for Ella, the traits of rotund, food-obsessed Robby are split between two villains who are both just as pathetic as he is. The contests—tug of war, arm wrestling, and dodgeball—between blue Camp Cool and red Camp Cruel are interrupted by another villain, the color-stealing gray (literally) Grace Cale. To get their colors back, they must all work together. The bright artwork and the design—combining illustrated pages and comic-book panels—will appeal to kids, but the humor’s not strong enough to elevate characters or concept in unanimated form. And the reliance on fatness and disability stereotypes (one Camp Cruel counselor has two hooks and an eyepatch) further sucks the fun out of the enterprise.
Skip. (Graphic/adventure hybrid. 5-7)Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4549-3107-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful.
This endearing picture book about a timid boy who longs to belong has an agenda but delivers its message with great sensitivity.
Brian wants to join in but is overlooked, even ostracized, by his classmates. Readers first see him alone on the front endpapers, drawing in chalk on the ground. The school scenarios are uncomfortably familiar: High-maintenance children get the teacher’s attention; team captains choose kickball players by popularity and athletic ability; chatter about birthday parties indicates they are not inclusive events. Tender illustrations rendered in glowing hues capture Brian’s isolation deftly; compared to the others and his surroundings, he appears in black and white. What saves Brian is his creativity. As he draws, Brian imagines amazing stories, including a poignant one about a superhero with the power to make friends. When a new boy takes some ribbing, it is Brian who leaves an illustrated note to make him feel better. The boy does not forget this gesture. It only takes one person noticing Brian for the others to see his talents have value; that he has something to contribute. Brian’s colors pop. In the closing endpapers, Brian’s classmates are spread around him on the ground, “wearing” his chalk-drawn wings and capes. Use this to start a discussion: The author includes suggested questions and recommended reading lists for adults and children.
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-582-46450-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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