IGGY IS BETTER THAN EVER

Iggy finds that trying to be good is a possible recipe for disaster.

Iggy Frangi, a 9-year-old fourth grader first introduced in The Best of Iggy (2020), is not particularly adept at anticipating adverse outcomes, and his analysis after things go wrong is not especially accurate. He’s more of a doer than a dreamer. “Mostly Iggy gets in trouble. He does Thing 1, and then Thing 2 happens, and then, unfortunately, Thing 3 happens too.” In a wry direct address, the narrator/apologist affirms that Iggy will not be transformed, that this is not about a kid who is “better at the end than he was in the beginning”—not “about a kid who plants flowers by the side of the road.” Thing 1: Iggy, who appears White, and two of his best friends, Diego, who has brown skin, and Arch, who appears Black, discover a creative use for gardening tape. As a result of Thing 1, Thing 2 happens: Iggy accidently clobbers (but doesn’t permanently damage) an elderly White teacher with a basketball. Thing 2 leads to Thing 3: a spectacular and, as it turns out, literal face-plant, “one of the best things that ever happened” in Iggy’s life. Iggy wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again, and his fans will be the richer for it. Ricks’ sketch illustrations feature lighthearted diagrams and cartoon interpretations of Iggy’s thoughts and misadventures.

Very, very funny.