A surefire hit for almost any emerging reader.
When best buddies Crab and Snail’s search for cool things on the beach leaves them empty-handed, they find a way to make their own fun.
The duo set out on their daily beach exploration but are disappointed when they don’t find anything. All the cool stuff must have ended up in Starfish’s awesome tidal pool, they realize, and though they wish they could hang out with her, they decide that they are definitely not cool enough, even after several failed attempts at coolness, including getting ice cream (“Ice cream will keep us cool and make us look really cool”), donning costumes, and wearing sunglasses. Frustrated yet determined, they keep searching until the perfect idea strikes and they discover that having fun, especially with friends (Starfish included!), is way better than being cool anyway. Simple, colorful illustrations and funny (and punny) jokes throughout add hilarity and buoyancy to this second installment in the series aimed at burgeoning readers. A sprinkle of oceanic trivia, plus some deeply introspective questions by Snail, and an appearance by Isabel, the invisible whale featured in the first volume, add layers and complexity to this wacky, bighearted story. Ferry has a knack for concealing thought-provoking concepts in deceptively simple stories, and this newest offering definitely continues that trend.
A surefire hit for almost any emerging reader. (Graphic fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-296216-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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
Here’s hoping there will be a bunch of Baloney in the future.
A new chapter-book series promises tons of fun for everyone.
Baloney the pig couldn’t be happier about starring in his very own book—until pals Peanut D. Horse, Bizz E. Bee, and Krabbit (a crabby rabbit) crash the introduction, leaving him frustrated. Baloney perseveres and goes on to star in several, short comic book–style stories that often break the fourth wall and that always rely on the very different personalities of the characters to deliver humor. Peanut is a Pollyanna and just a bit daffy. Bizz is a sensible, thoughtful bee-ing. Krabbit is so crabby he’d give Oscar the Grouch a run for his money. Baloney? Well, Baloney is a sensitive sort who, in two longer episodes, wants to entertain his friends with a magic show and join in their fun at swimming. Shorter “mini-comics” between these sections provide good breaks for new readers who are, perhaps, just starting to make their ways through a longer text like this. Pizolli saves the strongest story for last, delivering a sweet and satisfying portrait of Peanut’s kindness to her friend Baloney when he feels blue. And readers needn’t feel blue themselves that the story is over since they can follow handy backmatter instructions to draw their own versions of the simple, line-drawn characters.
Here’s hoping there will be a bunch of Baloney in the future. (Graphic fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-05454-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion/LBYR
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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