DEX DINGO

Strega Nona meets the singularity in this zany comic.

Dex, an almost 10-year-old “half Filipino, half American” dingo whose (offstage) parents live apart, longs to be the greatest at something…but what? Dex loves making lists, so when his teacher asks the kids to complete an assignment on what they want to be when they grow up, he starts brainstorming. When a rival nabs his first career choice (king), Dex decides to try his hand at being an inventor. His friends’ ideas for an invention “that we all need” are wild and unworkable. Then Syd the snake stresses that there’s already “too much ssstuff in the world.” So Dex creates an Infinity Room, and he and his best friend, Buckley Bat, throw together and program nanobots to eliminate excess stuff. The nanobots consume materials, only to replicate themselves exponentially, transforming trash into gray nano-goo. They’re programmed to spread; this invention literally can’t be put back in the box. Luckily, Nono, a rogue nanobot, can digest the gray goo and reconstitute it. Some of the lively cartoon art flips so that we can make Nono vomit up the goo! All the trash returns, perhaps for a sequel, but Foley has nimbly avoided both a too-simple solution…and universal obliteration. His energetic illustrations and off-the-wall story brim with action and humor; kids will be eager for more of Dex.

Frenetic, funny, fantastic, relatable—this dingo is a wild dog!