A second round of hilarity.
Stinkbomb and little sister Ketchup-Face return in another storm of absurdity in Dougherty’s second installment (Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Badness of Badgers, 2017).
Picking up where the first adventure on the island of Great Kerfuffle left off, this sequel finds the bad badgers back on the loose after their cunning use of a Monopoly “Get Out of Jail Free” card, and King Toothbrush Weasel again asks white siblings Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face to capture the villains. The siblings seek the story expertise of a Ninja Librarian, who explains that to stop the badgers from doing evil things they must find the Magic Porcupine of Stupidity. After enduring a bus ride, a song about libraries, raccoons that are probably badgers, a banana-loving shark, an impressive diversity of typefaces, excessively long traffic lights, and a porcupine that is possibly magical but definitely a rabbit, Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face use their mastery of story nonsense and a handy “Go Directly to Jail” card to save the day. If it’s possible, this book is even more self-aware than its predecessor, and the characters actually get a bit mired in the metanarrative. But despite such dubious elements as a masked Ninja Librarian whose cat’s-eye glasses might be read as an analog for stereotypical slanted eyes or narrative absurdity that goes a little too far into tedium, Dougherty’s rollicking sendup and Ricks’ accompanying spot art continue to amuse.
A second round of hilarity. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-99665-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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