The funniest, most heartwarming alien invasion this side of the Jurassic Period.
An extraterrestrial with a chip on his shoulder learns about friendship from an empathetic group of dinosaurs.
Jeff crash-lands his spacecraft on prehistoric Earth and declares himself ruler only to be met with laughter and Pterodactyl poop. He meets Carl and Hungry, two talking dinosaurs who tolerate his demands to meet their leader, as well as petlike Spike. Spike drools and cannot speak, but Carl and Hungry love him and include him in decision-making. As Jeff learns more about the flora and fauna of Earth, he becomes both comfortable leading a cooking lesson and impatient with Earth’s less-evolved population. Jeff represents a technologically advanced but selfish, status-driven perspective, while the dinosaurs are in touch with nature and their feelings and do not take Jeff’s insults personally, regarding him indulgently, as one would a cranky toddler. The biomes and landscapes, such as forest, swamp, canyon, and lakeshore, are visually distinct and help separate the group’s adventure into geographical segments. Likewise, each of the species on Earth bears a unique silhouette and color. Everyone stands out, including (literally and hilariously) a fish with feet. The laughs are as dependable as the moral. With the exception of Sara, a dinosaur who, along with her babies, enjoys Jeff’s cooking lesson, the cast reads entirely male. The backmatter includes instructions for drawing Jeff and Carl and a guide to Jeff’s alien alphabet.
The funniest, most heartwarming alien invasion this side of the Jurassic Period. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780593565391
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweetly encouraging look at the way friendship can mend heart and soul.
Reggie’s summer job as housesitter for a family away on travels turns out to be unexpectedly happy.
At a time that would normally be filled with exciting pursuits, Reggie is instead spending a quiet, solitary summer near the ocean. Reggie’s slightly unhappy and fearful vibe hints that all has not been going well in the monster’s life. There’s a pile of unanswered correspondence to deal with and an unsettling dream on the first night in the big house. Reggie is befriended by purple-spotted Emily, one of five sisters in a family of multihued, rabbitlike creatures. Emily is affable and talkative, ready to help Reggie overcome loneliness. Emily has her own misery at being dismissed by one sister who is scornful of her more whimsical sensibilities. Reggie and Emily find support in each other during a slightly scary adventure in a sea serpent’s lair. Reggie, who looks like an unprepossessing one-eyed, small blob with pointed ears, can, as demonstrated in the opening pages, stretch like rubber to reach a high shelf—and has other, even more impressive, abilities that make appearances later. Vandorn’s sunny, not-quite-pastel palette transforms the shadows that accompany Reggie’s arrival into a landscape of green fields, colorful gardens, and warm blue sea. Her rounded monster/animal characters are creatively varied and intriguing, and her storytelling simple but nuanced.
A sweetly encouraging look at the way friendship can mend heart and soul. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984896-82-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny but ultimately ineffective as either a joke book or a story.
In this romp through the multiverse, Angleberger asks readers to imagine a universe where they are a two-headed chicken.
It sounds like the start of a silly joke. One head—the reader’s—is generally very stupid; the other—belonging to the reader’s sister—is generally very smart. The alleged plot hops universes with every chapter as the eponymous plucky cluck attempts to escape an “enraged moose named KERNEL ANTLERS” whose mission in life is to fry and eat the chicken. Various bizarre creatures and historical figures offer obfuscating commentary on the chicken’s shenanigans or guidance, and finally, a hypothetical reader, fed up with their aimless escapades and thwarted jokes, threatens to abandon the book and erase the chicken from existence in every multiverse if they don’t buck up and face the moose. Will our intrepid hero prevail? Readers may never know—at least, not in their universe. Scattered self-deprecation may not have been unwarranted, as there’s very little within the book to capture readers’ attention (aside from reading on to learn whether a plot will ever coalesce). Myriad potentially exciting worlds and plotlines are touched on but never explored, and the characters are too flat to allow readers to become invested in their plights. The bold, expressive art, almost reminiscent of margin doodles, does the lion’s share of the storytelling. A few interactive pages offer amusing diversions but feel rather out of place.
Funny but ultimately ineffective as either a joke book or a story. (author’s note) (Graphic novel. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2321-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
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