RIDE

Mr. Gumpy's quarrelsome crew has nothing on this pair of siblings, dragged out by their parents for a pleasant drive. This potato-faced pair clearly have no intention of minding their parents' plea to "just this once try to get along," and sure enough things quickly escalate from a simple exchange of insults ("Well you're a poopy face!" "Well you have booger breath!") to a hilariously metaphorical battle that stops short of global thermonuclear war only upon the hasty offer of a snack. Gammell's (Twigboy, 2000, etc.) signature splattery pastel, pencil, and watercolor illustrations accommodate this skirmish perfectly, expanding and breaking out of the frame as the children's visualizations of their fight range from hurled bedroom furniture to a load of dumped garbage to fiercely snarling dinosaurs ("You . . . stinct!"). The text is entirely in dialogue, and the lettering is fully incorporated into the illustrations, shouting in angry colors out of the page to the reader. Kids will instantly recognize and respond to this battle of siblings, and adults will feel a kinship with the obviously long-suffering parents. "The End?" asks the text as the children face off over squirting sandwiches. Clearly not. (Picture book. 4-7)