Joyous poems; supremely worthy of a Baldersquash Medal, regardless of whether or not it exists.
This illustrated collection of verse indulges in fairy-tale absurdity and is sufficiently zany to have children and adults squealing with glee.
This book’s cover reveals that the work is the recipient of a “Baldersquash Medal,” which honors the “very best in high-falutin nonsense.” The decidedly suspect award is later explained as one that is delivered to “lucky writers” as a gold coin clasped in a chicken’s beak. Such tall tales and tomfoolery offer a mere taste of the eccentric brilliance to follow. In these pages, readers encounter Mary Melissa Miranda McGurk, who is “uncommonly fond of homework”—she loves learning so much that her rapidly expanding head literally explodes with knowledge. Readers are also introduced to Salmon Delicious, a fish so ambitious he wishes to be consumed by no one but a king. Other poems, like “The One-Man Band,” express delight in bodily noises, declaring: “Sneezing, too, is quite a sound / And glorious fun to boot. / But farting is my favorite noise: / There’s nothing like a toot.” In contrast, the closing poem, “My Father To Save,” is the disarmingly poignant tale of a prince sent to slay a good-hearted beast. DeRoche’s writing is clever, silly fun. In poems like “The Bear in the Boat,” the dependence on rhyming couplets enthrallingly determines the narrative’s direction. For instance, “He grabbed the tail / Of a whale, / Who gave him a hand / To the land.” Soon, readers will predict that the only thing on which a bear can spend his “hard-earned money” is, of course, “honey.” Elsewhere, the only job that can “generate coin” is found in “Des Moines.” This playful approach found throughout is delightful, but the poet can also be hilariously deadpan: “Over there at the computer / Sits my sister, Monica. / Live music doesn’t suit her; / She produces electronica.” González’s thoughtful illustrations display a Victorian elegance reminiscent of Thackery’s Rose and the Ring and, on other occasions, exhibit some of the scratchy, more contemporary eccentricity of Quentin Blake. Either way, González’s art complements the wackiness of DeRoche’s poetry with a subtle beauty. A rare work of pure, unbridled fun, this volume may prove the perfect antidote for the seriousness of modern life.
Joyous poems; supremely worthy of a Baldersquash Medal, regardless of whether or not it exists.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-0999277614
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Redtail Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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