As Fred would (does, actually) exclaim: “Ding-dong donkey donuts, Super Fly!” Fans of Super Diaper Baby will agree.
From the “bug-centric” burg of Stinkopolis rises Super Fly, diminutive defender of the city dump—not to mention the planet beyond.
Following in the footsteps of his renowned dad, inventor of the Poop-A-Rama (“the perfect appliance for any housefly household”), nerdy fourth-grader Eugene Flystein has developed not only a device that converts boogers into lunchroom pizzas, but the Ultimo 6-9000, a device that increases intelligence and strength by a factor of 9,000. Unfortunately, the latter’s first subject is class bully Cornelius C. Roach—who races off to build giant robot rats and roaches with the aim of exterminating (wait for it) “HUMANS! Dun, dun, dun.” What can Eugene do but soup himself up likewise, don a cape and his little sister’s tights, and buzz off to battle? In a narrative festooned with swarms of small cartoon drawings and chapter heads like “Nice Flies Finish Last” and “Your Fly is Down,” this mighty mite, with able if overcaffeinated sidekick Fred Flea, survives a series of fiendishly clever traps and attacks on the way to a win. But the triumph is short-lived—roaches being, as everyone knows, hard to kill—and further conflicts loom.
As Fred would (does, actually) exclaim: “Ding-dong donkey donuts, Super Fly!” Fans of Super Diaper Baby will agree. (Superhero farce. 7-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61963-379-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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