Insouciant bunny meets slow-witted bulldog in this nearly wordless romp.
No sooner do Mr. Magic the magician and his canine sidekick stretch out for a snooze than a blue rabbit hops from the top hat on the nearby bureau. A bucket of veggies in the adjacent kitchen looks enticing—but there’s a problem: how to get past the sleeping dog? Very simply drawn and colored in an angular retro style, the figures in Simard’s unframed sequential panels display cartoonishly exaggerated expressions. These are perfectly suited to a chase that begins with the crunch of a stepped-on peanut and escalates into a kitchen free-for-all in which spilled milk and sprayed ketchup play major roles. Sound effects and speech bubbles that often contain nothing but single images or punctuation marks give a handy assist: "FLUMP!"; "[light bulb]"; "PBBTTTHH!"; "!?" In the end the bunny gets its carrot, and the poor dog definitely comes off second best.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-577-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS
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BOOK REVIEW
What happens if your spaceship crash-lands on an alien planet and your vocabulary happens to be very limited?
A cute-looking, backpack-carrying robot in stylish red boots finds itself stuck on an alien planet when a “Bang! Bang! / Bang! Bang!” sends it scurrying. The story that ensues is told in a simplified comic-book format of one or two panels per page and the occasional double-page spread. The little robot has a vocabulary that consists mainly of one word: “Blip.” Uttered as a statement, a question, or an exclamation, the word is always in a speech bubble, as the form dictates. As the robot wanders along using its one word with the creatures it encounters, it finds itself in all sorts of situations, from the scary to the bewildering. Richards’ dynamic page composition will keep readers engaged, and his very expressive little robot will keep them rooting for a happy ending. Along the way readers will find plenty of details to catch their eyes. Not everything is as it looks. In the end the robot returns to its ship only to find a skirt-wearing robot in stylish orange boots busily fixing its own ship. The happiness they both experience upon finding another of their own kind is expressed in one big and satisfying mutual “BLIP!” While kids won’t pick up much vocabulary, it’s hard to imagine a better lesson in how to read the format.
A sweet introduction to sequential art. (Graphic early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-935179-98-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: TOON Books & Graphics
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS
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When a sea gull snatches his hat, a pirate sets out to get it back.
A stern chase is a long chase, as this wordless import (from Spain) demonstrates. Enraged by the theft of his skull-and-crossbones hat, the captain charges off in a ship crewed by an elephant, a crocodile, and a mosquito. Various adventures later, from a storm to an encounter with a huge, green, one-eyed sea monster, the pursuers catch up at last—only to find the hat repurposed into a nursery. Fans of Jon Klassen’s hat dramas may be disappointed by what happens next: The captain shrugs, hugs the provident parent, and departs with a friendly wave. The white captain’s massive orange beard shines out from González’s loosely drawn and brushed nautical scenes; with that to focus on, even younger viewers should have no trouble sailing through the sequential panels. That the sea monster is entirely benign and even helpful also adds to the story’s friendliness to the younger edge of the audience range. Humor abounds, from the absurd casting choices for Barbosa’s crew to the moment when the chortling mariners add an orange pigtailed wig to the captain’s exposed, bald pate.
A droll, rather sweet addition to the flood of “I want my hat back” tales. (Graphic adventure. 4-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4154-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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