Shark vs. Train

Booklist (April 15, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 16))
Preschool-Grade 1. Maybe they haven’t pitted this exact pair against one another, but there’s little doubting young boys’ ability to spend hours and considerable blocks of imagination smashing different toys together in a knock-down, drag-out battle royale for romper-room supremacy. The opening spread shows two boys digging through a toy box, each pulling out a fearsome competitor. In this corner, there’s Shark (I’m going to choo-choo you up and spit you out); and in the other, Train (Ha! I’m going to fin-ish you, mackerel-breath). The bout gets progressively more ridiculous with each escalating shift in setting and rules. Early rounds in the ocean and on the tracks are split; Shark has the upper hand on the high-dive, and Train in giving carnival rides. Neither turns out to be much good at the Extreme Zombie-Squirrel Motocross video game (no thumbs) or sword fighting on a tightrope. Barton’s imaginative and wacky scenarios are knocked home by Lichtenheld’s ferociously funny artwork and will leave kids measuring up their dump truck and T-Rex for the next tale of the tape.

Ace Lacewing Bug Detective The Big Swat

School Library Journal (July 1, 2009)
Gr 2-4-Ace Lacewing is back to solve another mystery. Scratch Murphy, the owner of Six Legs Park, is knocked unconscious by a falling toolbox-presumably the property of a disgruntled carpenter ant-and wakes to find his flea bag empty and his money gone. Ace discovers that his client has a lot of enemies, including a fly-by-night roach in the banking business; Scratch's twin brother, Scritch; and a weevil with over-the-top parenting skills. Ace's blue-eyed gal Xerces and Police Sergeant Zito "The Mosquito" are with him every step of the way. When the solution hits Ace "like a flyswatter," a run for the money ensues through the Termite Tower of Terror, Anteater Falls, and House of Mirrors. Ace's first-person narration and snappy dialogue are true to the hard-boiled detective genre, as is the cast of characters. The illustrations, done in pencil and digitally colored, fairly glow. The many insect references ("Flypaper Awareness Week" and "Keep Your Antennae and Legs Inside Ride") in the colorful spreads are a true delight. Mystery fans and insect enthusiasts will enjoy a one-on-one reading with plenty of time to savor the clever wordplay and insect-related details. They will also want to find Ace's first adventure, Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective (Charlesbridge, 2005).-Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Noonie's Masterpiece

Booklist (May 1, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 17))
Grades 3-5. Fourth-grader Noonie Norton, a self-described “brilliant artist,” is just moving from her blue period (which began after her mother’s death, four years ago) to her purple period. While her archaeologist father travels the world, she lives with Aunt Sylvia, Uncle Ralph, and cousin Junior. Navigating her fourth-grade year with help from her loyal friend Reno and her art teacher, Noonie struggles to deal with math, her imperfect family, and her too-perfect classmate Sue Ann. The school art contest becomes a catalyst for change, shifting Noonie’s views on the people in her life and moving her art into a happier, polka-dot period. Noonie may be an unreliable and even unlikable narrator at times, but her pain and vulnerability are as evident as her belief in herself as an artist, and by the end of the story, she’ll have readers in her corner. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations, appearing throughout the book, have a 1960s-retro look. Originally written and performed as a play, this is Railsback’s first novel.

Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown

Booklist (July 2010 (Online))
Grades 3-5. Elementary-schoolers Dee, Hector, and Terrence go to a sleepaway camp where the supersleuth Lunch Lady from their school happens to be working her off-season. At camp, the prepubescent boys and girls behave with developmentally appropriate lapses in social niceties: the boys crack jokes about farts, while Dee really doesn’t get why the other girls have crushes on the cute male counselors. Lunch Lady and her assistant, meanwhile, utilize imaginative foodie tech to battle the mysterious Scum Monster, including Taco-vision night goggles worn to their Salisbury stakeout. Krosoczka’s inventive visual details, spot-on characterizations, and grade-school humor make this a standout graphic-novel series.

Ling & Ting Not Exactly the Same!

Booklist starred (May 1, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 17))
Grades 1-2. Sisters Ling and Ting may be twins, but that doesn’t mean they’re “exactly the same,” no matter what everyone says upon first meeting them. Children will come to their own conclusions after reading the six short, interconnected stories that make up this pleasing book for beginning readers. In the first chapter, “The Haircuts,” Ling sneezes while her bangs are being cut, and for a while at least, it’s easy to tell the twins apart. The chapters that follow reveal distinct differences in the sisters’ personalities, inclinations, and abilities. Despite those differences, in the end each girl subtly affirms her affection for the other. Framed with narrow borders, the paintings illustrate the stories with restrained lines, vivid colors, and clarity. The chapters often end with mildly humorous turns, from a neat play on words to a smack-your-heard obvious solution to an apparently impossible dilemma. These endings, as well as bits of comic byplay that occur in the brief framework vignettes, will suit the target audience beautifully. Lin, whose previous books include Dim Sum for Everyone (2001) and the 2010 Newbery Honor Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009), shows her versatility once again in an original book that tells its story clearly while leaving room for thought and discussion.

Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol

Booklist starred (May 1, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 17))
Grades 4-7. A brilliant, hard-nosed, and dedicated cop for being only 13 years old, Griff Carver grimly fights the good fight as a member of his new school’s Safety Patrol in this inspired, expertly spun tale. Rampart Middle School may have a shiny reputation, but, as new transfer Griff quickly discovers, it’s rotten from the principal on down. Even Delane, the patrol’s captain, is in the back pocket of flashy arch-villain and class-president-candidate Marcus Volger. Picking up allies who see through his flinty exterior—like ace reporter Verity King, bumbling but educable fellow officer Tommy Rodriguez, and Solomon, a savvy old janitor—Griff takes it on the chin more than once but comes out on top in the end, stymied in an effort to nab Volger outright but at least breaking up his counterfeit hall-pass operation in a spectacularly destructive climax. Pitch perfect from start to finish (“The donuts tasted like papier-mache, only less sweet and harder to chew”) veteran TV writer Krieg’s fiction debut will have even the most hardboiled whodunit fans rolling in the aisles. Expect sequels, and hope they come soon.

Bedtime for Mommy

Booklist (February 15, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 12))
Preschool-Kindergarten. Eschewing the typical scenario of readying children for bed, Rosenthal tickles toddlers’ funny bones with a role-reversal tale in which the child gets Mommy ready for bed. Working at her computer, papers askew, a harried and bespectacled mom pleads for five more minutes. Wearing a self-satisfied smile, the freckled child times her and then pushes her up the stairs to her bath. Pham cleverly submerges Mom in a bubble bath while the determined child scrubs her toes. Mom then gives thumbs-down to several attempts at picking tomorrow’s outfit, exuberantly bounces into bed, bargains unsuccessfully for two books tonight (they curl up with Anna Karenina), and begs for a glass of water. Watching the clocks will provide added amusement (it takes one hour to get Mom tucked in, and then it’s Dad’s turn). With the entire text in speech bubbles and humorous, uncluttered watercolor paintings surrounded by lots of white space, this switcheroo book is a perfect bedtime choice.