Lookit!: Comedy & Mayhem, Volume #1: A Cheese Related Mishap and Other Stories (review)
2006; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 59; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2006.0059
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Animal and Plant Science Education
ResumoReviewed by: Lookit!: Comedy & Mayhem, Volume #1: A Cheese Related Mishap and Other Stories April Spisak Friesen, Ray Lookit!: Comedy & Mayhem, Volume #1: A Cheese Related Mishap and Other Stories; written and illus. by Ray Friesen. Don't Eat Any Bugs, 200592p Paper ed. ISBN 0-9728177-6-X$8.95 R Gr. 3-6 Raymond Q. Wonderful is hoping for an exciting visit with his relatives in Pellmellia, and he is in luck; Cheese Festival Week is in full swing and Professor Eggner's mysterious cheese centerpiece promises to add a thrill to the proceedings. Indeed, the Professor's "pseudo-scientific cheese related research" has yielded a liquid called C3 that turns all water it touches into cheese. No groundbreaking scientific discovery is without its challenges, however, and a jealous rival, chicken ninjas, and a disgruntled housekeeper all threaten to destroy this marvel of technology before it can even be unveiled. A giant cheese wave and our intrepid heroes save the day, fortunately, and the book ends on a Cheese Festival extravaganza. Inserted between chapters are comic-strip interludes, brief stand-alone stories that vary in quality (some are rather lengthy considering their single punch lines) but are all quite clever concepts; one of the best involves Captain Cautious, the neatnik vegetarian superhero and his vampire-bat sidekick. The graphic novel's black-and-white illustrations match the text in their loopy refusal to stay in orderly panels and follow a linear track. This rebellion against the traditional format may confuse young readers, but there is a pattern within the chaos that becomes clear after a couple of chapters. Friesen's [End Page 230] budding talent as an illustrator (he is only seventeen) is especially highlighted in the interludes, as each individual story demonstrates a distinctive and promising drawing style. Slightly more sophisticated than Captain Underpants but in the same vein, this is sure to be popular with kids who can't get enough of graphic novels or who just like the jokes to be goofy and plentiful. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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