Exploring an abandoned barn, Jack encounters a mysterious, threatening figure with a face of rain and a bag that flashes lightning. Populated with Phelan's trademark loose-lined, sparely sketched, emotive characters, this is the story of eleven-year-old Jack, who hasn't seen rain since he was seven. Illustrator Phelan's graphic novel debut brings 1937 Kansas, wracked by drought and hardship, to life, adding a supernatural twist that fits well with the extremities of the Dust Bowl. Cleverly, alongside old favorites-from medusas and witches to krakens and the Loch Ness Monster-Katz dreams up her own baddies, like the compu-monster, that gobbles up hard drives, and the voracious Verbivore (take heed, librarians!).Ĭhipman, I. From an invitation to visit Count Dracula to an international zombie census, the quality of the poems is wildly inconsistent, sometimes even from line to line, as when a clever gross-out (“Greasy green lizards / and raw chicken gizzards,”) gets a poem rolling, only to have it fall flat on its face with “spell-binding spells / cast by spell-casting wizards.” More often than not, though, bursts of devilish humor and winking creepiness keep things moving, and McCauley’s well-designed pages-outfitted in a sort of loose, splashy collage, with a few sturdy fold-outs-have browsing appeal.
Definitely not to be mistaken as an entry in the increasingly ubiquitous Ology line, this book offers a collection of hideous beastie–based verses. The final scene, which depicts Chloe between her uncles in the light of a full moon, underscores Brannen's reassuring message.
Featuring a sunny palette, Brannen's delicately outlined watercolors convey the characters' varied emotions-the guinea pigs' eyes are particularly expressive-and the mutual affection of the heroine and her uncle. Though the story makes an easy springboard for adult-child dialogue, the issue of same-sex marriage is incidental to the plot, which straightforwardly addresses the fear of being replaced when a loved one marries. She proclaims the garden ceremony "the best wedding ever"-and even takes credit for planning it.
He and Jamie escort Chloe to the ballet and take her sailing, and she warms to the idea of having two uncles, especially when she is asked to be their flower girl. Everyone is thrilled except for Chloe, who tells Uncle Bobby that she doesn't think he should get married, since "You have me! We can keep having fun together, like always." Her uncle promises, "You'll always be my Chloe," and tells her they will continue to have fun together. Brannen's debut stars a strong-willed guinea pig whose favorite uncle announces he is marrying his partner, Jamie.
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