April 8, 2013
Harper (the Just Grace novels) demonstrates that less is indeed more in this quirky buddy-comedy sketch, first in the Bean Dog and Nugget series. Minimalist, two-color cartoons in orange and gray appear within rectangular panels, and Harper portrays her two protagonists as inflated stick figures—Bean Dog has a tall oval shape, tiny Nugget is round—with facial expressions that drive the story’s humor. The dialogue, delivered in speech balloons, is similarly streamlined and snappy, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. Bean Dog is enamored of his new ball, but he isn’t very good at sharing or playing nice. After he nails Nugget in the head with it (“Think fast, Nugget! Catch!”), he gets upset when it bounces into the bushes (“That was a bad catch”). They throw their shoes into the bush in hopes of knocking the ball out, but it takes a transformation into makeshift superheroes (after a particularly funny extended riff on the line, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”) to retrieve it. Bean Dog and Nugget squabble over sweet treats in The Cookie, due simultaneously. Ages 5–8. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (May)■
March 1, 2013
Bean Dog and Nugget are ready for action! Bean Dog, a pink bean, or perhaps a hot dog, with stick arms and plaid shorts, has a new ball. It's shiny and perfect and special to him. He's having the best day playing with his ball when he sees Nugget, a pink circle with stick arms, a bow and a skirt. She thinks his ball is great, but he won't let her play with it. She sets off whistling, and he thinks better of his selfishness, tossing it and telling her to think fast. The ball bounces off her roundness and vanishes...into the spooky bushes. How can they get Bean Dog's ball back? Throw snowballs at it? Donuts? Monkeys? Muffins? No, their shoes! Now their shoes are stuck too. This calls for some deep thinking and a plan: Superdog and Ninja Nugget attack the bushes with garden implements. They get their stuff back: Yeah! After a game and some cake, it really is the best day! Harper kicks off another graphic-novel series for the early-reader audience with a tale happily devoid of the potty humor and didacticism that mark her Wedgieman titles. The simplicity of the illustrations and the text will draw in young readers, who will identify with the enthusiasm and silliness of these two-color, stick-and-bean characters. Amiable goofiness to the nth degree--a winner. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)
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July 1, 2013
In this easy reader in cartoon panels, a lozenge-shaped blob and an oval blob take on a bush that has devoured their ball and encounter some friendship issues along the way. The pair takes a superhero- and ninja-approach--until they are distracted by a large cake. The stylishly understated gray and pink cartoons are deadpan and wry (an underpants joke included).
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