Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this rogues' gallery, British creators Perry and Snow (previously teamed for Here's What You Do When You Can't Find Your Shoe) rhymingly introduce imaginary criminals. The title character, accessorized with boxing gloves and a steamroller, ensures that sweet and salty munchables are crumbled to bits, leaving "Brussels sprouts,/ liver, and/ spinach A intact?/ Dastardly Snack Smasher/ must have attacked!" His partners in crime include the Cap-Napper and Lid Lifter, who haunt kitchen containers, and the obnoxious Snorist, who "chose/ to sneak with his tuba inside your dad's nose." Snow pictures goofy masked marauders and their dismayed young victims; a lineup shows the innocent prey of the Scary-Hair Fairy, known to attack on "the night before picturesAthose taken at schoolA/ when kids want their hair to look stylish and cool." Perry composes passable if not hilarious stanzas, and her words and Snow's images sometimes misjudge the audience; the deeds of Puzzle-Piece Eaters and Boot Removers go largely unexplained, and Ink Drinkers ought to drain something more modern than an inkwell or fountain pen. This volume give off an antique vibe, even though today's readers likely remain all too familiar with "an annoyer/ more commonly known as/ the Locker Destroyer." Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-For readers who have ever wondered where those missing puzzle pieces go, why they wake up with bad hair on school picture day, or why their pens are always out of ink, this book has the answers. Introducing a cast of "scoundrels and scalawags given to crime;/dastardly deed doers all in their prime," these funny poems attempt to explain all that and more. In addition to the "Puzzle-Piece Eater," the "Scary-Hair Fairy," and the "Ink Drinkers," children meet the "Cap-Napper and Lid Lifter" (the duo responsible for those annoying spills), the "Snorist" (who sneaks inside Dad's nose to play his tuba), and other horrible hoodlums. Some of the poems are more far-fetched than others (the "Horn Twister" bends cows' headgear into odd shapes and "The Snake Knotters" tie reptiles into bows at the zoo) and the meter occasionally falters, but most of the selections work quite well. The concept is clever and the entries read aloud smoothly. Colorfully wacky pen-and-ink spot illustrations of people and creatures frame the text. They include a lot of cross-hatching and add interest and movement to the pages. Although the poetry isn't stellar, fans of humorous and nonsense verse will find a lot to enjoy here.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A cast of silly villains is introduced in this amusing collection. Children will delight in discovering the true identities of the creatures who ransack lockers (Locker Destroyers), drain pens (Ink Drinkers), and ravage their hair the night before school picture day (the Scary-Hair Fairy). Some poems are stronger than others, but the angular crosshatched illustrations are consistently funny. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
