Spy, spy again True tales of failed espionage

Gr 5-8-Using a combination of comic-book style and prose, Holdcroft cleverly tells the stories of spies who failed, infusing wit through her cartoon art as well as her text. From ancient China, World War II, and recent history, the accounts will amaze readers as they learn how even the best-laid plans can fail. In the beginning, the format is confusing (it's hard to tell which way to read the text), but after a few chapters readers will get used to it. The illustrations are rich with color and comedy, though some of the stories aren't all that funny. (Sometimes people died.) Paul Janeczko's The Dark Game: True Spy Stories (Candlewick, 2010) is a more satisfying read.-Esther Keller, I.S. 278, Marine Park, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Rocky Bullwinkle cartoon) as broadly humorous schemers and, ultimately, fumblers. But she also chocks the stories full of background information to put the spying act in context--the book is, to put it mildly, voluble--and she knows when to throttle back on the yuks when the bite of the act still carries a sting, these being the tragic bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior and the perfidies of Aldrich Ames. Still, there is plenty of room for comedy, from the industrial sabotage behind cochineal red to the bugging device surgically implanted in a cat (the cost of Project Acoustic Kitty to the American taxpayer: $15 million; the cat was run over by a taxi) to the botched recovery of a Soviet submarine (cost to American taxpayer: $500 million). James Bond would cringe at these cleverly reconstructed espionage failures; kids will eat them up. (bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.