Review by Booklist Review
Ah, best friendship. Short, wild-haired Bink and tall, neat-haired Gollie epitomize its ups and downs. In this sequel to Bink & Gollie (2010) and Bink & Gollie: Two for One (2012), DiCamillo and McGhee once again cleverly merge early reader, graphic novel, and picture book into a delightful ode to an unlikely duo. In the first of three short chapters, Gollie, looking through an old family album, finds a picture of crown-wearing Aunt Natasha, dated 1908, which confirms what she's long suspected: royal blood flowed in my veins. So Gollie dons an impressive outfit of crown and scepter; only, Bink is not impressed, especially since no pancakes are involved in celebrating the royal news. The second finds Bink struggling with her petite stature, and so she orders the Stretch-O-Matic to try and lengthen herself out. Finally, in the last adventure, Bink and Gollie look into breaking a world record. Droll, and with spot-on emotions, this return of the dynamic, roller-skating pair will make fans cheer.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In their third chapter book, Bink and Gollie remain as thick as thieves and just as prone to squabbling. In the first of three stories, Gollie discovers a photograph of a royal distant relative and immediately embraces her newfound regal bloodline ("I have long suspected that royal blood flowed in my veins," she muses), donning a crown, cape, and holier-than-thou expression. She soon learns it can be lonely as queen: when Gollie "regret[s] to inform" pancakes-obsessed Bink that "royalty does not cook for others," Bink replies, "Okay. I regret to inform you that I am going home." In the second tale, Bink's desire to be taller leads her to order a highly dubious "Stretch-o-Matic" machine that promises "dramatic change," and in the third, the girls hatch a scheme to become world-record holders. Readers may recognize some aspects of their own close friendships in Bink and Gollie's odd-couple relationship, but these two remain true originals. As in the previous books, the fresh, wry dialogue and Fucile's witty cartooning are as dynamic a pairing as Bink and Gollie themselves. Ages 6-8. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Bink and Gollie dream of royalty, fame, and stature in three amusing tales. In "Empire of Enchantment," Gollie is certain that queenly blood flows through her veins when she finds a picture of a regal aunt. She drives Bink crazy with all her airs. She sweeps through the streets complimenting the townsfolk on "their efforts on behalf of the empire." When it starts to rain, Gollie's snooty demeanor falters, and she's back to her old self. In the second story, Bink decides to get a Stretch-O-Matic since she is sick of being short and is sure that this device will do the trick. She is suspended from the ceiling in the complicated contraption when flabbergasted Gollie walks in. The whole thing comes crashing down, but Bink comes up with a creative way to fix the machine and feel tall at the same time. In "Kudos, Bink and Gollie," the friends decide to become famous by appearing in Flicker's Arcana of the Extraordinary, a Guinness Book of World Records-type compilation. Figuring that some sort of collection will land them in the book, they head off to Eccles' Empire of Enchantment. They buy 100 packages of 66 gold stickers each that they are sure is their ticket to fame. The plan doesn't pan out, but the clever duo comes up with a face-saving solution. The first story would make a fun read-aloud, as it lends itself to using alternately haughty and exasperated voices. All three stories feature Fucile's expressive and attitude-filled line drawings. Another humorous selection for those just beginning to dip into chapter books.-Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA (c) Copyright 2013. 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
Gollie (Bink Gollie, rev. 1/11; Bink Gollie: Two for One, rev. 5/12) has always had her imperious side, and it comes out in spades in the first of this book's three stories. "I have long suspected that royal blood flowed in my veins," she swoons after finding a photo of her great-aunt Natasha in fancy dress and a crown. Gollie dons her own cape, crown, and scepter (and roller-skates, natch) and goes bragging all over town. Commoner Bink is supportive when her pal finally comes back down to earth. In the second tale, diminutive Bink sends away for a mail-order Stretch-o-Matic kit ("Why should you be shorter than your friends?" "Why shouldn't you be tall?"), assembles it (sort of), then hangs upside-down from the ceiling waiting for gravity to work its magic. Finally, the pals decide to start a collection, hoping to amass enough stuff to have their photo included in Flicker's Arcana of the Extraordinary. Just as in the first two series entries, the friends' wildly different sensibilities -- and their interests, both shared and disparate -- tumble out through personality-filled dialogue and digital illustrations of barely contained chaos. Details from previous books (Bink's preoccupation with pancakes; both girls' love of roller-skating) will reward the BFFs' existing fans while bringing new friends into the fold. elissa gershowitz (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fans of Bink and Gollie will be pleased to welcome them back in three more humorous linked adventures that, as in their earlier appearances, play off their differences but ultimately affirm their mutual affection. First, Gollie has dreams of grandeur that don't impress Bink a bit--and don't quite work out as she hopes. Next, Bink succumbs to the siren song of an advertisement for an unusual device that promises to make her grow. It succeeds, after a fashion, but doesn't actually change the status quo. Finally, the two girls seek fame and glory through (relatively) traditional means but wind up deciding to use a different measure of success when their plans don't pan out. At the end, of course, they discover what readers already know: Friendship is the best prize of all. Fucile's digital artwork extends both the humor and the broad appeal. With wide-eyed, smiling characters, crisp black outlines and exaggerated details, they're reminiscent of (really good) old-fashioned Saturday-morning cartoons. They also offer lots of entertaining elements to linger over, including visual references to earlier exploits, clever use of color to keep the focus clearly on the two main characters and sly jokes to supplement the amusing wordplay. There may be no new ground broken, but there is still another bumper crop of fun to be had with these two BFFs. (Early reader. 6-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
