Review by New York Times Review
COULD EDWARD STRATEMEYER have possibly realized what he set in motion back in the early 20th century when he invented the modern machine-tooled juvenile book series with the Rover Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and Tom Swift? Today, the children's shelves in bookstores, libraries and bedrooms are groaning with volumes that can seem to find more inspiration in the ordinal allure of wearing big, bright numbers on their spines than in the old exigencies of character, plot, perspective and suchlike. This is true for every category of children's books, and especially so in the case of "chapter books," written for earlygrade students who have gotten the hang of picture books and are ready to move on to higher word counts and grayer pages. Visit a Barnes & Noble and it can be hard to find chapter books that aren't part of a series; perhaps they're squeezed off the shelves by the sheer yards needed to accommodate the dozens of Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House titles. For publishers, the benefits of literary branding are as obvious as they are for manufacturers of snack foods and toothpaste. For kids? Well, they clearly like the comfort of familiar characters and situations, the security in knowing expectations will be met. (Adults aren't so different, by the way, as devotees of Sue Grafton, James Patterson and Helen Fielding can attest. Captain Underpants will have to undergo many more adventures before he catches up to Miss Marple or James Bond.) Can we call for a moratorium? Too late, because here are three brand-new chapter-book series, two nervy enough to brand their premier installments with big, fat numeral Is - no hedging of bets for these eager, confident beavers. Another leaves any promise of subsequent adventures implicit, at least until the reader arrives at its final page, where the narrator proclaims, "This is my book, or I should say, my first book." An ad for the second follows, but give thanks that the publisher has allowed readers to invest in the character and enjoy her story before moving to exploit the grade schooler's collector instinct. That restraint (comparative though it may be) is one reason "My Life in Pictures" strikes me as the best of the new crop. Two more reasons are the understated charms of Deborah Zemke's heroine, Bea Garcia, and of Zemke's skittery line drawings, which have some of the winsome flavor of Roz Chast's cartoons, minus the teeth-grinding angst. "My Life in Pictures" is ostensibly Bea's illustrated diary or journal, the literary form du jour for chapter-book series. Bea herself is a not-unfamiliar heroine: a creative, passionate, insecure-but-not-too-insecure grade schooler with a loyal pet (Sophie, "the smartest dog in the world"), an annoying little brother (Pablo, a.k.a. "the Big Pest") and loving but occasionally clueless parents. She could be the literary daughter of Ramona Quimby, or granddaughter of Betsy and Tacy. Bea's problems unfold when her best friend and next-door neighbor, Yvonne, moves to Australia and is replaced by Bert, a rude, feral boy with ferocious eyebrows and outsize gifts for burping and getting under Bea's skin. To Zemke's credit, Bert's boorish exterior never cracks to reveal the wounded bird within; he remains true to his own probably soulless self, but Bea finds a way to defang him and establish neighborhood détente. Readers may not clutch Bea to their hearts or carry her around in the filthy recesses of their backpacks for months on end, but I think they will gladly welcome Bea back for Book 2. You could describe Oona Oodlethunk, the heroine of "The Oodlethunks : Oona Finds an Egg," as Bea Garcia transported back to cave-person times. Or maybe Bea is Oona dressed in Gap Kids rather than a pelt. Whichever the case, Oona too has an annoying little brother, a pair of loving but occasionally clueless parents and a rude, feral neighbor boy with repulsive habits, though he is named Bruce, not Bert. Another difference is that Oona sometimes worries about being eaten. A third is that Oona lacks a loyal pet; how she gets one is the subject of "Oona Finds an Egg." The story, by Adele Griffin, a two-time National Book Award finalist for her young adult fiction, leans too heavily on whimsical prehistoric nomenclature for my taste - Oona's brother is named Bonk, and she finds her egg on Mount Urp - but the denouement, which borrows a plot twist from Beverly Cleary, will delight kids as well as adults who think carbon dating is a secular-humanist hoax designed to disguise the fact that humans and dinosaurs shared the same planet. (The Oodlethunks may well be big in the evangelical home-schooling market.) The book's illustrator, Mike Wu, has worked as an animator at Disney and Pixar, which explains why his drawings of the Oodlethunks, with their big eyes and wide grins, feel so familiar and so movie-ready. The Mouse Scouts series, judging from its first two volumes, is so gentle it almost feels as if it hails from an earlier era. Not only do these books manage to be modestly funny while eschewing burps, boogers and earwax, they also project a level of respect for adult authority that is rare in 21st-century children's literature. Here, it goes with the territory: The two lead characters, cautious Violet and headstrong Tigerlily, are members of a Girl Scouts-like organization for talking mice, the Acorn Scouts, which provides them with snappy uniforms, a handbook, a motto, a pledge and an intimidating troop leader named Miss Poppy. (The talking squirrels and chipmunks who feature in some of the scouts' adventures are either uninterested in joining or not eligible.) Rounding out the troop are bookish Junebug; vain Hyacinth; hungry Cricket; and Petunia, who lacks identifying adjectives but whose tail is notably crooked thanks to an unfortunate encounter with a mousetrap. Don't worry: While not without peril, the animal kingdom created by the author-illustrator Sarah Dillard owes more to Beatrix Potter and E. B. White's "Stuart Little" than to Jack London or George Orwell. Indeed, the gravest challenge facing the Acorn Scouts is learning how to work together so they can earn new merit badges. There are 16 in total, to judge by an excerpt from the Mouse Scouts Handbook, and it looks as if they will be doled out one per Mouse Scout title. "Have you earned the latest badge?" the jacket flap copy on the first two asks. Someone deserves a merit badge in marketing.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 3, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
The author-illustrator of Perfectly Arugula (2009) and the Extraordinary Warren graphic novels enters chapter-book territory with this cheerful series starter. Timid Violet and exuberant Tigerlily are best friends and newly fledged Acorn Scouts trying to earn a Sow It and Grow It merit badge with their troop mates haughty Hyacinth; Petunia, with the crooked tail; Cricket, who's always nibbling; and allergic Junebug. Each mouse is identifiable in the gray-scale pencil and digital-media illustrations included on every spread, and Dillard incorporates selections from the Mouse Scout Handbook, which explains the requirements for the gardening badge this troop's summer project. Some suspense is added to the simple plot when garden pests, small and then large, threaten their harvest until the resourceful friends find just the right defenses. Also included are the Mouse Scout pledge, the words and music to the Acorn Scout song, and a list of attainable badges setting the stage for episodes to follow. Readers won't have to be scouts to enjoy this agreeable tale of friendship and gardening.--Isaacs, Kathleen Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Dillard (the Extraordinary Warren books) kicks off the Mouse Scouts series with a good-natured story about the gardening travails of a group of young mice who are attempting to earn their Sow It and Grow It scouting badges. Quiet Violet, her more daring friend Tigerlily, and their fellow scouts learn that determination and hard work are essential to creating a thriving garden; they collaborate to gather seeds and, later, fend off pests big and small. Understated pencil illustrations readily capture the mice's emotions, while excerpts from their Mouse Scout Handbook offer a humorous window into their world ("A single pea is a healthy snack," reads one entry). It's easy to imagine children finishing this book with an increased interest in both gardening and scouting. Available simultaneously: Make a Difference. Ages 7-10. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-An illustrated chapter book series comprised of the winsome tales of Tigerlily and Violet, two newly minted Acorn Scouts. The pair of friends are joined by their fellow mice in adventures. Each title follows the protagonists as they attempt to earn a badge, guided by their scout leader, Miss Poppy. In the first installment, the girls work diligently at growing a garden, all the while fending off pesky weevils and squirrels. In the second story, the troop decides to earn the Make a Difference badge by cleaning up the local park. But during their clean up attempt, they must rescue a cat-a natural mouse predator-from a tree using a basket and pulley system. Peppered with black-and-white pencil drawings, excerpts from the Mouse Scout Handbook, and a copy of the Mouse Scout Song, this series is sure to appeal to any new or old scouts. Additionally, the books contain an illustrated listing of badges, hinting at future titles in which the girls attempt to earn Fun and Foraging or Friendship badges. The two main characters, Tigerlily and Violet, are polar opposites, with Tigerlily being a bit of a wild child and Violet more reserved, reminiscent of Ivy and Bean. Full of feel-good messages and morality lessons, these books are a creative and fun way to interest young readers in teamwork and environmental stewardship. VERDICT At times the comedy and vocabulary may be tricky for newly emergent readers, but these titles would do well in libraries with fans of Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and the Nancy Drew Clue Crew.-Kaitlin Malixi, Virginia Beach Public Library, VA © Copyright 2015. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Best friends Tigerlily and Violet earn merit badges and develop their leadership skills as newly minted Acorn Scouts. After their time together in the Buttercups, both mice are ready for the rigors of being full-fledged Acorns. Whether it's the acorn salute or the Mouse Scout pledge, earnest Violet is dedicated to the Scouts and their mission. Her best friend, Tigerlily, is something of a Type Ba good balance for Violet. Their first project is to grow vegetables. Violet loves the challenge, but Tigerlily needs a recon mission to the shed to get engaged. The scout troop is made up of all sorts of scouts, from lactose-intolerant Junebug to bored-out-of-her mind Hyacinth. They face all the challenges of gardening, from planting and watering to fighting off pests both small (bugs) and large (such raiders as rabbits and squirrels, who speak but do not wear clothes). Excerpts from the Mouse Scout Handbook add information about gardening and scout rules and keep the story moving along. Droll black-and-white pencil drawings add dimension and humor to each spread and help new chapter-book readers negotiate the challenge of long stretches of print. The second book in the series, Mouse Scouts Make a Difference, sees these scouts trying to effect positive change and finding that it is harder than they anticipated. Strong characters plus lots of laughs make this a welcome series for new readers, who will look forward to reading about all 16 badges. (Animal fantasy. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
