Anne of green bagels

Jon Buller, 1943-

Book - 2016

"Anne's life is a little topsy-turvy. She and her mother don't know where Anne's dad has gone. He left to test out his latest invention, and he hasn't really been in touch since. The kids at school won't stop calling her Anne of Green Bagels because of the strangely colored bagels she keeps bringing in for lunch. Not to mention the odd, vivid dreams she keeps having! It's up to Anne to find her dad, but she can't do it alone." -- Back cover.

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Subjects
Genres
Comics (Graphic works)
Humorous comics
Published
[New York, New York] : Papercutz [2016]
Language
English
Main Author
Jon Buller, 1943- (author)
Other Authors
Susan Schade (author)
Physical Description
183 pages : chiefly illustrations ; 20 cm
ISBN
9781629914657
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Anne, a red-haired sixth-grader, goes to her first day at a new school with a seaweed bagel sandwich packed by her health nut grandparents, earning her the titular nickname. She's going through some confusing times: her dad's disappeared to test a kooky invention; she's moved to Megatown, where every house looks almost exactly the same; and she doesn't know anyone. One day, she finds some of her dad's old cartoons, learns he's the uncredited cocreator of her favorite TV series, and decides to get him the credit he deserves. Anne's matter-of-fact first-person narrative makes up prose chapters, which alternate with Anne's green-tinted dreams, rendered in wordless comics panels with fine-lined, cartoonish figures. Anne's narrative doesn't offer much insight into her interior thoughts, but the dreams reveal more about her feelings. While the transitions from comics to prose are occasionally a bit jolting, the combination of storytelling formats affords kids lots of ways to connect with Anne's tale, and the ultimate message that being weird can be great is an empowering one.--Pino, Kristina Copyright 2016 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This hybrid comic/chapter book from spouses Schade and Buller (Scarlett: A Star on the Run) revolves around Anne, an 11-year-old forced to move back to her grandparents' cookie-cutter suburb when her eccentric father abandons the family to try out his "latest wacky invention." Anne's spirulina bagels attract the eye of classmate Brendan, who makes the title's joke. He's also the winner of last year's school talent show, which piles more tension on Anne; she's thinking of entering the show with her new friend Otto, who offers her social support and musical collaboration. Meanwhile, Anne uncovers evidence that her father has more to do with the comedy TV show they adored watching together (it's a Simpsons clone) than she knew. Used in both spot illustrations and panels, the duotone artwork is strongest in dream sequences that show Anne wrestling with her father's betrayal and her love for him. While the dialogue sometimes turns smarmy ("Show 'em you like it," says Otto, suggesting that they name their musical duo the Green Bagels. "And you're proud to be who you are"), it's breezy entertainment with a suitably happy ending. Ages 7-10. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-Anne feels like an outsider compared to her new sixth-grade classmates, not least because she has recently moved in with her grandparents while her father tests a portable homeless shelter in authentic conditions. Anne plays violin with her new friend Otto, with whom she shares a love of the children's show The Blimptons. As she and Otto prepare to play in a school recital under the name "The Green Bagels," an attempt at reclaiming an insult from Anne's first day of school, she experiences vivid stress dreams about her father, school bullying, and performance anxiety. Silent illustrated sequences depict Anne's dreams, ranging from the symbolically pedestrian to the eerie and evocative. High emotions and key explosions of personality are also inserted into the narrative as brief comic illustrations, with similar varying degrees of success or distraction from the story. Buller and Schade work hard to give the characters psychological depth, a necessity in a book structured around dream sequences, and just about every character is given a chance to prove that they are better than Anne's initial judgements. But the climax of the action falls spectacularly flat, as all the plot threads converge in a hasty jumble, lacking pacing and emotional weight. VERDICT A sincere but unsuccessful attempt at accessible psychological complexity undone by too many disparate elements.-Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH © Copyright 2016. 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.