Trubble town

Stephan Pastis

Book - 2021

Wendy the Wanderer's overprotective father never lets her go anywhere alone, so when he hires a babysitter, Wendy decides to venture out into Trubble Town alone where she meets Squirrely McSquirrel and other townsfolk.

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jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 1
vol. 1: 1 / 2 copies available
vol. 2: 0 / 3 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 1 v. 1 Checked In
Children's Room jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 1 v. 1 Due Apr 2, 2024
Children's Room jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 2 v. 2 Due Apr 2, 2024
Children's Room jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 2 v. 2 Due Apr 8, 2024
Children's Room jGRAPHIC NOVEL/Pastis/Trubble v. 2 v. 2 Due Apr 7, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Humorous comics
Graphic novels
Published
New York : Aladdin 2021-
Language
English
Main Author
Stephan Pastis (author)
Item Description
Description based on volume 1.
Physical Description
volumes : color illustrations ; 21 cm
Audience
Ages 8 to 12.
ISBN
9781534496118
9781534496101
9781534496132
  • v. 1. Squirrel do bad
  • .v. 2. The why-whay's fone bye-bye
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

There's trouble in Trubble Town when a child experiences the butterfly effect firsthand in this loony graphic novel series starter by Pastis (the Timmy Failure series). It all starts in chapter zero--the first of many offbeat chapter conventions--when tan-skinned, purple-haired Wendy the Wanderer, left with a neglectful babysitter, heads out to fulfill her name's calling. She begins with a trip into her own Trubble Town, but things immediately go haywire when Wendy shares a chocolate and marshmallow concoction called "mooshy" with a Christmas sweater--knitting rodent, whose sugar-fueled reaction results in a mayoral decree: "No more mooshies for Squirrely McSquirrel." Mayhem ensues, and a series of cascading catastrophes leave Wendy scrambling to make things right before her father comes home. Along the way, Wendy's efforts bring her into contact with countless quirky individuals, including a squirrel-hating sheriff, a Nutman who lives in a doughnut-shaped house, and a group of activist moles. Pastis's hand-lettered, rough-hewn digital illustrations feature flat bright colors and simple character design. Deadpan humor abounds alongside a cartoonlike approach to violence and destruction (buildings explode, angry mobs stampede and loot), but it's really the utterly unpredictable, absurdist plotting that propels this screwball adventure forward. Ages 8--12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (Aug.)■

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

Gr 2--5--Trapped with an overprotective father, purple-haired, beige-skinned Wendy the Wanderer leaves home at the first opportunity to explore the neighboring town of Trubble, which is filled with unique personalities, including anthropomorphic animals. When Wendy gives a squirrel a sugary drink, a chain of events is set off like a butterfly effect over the rest of the town, and nothing will ever be the same. This book specializes in surreal humor (a Chihuahua reads a mostly inaccurately reported newspaper written by an octopus). Chapter headings either make hyperbolic claims or flatly state the obvious ("Chapter Nine, Which Is One After Eight"). A matter-of-fact omniscient narrator indulges and presents the cast and their highjinks. The narrative makes chaotic leaps from character to character, but follows a strange logic of its own that leads to hilarious callbacks and nonsequiturs. Layouts are almost universally two panels wide and three panels tall. Characters have a simplified, cartoonish look, reminiscent of Pastis's comic Pearls Before Swine. Townspeople are diverse in skin color. VERDICT Wendy wanders almost as much as the story, which takes some random turns but builds a world of jokes along the way.--Thomas Maluck, Richland Lib., SC

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Meet Wendy the Wanderer, who lives with Worried Willy, her overprotective dad, in a purple, mushroom-shaped house in the town of Trubble. Willy hired Watchful Willamina to keep Wendy from wandering while he's away on business, unaware Willamina plans to be on the phone and just wants her charge to do her own thing. While her sitter takes selfies, Wendy takes off to explore Trubble. She buys herself a hot chocolate at Mooshy Mike's, giving the dregs to Squirrely McSquirrel, a treat-seeking squirrel who, buoyed by a sugar high, bounds into traffic, sowing mayhem and causing the mayor to forbid him to have any more Mooshies. When the mayor's office blows up, Squirrely is blamed. Thereafter, the cast of characters perpetrate and endure a storm of unforeseen consequences. (The plot's loose throughline hinges on the butterfly effect.) Most human characters are adults; jokes about building permits, office politics, and municipal bureaucracy abound, unspooling with cheery nihilism. Standout characters include Three Moles (Myrtle, Girdle, and Menace To Society) and a homebound Chihuahua in love with the kitty next door. Human skin tones vary--Wendy and her bald father have brown skin; Wendy's hair is a bushy purple halo. The comic strip--style art, with minimal shading or detail and a hand-lettered font, is well suited for the manic, madcap humor. A wild ride infused with anarchic glee. (Graphic humor. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.