Aaron Reynolds (1) (1970–)

Jasper Rabbit returns in this third picture-book adventure from author Aaron Reynolds and illustrator Peter Brown. Flunking math, failing spelling, our leporine hero was in trouble at school, until the day he found a crayon on the street. Purple, pointy and perfect, the crayon looked happy to see him, and soon Jasper was prospering in all of his studies, without having to do any work. But when things began to go too far, and the crayon insisted on interfering with his artwork, Jasper knew he show more had to get rid of this seemingly helpful object. Would he be able to, though...?

Much like its two predecessors, Creepy Carrots and Creepy Pair of Underwear, Creepy Crayon pairs a hilarious story with beautifully engaging artwork. Jasper continues to have bad luck with the creepy objects in his life, and I found myself chuckling more than once at his hapless attempts to rid himself of his crayon foe. I appreciated the implicit messages of the story—when something seems like too much a good thing, it probably is; it's better to do our own work, rather than allow cheating of any kind to take over our lives—and the fact that they are delivered naturally, through the story. Perfect for story-time with slightly older children, perhaps in early elementary school, who understand the idea of schoolwork and assignments, and who appreciate a story that is one part spooky and two parts humor. show less

The first pages drew me in and had me laughing. Joey Fly is in the tradition of the hardboiled detective who's seen it all. ("The name's Fly. Joey Fly, private eye.") All the elements are there: the colorful similes ("Crime sticks to this city like a one-winged fly on a fifty-cent swatter."), the beautiful client ("She was a tall drip of water. And I was suddenly feeling parched.") and the terse, no-nonsense dialog. The monochrome palette of the illustrations provides a mock noir ambience. show more Additionally there is much humor: Joey Fly isn't that hardboiled so much as caught up in the whole idea of being hardboiled, as when he wishes "some cool theme music" would play when he introduces himself. His hiring instincts aren't too keen either; his new scorpion assistant is so exasperating and snarly you wonder why Joey keeps him on. The mystery of a missing diamond pencil box is fairly weak but uncovering a murderer wouldn't be as kid-friendly. As a whole the package is so entertaining, readers will look forward to what promises to be sequels. Added bonus for the detail-oriented: a list of objects to find in the illustrations. show less

"Back of the Bus" tells the story of Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus, but from the perspective of a young boy who is confused about what is going on. I really liked the perspective this story took. I have heard and read about the story of Rosa Parks many times, but never from the perspective of a young boy. In a part of the story, he says "Somebody's talkin' back, but I can't hear the words" and another part he asks his mother if they are doing something wrong. It makes show more the reader feel as if they were there as a young child trying to grasp the seriousness of what it is happening. Also, I really enjoyed the language of the story; the author used similes to help the reader paint a picture in their mind of the feelings and ideas in the story. For example, the boy describes Rosa Parks as she remains in her seat by saying "her eyes all fierce like a lightnin' storm." This imagery helps to capture how strong and powerful Rosa looked and felt sitting in her seat. Overall, I think the theme is segregation, yet hope for change of that segregation. At the end of the story, the boy holds up his marble that has been hiding in his pocket and allows it to shine in the light, which resembles the way Rosa Parks is shining of strength and no longer hides her feelings from the back of the bus. show less

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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There's a hum from the game and it roars to life...The Grim Reaper inside starts to move. He puts his bony hand near a small chute and my quarter falls into his palm.Behind him, a little sign spins into place:

PLAY AGAINST THE GRIM REAPER
WIN AND YOUR WISH IS GRANTED
LOSE AND SUFFER THE REAPER’S CURSE!

"Whoa!” cries Darvish in realization. “This is just like that old movie from the eighties."

“What movie?” I ask.

“You show more know,” he persists. “The one with Tom Hanks.”

“Never heard of him.”

“He wishes to be tall," Darvish says. “Or grown. What was it called? Tall? Large?"

“No idea,” I tell him. “Unlike you, I do not spend my time on ancient movies from a bygone era."

WHAT'S THE INCREDIBLY DEAD PETS OF REX DEXTER ABOUT?
Rex Dexter is a sixth-grader who desperately wants a pet. Well, no. He wants a dog—and considers all other kinds of pets as beneath him. A Chocolate Lab in particular, or he'd settle for a Yellow Lab. Even a Black Lab. Or, if he must, a Golden Retriever. The kid has standards.

Due to a mishap a few years earlier with a Goldfish and, well, his entire personality, his parents have decided he's too immature for a dog, but they do get him a rooster for his birthday to see how he handles that. Sure, this makes no sense—who gives a rooster as a pet? But don't worry, the chicken dies in a strange mishap hours later. (That's not a spoiler, he's literally dead on the book's cover).

It's about this time that Rex plays the Reaper's game, and loses. Soon after that a very flat chicken starts talking to him—but no one else can see or hear the chicken, but Darvish is able to see the Rooster move things, so he believes Rex. So, the Reaper's curse has something to do with seeing dead animals. Rex and Darvish barely get the chance to start believing that when a Rhino's ghost shows up, too. It had died in a fire at the local zoo.

The Rhino (Rex calls him Tater Tot) tells Rex she needs help finishing something on Earth before he can move on—Drumstick (the rooster) has no intention of leaving. Rex and Darvish need to figure out who killed Tater Tot to help her move on. While they're trying, more dead zoo animals arrive—making quite the mess in Rex's room and making it difficult for him to focus on school (never a strength in the first place).

Their age and inexperience are a couple of the biggest strikes against their success, but there are bigger obstacles. Starting with the fact that their Sixth Grade Teacher, Ms. Yardley, keeps trying to educate them, and then there's a research project looming on the horizon, as well as the Evening of Enchantment dance. That's just a whole lot to go up against, but these ghosts need his help.

REX AND DARVISH
Rex is the kind of over-confident (arrogant-adjacent) and not all that bright hero that MG books seem to love filling themselves with lately--Greg Heffley and Timmy Failure are the two examples that jump to mind. He's got attitude to spare, opinions on everything under the sun, and a blind spot to his own strengths and weaknesses that's larger than himself.

Where Timmy has that Polar Bear, Rex has Drumstick. And where Greg has Rowley, Rex has Darvish. Darvish is a lot like Rowley—upbeat, considerate, and pretty clever. Also, they're much better friends to Greg/Rex than Greg/Rex are to them. Both of them would be better off getting a new best friend, but neither do. It's a fun dynamic to see, but man...I feel for them, you know?

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE INCREDIBLY DEAD PETS OF REX DEXTER?
First off, thanks to The Bookwyrm's Den for letting me know about this book and making it sound fun enough to look into.

This is a ridiculous book, a goofy premise, and an outlandish execution of that premise. And I loved it. There's a higher joke-density to the text than The Wimpy Kid books or Timmy Failure's adventures. Maybe it's too much, honestly, I had to take a couple of breaks because I just needed a break from the relentless barrage of jokes. I don't see anyone in the target audience doing that, but it was at over-dose levels for me (like you get when you get near to the end of a package of Double-Stuff Oreos if you eat the entire thing at one sitting).*

It's ridiculous, it's hilarious, the story holds up, and the characters (living and dead) are just great. I think this works for all ages, there's just enough story to keep you invested and even if all the jokes don't land, just wait for the sentence and you'll get another one.

It's been a while since I just read a book for fun, with no other expectations or goals. That's all that Reynolds offers and that's exactly what he delivers. show less