Colleen AF Venable

The eponymous hero of this charming meta-fictional picture-book stands motionless as the text "Mervin the Sloth Is About To Do the Best Thing" slowly sinks down the page. His fox friend is eager to see what he will do, and so too are the other animals who show up, one by one. The bird think he will fly, the gazelle that he will "gazelle" (an activity that apparently involves a bit of bouncing), the moles think he will dig. As each argues for his idea, Mervin himself still stands motionless. show more Eventually everyone but the fox gets bored, moving off just as more text begins to sink down the page: "Hug his Best Friend..."

An entertaining tale with a sweet pay-off at the end, Mervin the Sloth Is About To Do the Best Thing In the World involves quite a bit of innovative character-typography interaction, not just in the relationship between Mervin's slow-moving action, and the aforementioned sinking text, but also in the way that various characters bump into or override the central text in their hurry and/or excitement. This interaction is really quite clever, as it parallels the interaction of the animals with Mervin, their quick speech and actions seeming to overwhelm his slow-moving mode of being, only for our sloth hero to get there in the end, going at his own pace. The artwork by Ruth Chan, whose recent Where's the Party was a charming debut, really adds to the sense of fun, while capably balancing the textual/artistic back and forth of the book. Highly recommended to anyone looking for humorous picture-book with a meta-fictional twist! show less

"It's time! Are you excited? I bet you are, because today you are joining...THE BAND!" Friendly band director Mr. V serves as narrator, claiming that there is a perfect instrument for everyone - "Let's find yours!" A clump of excited children cluster together with smiles and instruments, but the girl with drumsticks has the biggest smile. Each pair of double page spreads fits a pattern: first, a new instrument is introduced, but when Mr. V invites a kid to demonstrate its sound, enthusiastic show more Felicity bangs on her drum instead. In a surprise twist at the end, when it's finally Felicity's turn to demonstrate the drums, it turns out she has fallen in love with the tuba instead, whose WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP overpowers even the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the drums.

The information on various musical instruments is excellent, and it's presented in bite-size nuggets spread over and around each page spread; but it's the art that takes this book over the top, including the typography, and the way that sound is presented visually: speech bubbles and other shapes filled with sheet music pour forth from instruments, and jagged, colorful zig-zags abound. A total delight.

Back matter includes "about the band": "the band members in this book were inspired by real musicians," from Sidney Bechet (clarinet) to Carol Jantsch (tuba).

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Re-read several times, including for book club February 2022 show less

Amanda ("Mads") has two best friends: her dad, with whom she loves to watch minor league baseball games, watch TV, and play video games; and her neighbor and Catholic school classmate Cat, who takes advantage of parental inattention to go out to clubs at night. But when Mads overhears a phone call that makes her question her dad, Cat doesn't think it's as big a deal as Cat does, and it's their "boring" friend Laura (whose brother Adam has a crush on Mads; Cat has a crush on him) who helps show more Mads research her family history: they discover that Mads' grandmother transitioned when Mads' dad was a kid, and left the family; he died only recently. But Mads' dad doesn't know all of the history either, and it's Sam's loving partner Dina who is able to fill in the gaps for Mads. When Mads comes out/is outed, she's surprised by her mom's support, and hurt by everyone else's reaction: her dad avoids her, and friends at school shun her and talk behind her back. Fortunately, Mads finds new friends, and when she transfers to public school, she is welcomed into the GSA. The story is set in 2004; illustrations are in black and white, with fantastically expressive body language. When family history is related, the illustrations frequently contradict the text ("People rarely remember the past the way it happened. Most remember...however it suits their needs").

Quotes

"I just feel like she exists to make ME feel like a worse person." (Cat re: Laura, 111)

"I don't think he's your grandmother's lover...I think he's your grandmother." (Laura to Amanda, 147)

The problem with a best friend who tells great stories was sometimes she didn't know which ones weren't meant for the entire world. (167)

"This is the kinda crap that happens in high school. It' snot forever. The pool of people will get wider and you can be who you want to be." (Jess to Amanda, 169)

"My father is not a forgiving man. Talking to him about it won't change the past, but can make our lives harder in the future. Do you understand?" (Mads' dad, 193)

"You're my daughter, and I love you. I think I've always known. My gut says God is okay with it, too." (Mads' mom, 255)

"People rarely remember the past the way it happened. Most remember...however it suits their needs." (Dina, 278) show less

I zipped through this fun book in one sitting. Katie is disappointed that she can't go to camp with her two best friends and will be stuck in NYC all summer. She decides to try to earn the money to attend the last week of camp, and after a few false starts (killing houseplants, failing to carry groceries up the stairs) she gets a great gig: catsitting for a neighbor's 217 cats. But soon Katie begins to suspect that Madeleine is, in fact, a supervillain known as the Mousetress (in this show more version of New York, there are superheroes and supervillains). It turns out Katie is half right: Madeleine is the Mousetress, but she's not a villain - she wants to save abused and endangered animals. And her 217 cats are each highly trained in a specialty, which comes in handy when the Mousetress is caught and Katie and the cats have to break her out of prison!

Woven alongside the action/adventure plot is the evolution of Katie and Bethany's friendship, as "Beth" begins to change, and Katie changes too. Sequel expected 2022.

See also: Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson, Spiderverse (movie), New Kid by Jerry Craft

Quotes

"This world is overflowing with unqualified people in ill-fitting spandex." (Bethany's mom, 33)

"I'm telling you! The cats are evil." "All cats are a little evil. That's what makes them cats." (Katie and her mom, 79)

"Tell my mother I love....when I get to say 'Told ya so.'" (Katie under a pile of cats, 91) show less