Kevin Sherry

This is, I believe, Sherry's first venture out of the world of picture books and it's a really funny debut.

Blizz Richards, a yeti, is excited to attend a family reunion with lots of other bigfeet. But oh no! Will nasty cryptozoologist and publicity hound George Vanquist ruin everything? He's already sent Bigfoot Brian into hiding - Can Blizz and his friends coax Brian out and have a fun time despite Vanquist's sneaky ways?

The book is laid out in a blended graphic novel/beginning chapter book show more style similar to Bad Kitty or some of the new Branches series. Each page is crammed with black and white illustrations, labelled diagrams, maps of caves, and more, while the light plot is popped in almost as an afterthought, holding the pictures together.

The pictures and story are funny, and together they're hilarious, as a couple unexpected players solve the mystery and thwart Dr. Vanquist, making sure the Bigfeet have an awesome vacation.

Verdict: Full of jokes, puns, quirky cryptids, and more, this will appeal to a wide range of readers, not just the beginning chapter book set. It's blurbed by Dav Pilkey and this is one of the few times I'd definitely go on that for a recommendation - Pilkey fans will love this, as will readers of Dragonbreath, Bad Kitty, and and cartoon aficionados. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780545556170; Published 2014 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library show less

Riding on the coattails of I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean!, this book brings back the same enthusiastic giant squid, now with a paintbrush. The other ocean creatures get fed up - "you're making a mess!" - but the squid counters, "You mean...MESS-terpiece!" The final fold-out page reveals the squid's canvas: the side of the whale.

Our friend the squid returns with a paint brush. There's very little text in this (and it ends with a cheesy pun), but the pictures are clean and funny, including a giant double fold-out at the end.

Manners mash-up: A goofy guide to good behavior by various authors

This book is just plain fun. In the style of their previous collaborations, Why did the chicken cross the road? and Knock, Knock! Fourteen illustrators give their take on etiquette.
Bob Shea instructs readers on the proper way to ride a school bus – no drooling and don’t clean the driver’s teeth, even if he’s a crocodile!
Lynn Munsinger illustrates proper cafeteria manners, although her furry pigs don’t seem to be show more following her good advice.
Henry Cole warns against staring – even when you see some pretty funny/icky stuff, especially in the school office.
Leuyen Pham has a sweet spread on playground manners.
Peter Reynolds illustrates classroom manners with several groups of excellently behaved children and dialogue that sounds like it was written for a teaching special on listening to teacher.
Tedd Arnold blasts off into outer space and illustrates good sportsmanship with slug-like aliens playing slime ball.
Adam Rex shows a hapless evil scientist trying to instill a few good table manners into his evil monster creations.
Judy Schachner has a warm and colorful spread of good manners at a happy birthday party with a huge variety of children and activities pictured.
Frank Morrison gives good advice for being a good visitor – which the wild group of kids in the living room don’t seem to have listened to!
Sophie Blackall has a darkly humorous illustration of what not to do in a doctor’s office, including the instruction “prosthetic legs aren’t toys.”
Dan Santat instructs on proper behavior at the theater – even when it’s grand opera!
Joe Berger shows some of the things you should NEVER do in a grocery store.
Kevin Sherry gives pool rules, which should be followed even by giant squids.
Tao Nyeu has a beautifully embroidered spread…about not picking in public, noses, toenails, etc.
The final pages give the authors a chance to talk about their goofiest manners mishap and gives a brief list of each author's titles.

Verdict: This is an amusing book that kids will enjoy looking over, but it’s not particularly substantial and there’s no actual plot to make it a good read-aloud. An additional purchase.

ISBN: 978-0803734807; Published February 2011 by Dial; Borrowed from the library show less