ILLINO S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007. I 1l~ University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science j/; II_ a!::· -i·; :-:::- r' ;7 "I i w PAUL GOBLE -The Big Picture starred review / The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 1i'-"Goble's storytelling is superb; his illustrations extraordinary and filled with fascinating detail. From an exceptional talent: a sure classic." - Starred review / Kirkus Reviews "[A] tale of generosity, bravery, and forgiveness." - School Library Journal "Once again, beauty and authority distinguish Goble's presentation of a Native American legend." -The Horn Book All ages. $16.99 Tr (0-06-029813-8) $17.89 Lb (0-06-029814-6) Bn L-I hins 7 IM ren s ooks THE BULLETIN __ OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS October 2003 Vol. 57 No. 2 i LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILINOIS URANA CHAMPAIGN A LOOK INSIDE 47 THE BIG PICTURE Sidekicks by Dan Danko and Tom Mason; illus. by Barry Gott 48 NEW BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE Reviewed titles include: 52 * Colibri by Ann Cameron 53 * Vote! written and illus. by Eileen Christelow 58 * Boxes for Kaje by Candace Fleming; illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen 67 * One Witch by Laura Leuck; illus. by S. D. Schindler 78 * Faultine by Janet Tashjian 83 * Minn andJake by Janet S. Wong; illus. by Genevieve C6td 85 PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS 86 SUBJECT AND USE INDEX EXPLANATION OF CODE SYMBOLS USED WITH REVIEWS * Asterisks denote books of special distinction. R Recommended. Ad Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. M Marginal book that is so slight in content or has so many weaknesses in style or format that it should be given careful consideration before purchase. NR Not recommended. SpC Subject matter or treatment will tend to limit the book to specialized collections. SpR A book that will have appeal for the unusual reader only. Recommended for the special few who will read it. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (ISSN 0008-9036) is published monthly except August by the Publications Office of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and distributed by the University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820-6903. 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Postmaster: Send address changes to The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820-6903. All inquiries about subscriptions and advertising should go to University of Illinois Press, 1325 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820-6903, 217-333-0950; toll free 866-244-0626. Review copies and all correspondence about reviews should be sent to Deborah Stevenson, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign, IL 61820-6601. Email: [email protected]; phone: 217-244-0324. Visit our homepage at http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/puboff/bccb Periodicals postage paid at Champaign, Illinois © 2003 by The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Drawings by Debra Bolgla. This publication is printed on acid-free paper. Cover illustration by Barry Gott from Sidekicks ©2003. Used by permission of Little, Brown and Company. OCTOBER 2003 * 47 THE BIG PICTURE Sidekicks by Dan Danko and Tom Mason; illus. by Barry Gott Thirteen-year-old Guy Martin wants to be a superhero (as his sidekick name of Speedy suggests, he's now the fastest person alive, beating out the former Fastest Man Alive Man), but right now he's serving his apprenticeship as a sidekick to Pumpkin Pete, hanging out in the Sidekick Clubhouse and waiting for the call to aid the League of Big Justice in the fight against evil. After three weeks, however, he's finding that he's mostly aiding them in the fight against household and per- sonal untidiness as he listens to the complaints of his fellow sidekicks ("That's what I was thinking. Smash evil and be popular. I had no idea I'd be doing laundry and listening to people whine all the time"), and he's getting a bit restless. He's got more than soapsuds on his hands soon enough, though, when the League of Big Justice Headquarters of Big Justice (there's a lot of redundancy in good) is blown up by the Brotherhood of Rottenness, and the League members-from King Justice to Captain Haggis, the Librarian to Ms. Mime-have been captured by the Brotherhood. Sidekicking being something less than a rigorously screened calling (Spelling Beatrice has "been a sidekick for almost three years, but what she really wants to do is act"), it's a rather motley and disunited crew that's left to save the abducted superheroes and foil Rottenness' plan. Fortunately, Guy's stalwart efforts are rewarded (and his noble willingness to sacrifice himself proven superflu- ous), and the world is saved (except for Ohio, whose inhabitants were unfortu- nately all turned into puppets). Pastiche is nothing new in children's literature these days, but let's face it-it's a hard genre to sustain for the length of a novel. Sidekicks pulls off that difficult task, with lull-free pacing and relentless humor that makes this suitable as a readaloud or an enticement for reluctant readers (an easygoing format, topped by Gott's slickly comic black-and-white chapter headpieces, keeps the look unthreat- ening but sophisticated) as well as kids just looking for an enjoyable literary romp. Danko and Mason evince the unflagging energy of The Naked Gun's Zuckers and Abraham-or, rather, an energy that is funny even when it flags, as when the chapter titles career off into commentary ("Chapter Seven: These Chapter Titles Make No Sense"; "Chapter Nine: The Ninth Chapter"); another obvious fore- runner here is the loving mockery of Get Smart or, more recently, The Tick. Here also is that same blend of genuine intelligence and lovable dorkiness (a mixture likely to be found in this book's readers as well). On the intelligence side, it's got a collection of quips larger than a superhero's tights wardrobe and a viewpoint of the proceedings that's comfortably cynical ("There isn't much science to being a superhero sidekick. You have to have a legal waiver from your parent or guardian 48 * THE BULLETIN unless you're eighteen. Ever since that ugly court battle with UnderAge Albert and the child labor laws, it's just plain impossible to become a sidekick without a bundle of legal paperwork"); what's more, it even keeps touch with the actual, if somewhat peripheral, plot throughout. On the other hand, the authors are smart enough to understand that elevation can be the enemy of enjoyment: the book understands the importance of cheap laughs (there's a villain, Le Poop, whose powers are ferocious bodily odors, so that when he unleashes his particular variety of gas attack "Spice Girl fell before its stinky awesomeness"), and it's also got an endless supply of dumb jokes about various lame superhero/sidekick names (Bar- of-Soap Boy "had to move someplace where it didn't rain so much"). Underneath the scoffing and the goofing, however, is some real, if still humorous, heart. The book nicely plays Guy's daily life at school and home against his other existence (his parents insist on secrecy about his superpowers, saying "We don't want some supervillain blowing up our house because you foiled his plan to rule the world, young man"), and his longing to display his secret brilliance in order to impress the beauteous Prudence Cane will ring true with every kid, side- kick or not, who's yearned for the object of his affection to have her eyes opened to his true worth. Guy's loving mom provides him and another sidekick with a ride to the Brotherhood of Rottenness (after seeing her son and his colleague safely belted into the seats of the family Oldsmobile, she warmly demonstrates herself as an in-touch parent by informing Exact Change Kid that "Guy tells me you throw pennies"), and in fact she's still patiently waiting in the parking lot for her son at the end of the book. Amid all the jokes about the embarrassing aspects of superheroism is genuine appreciation of the phenomenon of bravery, fictional or real: "And maybe that's what really makes them heroes-because they're not per- fect or superhuman; because they bleed and break like everyone else; because they might die, but they still rush into danger." And whether they admit it or not, that's what draws a lot of would-be sidekicks, who'll be gratified that the book truly appreciates their pleasures.