Toon Books: LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY

Toon Books Official Site

Jeff Smith + Toon Books = Inevitable

Here we have the first instructional book from Toon Books. The lesson: how to dress yourself if you're a mouse. Little Mouse is eager to visit the barn. His mother tells him to "get ready" and he can go play, thusly the rich plot unfolds. It's to Smith's credit that he makes buttoning a shirt an engaging action. This is hard work for a little mouse, but our hero is up to the task. He carefully recites aloud what he needs to do as he pulls on his pants and buttons that troublesome shirt (Sign O the times - this is the first children's book I've seen that shows kids how to fasten their sneakers, not tie them). As he dresses, his monologue is punctuated by excited speculation over what fun awaits in the barn. Fully clothed with a shirt, pants and sneakers he proudly tells his momma he's ready to go. But wait - Shyamalan plot twist! Momma delivers the punchline, "Mice don't wear clothes!" Little Mouse flies into the air, throwing off every shred of clothing at once and runs nekkid to the barn. This little bit of slapstick gets the biggest laugh out of my four year old.

The story is sweet and expertly drawn by Smith, which comes as no surprise. There is one sneaky plot hole I missed, but my little girl noticed it immediately. Her first question was, "But what did his momma mean when she told him to get ready?"

What indeed?

LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY releases September 7, but you can see a preview HERE.

Toon Books Review: LUKE ON THE LOOSE

Toon Books Official Site

A childhood flight of fancy or a parent's worst nightmare?


A father yaks it up with another parent in a city park while his young son wanders off. The curious little boy pursues a pigeon right out of the park and deep into the heart of the unforgiving city. There's a desperate search as the child runs across busy streets teeming with traffic and climbs to the top of a water tower before collapsing from exhaustion. As the day ends and hope fades, a miraculous rescue is made and the child is returned to his devastated mother. In an ironic twist, the end of the tale finds the father and son at the park again. This time the child is constrained by a common leash as his father continues to blather on with his friend. The child's safety is secured... but at what price?

Unlike his friend the pigeon, Luke shall never fly again.

Of course that's how I read it; through adult eyes. But LUKE ON THE LOOSE wasn't written for me. It's for kids who see the fun in something as simple as racing after a pigeon. My daughter, for instance, laughed at all the chaos Luke caused throughout his pursuit. More importantly she recognized how reckless he was being. That's what made it all so hilarious.

Compared to the rest of their catalog, LUKE ON THE LOOSE is a bit weak. Toon Books puts a lot of effort into crafting quality comics for beginning readers. But LUKE feels more like a modified picture book. Harry Bliss, an accomplished childrens book illustrator, could stand to polish his comics skills. He hasn't completely captured how the narrative is supposed to flow from panel to panel. The book looks more like a series of illustrations hammered into comics form. What he does bring is a thorough knowledge of comic book canon. Look for the famous characters, such as Hulk and Captain Haddock, lurking throughout the city.

All in all this is still a fun time for kids who enjoy a little chaos. Which is to say, any kid at all.

Visit the Toon Books site HERE.

Toon Books Review: STINKY

Toon Books Official Site

With all due respect to Art Spiegelman and his decades worth of revolutionary comics storytelling, his JACK AND THE BOX is only my second favorite Toon Books title.


STINKY is number one with a bullet. And it just happens to be newcomer Eleanor Davis' first published kids comic.

Hanging in the forest, noshing his pickled onions and happily shooting the breeze with his warty toad; Stinky is the coolest little monster in town. But when he sees a tree house being built (on his favorite tree, no less!) the poor little freak is beside his purple self. He spots the terrifying intruder- a young boy whistling happily as he strolls barefoot through the woods. The suburbs are encroaching on Stinky's home!


But he's got a few tricks up his sleeve to scare this kid off, starting with putting his prized pet toad into the tree house. Unfortunately this is just the first ploy that backfires. The kid loves the toad and adopts him immediately. And so it goes until Stinky learns that he and this kid have a lot in common and just might be better off as friends.

As I said, this is Davis' first published comic book and she nails it. So much so that she's nominated for an Eisner Award this year. The narrative is flawless, the images pop with color and personality and the story is completely charming. It's far too easy to make this kind of material pretentious or cutesy. But Davis' story is heartfelt. The humor is never forced, it comes organically from the character.

She makes Stinky the kind of dude any kid would want to hang and eat pickled onions with.







Check out STINKY at Toon Books HERE.

Toon Books Review: THE BIG NO-NO

Toon Books Official Site

Geoffrey Hayes’ THE BIG NO-NO! is his second Toon Book that follows the adventures of two little mice; Penny and her jerky brother Benny.

In the first pages we see Benny in all of his belligerent glory. Anything his sister likes Benny treats contemptuously for no discernible reason other than plain meanness. When Penny blithely tells him she hopes their new neighbor is a girl, he pulls out that wonderful old notion that girls are all “crybabies.” It’s a wonder Penny still has such a sweet personality what with having to deal with her brother’s rotten attitude all the time.

When their sand pail goes missing, Benny immediately assumes their new neighbor has stolen it. He insists that he and Penny should commit a “big no-no” and climb the fence to get it back. When they get there Penny is delighted to see their neighbor has assembled a collection of mud pies with flowers on top. Benny, of course, could care less and snatches up what he thinks is their pail. But when the new kid - a little girl mole - returns, things get ugly. Thanks in no small part to Benny’s fear-mongering, a few simple misunderstandings escalate into an all out brawl. Everyone pelts each other with clods of dirt before the siblings escape over the fence. Now it should be noted that Benny at least acts honorably here and defends his sister from attack. Once home, Penny finds the missing pail in their own yard. For a second time Benny decides to do the right thing and return the pail. The kids actually get to know each other after this and become friends.

Then the most remarkable thing happens. After hurting himself with a rake Benny cries like a banshee. The mole laughs and calls him a crybaby (oh the irony). But Penny steps up and defends her jackass brother. Even after all of his derision, even in the face of such poetic justice, Penny acts with love and charity. What a gal.


Geoffrey Hayes is an excellent fit for the Toon line. The gentle line work has a warm traditional feel. Kids who dig the art of Beatrix Potter or Cyndy Szekeres would probably respond to this immediately. This isn’t his first Toon book and I hope he makes more. Maybe a comic called PENNY AND HER NEW FRIEND GO OUT TO PLAY AND THEY LEAVE BENNY AT HOME BECAUSE HE’S AN ANNOYING JERK. I’ve got plenty more good ideas like that, Geoff, give me a call.


Visit the Toon Books site HERE.

Toon Books Review: JACK AND THE BOX

Toon Books Official Site

Art Spiegelman, like many artists, has walked the path from angry young shit-disturber to brilliant innovator. Now, with decades under his belt, he steps into the role of family entertainer. Thankfully, unlike other creative geniuses such as Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, his brand of family entertainment doesn't suck.

His offering from the Toon Books library, JACK AND THE BOX, retains his signature offbeat sensibilities. It's obvious on the first read that JACK owes much to Dr. Seuss's original shit-disturber THE CAT IN THE HAT. In it a young (rabbit) boy's new jack in the box toy turns out to be a wild and mischievous friend. Like Seuss' Cat, the Jack In The Box is a slightly dangerous, but irresistible personality.


The comic is series of four-panel vignettes telling the tale of a boy and his delightfully psychotic toy. Like Spiegelman's earliest comics work, it is all about the allure of recklessness. This makes sense as his own introduction to the medium was E.C. Comics and their many unsavory rip-offs. These were the original bad boys of comic books and they have always informed his work in some fashion. But this isn't just the young Spiegelman looking to provoke shock and outrage. He also follows the premise through to touch on consequence and ultimately responsibility.

So, will this intro to comics have the same impact on kids today that THE VAULT OF HORROR had on little Art all those years ago? My ten year old daughter's reaction while reading it was, "Okay, now that's creepy."

JACK AND THE BOX finds it's own way to be provocative.

Visit the Toon Books site HERE.