Richard was a Picker

October 1, 2010
Booger Boy, as the neighbors not-so-affectionately call him, is unable to stop his horrible habit. Richard even creates elaborate snot-nosed dioramas with his strands of green glop. His nasty nose-picking fascination turns disastrous, though, when his finger permanently sticks up his nose and the rest of his body follows suit. The child-turned–giant-blob-of-mucus rolls through the town, collecting objects, pets and even a baby in his uncontrolled slime and attracting an angry mob. A nearby shop's spicy aroma produces a welcome sneeze, spewing out the drenched youngster and resulting in a yucky comeuppance for the harpoon-carrying locals. Though uninspired, the rhyming text clearly bounces along. "He looked like a booger, / a big gloopy blob, / an ooey, gluey goobery glob." Bright acrylic-and–colored-pencil spreads frame stocky cartoon sketches; round, googly eyes dominate each face. Saturated in disgusting descriptions, this vile offering pointedly targets boys of a certain age, and the gross-out humor will surely elicit plenty of eews along the way. Mission accomplished. (Picture book. 4-8)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2010
Preschool-G No, not a banjo picker. Richardor Booger Boy as most people call himalways has his finger shoved up a nostril, leaving in his merry wake a slimy path of snot, much to the consternation of community members. The constant boogery gush is a delight to Richard, who uses it as his medium: From the crumbles, gobs, and ooze / he sculpted castles, farms, and zoos. But one day his finger gets stuck. From there, its a study in Shel Silversteinstyle panic as more and more of his arm is lodged: Help! he honked in puzzled alarm. / Snort! / Richards nose sucked up his arm. Hodsons sticky green acrylics-and-colored-pencil illustrations hearken back to the anything-for-a-gag Garbage Pail Kids gross-outs of the 1980s and really take off when Richard is completely sucked into his own nose and becomes a giant ball of mucus being chased by a mob of disgusted townspeople. A fortuitous sneeze saves the daywell, unless you were standing in the wrong spot. Icky for sure, but thats the whole point.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)