The Great Thanksgiving Escape

August 25, 2014
Gavin is the picture of irritation after his parents dump him with a bunch of drooling, toy-munching toddlers while waiting for “turkey time” at Grandma’s house. Luckily, he finds a partner in crime in cousin Rhonda, and they make their way past several holiday hazards in order to reach the outdoor swing set. Fearing revels in his portraits of cinematically exaggerated horrors like the “Hall of Aunts!” (“We’ll be pinched and smothered for sure!” cries Rhonda) and a basement full of teenage “zombies” staring at their digital devices. Rhonda’s advice to Gavin—“Sometimes you have to make your own fun”—will serve readers well on Thanksgiving Day or any time of year. Ages 5–8. Agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary Agency.

August 1, 2014

K-Gr 3-The perils of a family get-together are drolly told from a child's point of view. While waiting for "turkey time," Gavin's parents tell him to play with the rest of the kids. Surrounded by drooling, stinky babies, he and his co-conspirator, cousin Rhonda, decide to make a break for it and head to the swing set in the backyard. They stealthily plot their escape and crawl along the floor under the cover of winter coats. Obstacles are faced at every turn, including smooches and snuggles from the "HALL OF AUNTS!" Playing with perspective, Fearing's digitally created cartoons show long lines of pantyhosed legs and an aerial shot of outstretched manicured hands reaching for a hug. Funny play-by-play running commentary describes the action as it unfolds. After a dark basement encounter with teenage video game-playing "ZOMBIES," the two young cousins finally make it to the back door. With wide, toothy grins, they gleefully play outside (despite a sudden downpour), exemplifying their credo, "sometimes you have to make your own fun." Expect requests for second helpings of this holiday treat.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2014
It's Thanksgiving at Grandma's, and nothing's worse than being stuck with the babies.As he waits with the toddlers for dinnertime, Gavin is pretty despondent...until his cousin Rhonda suggests they make a break for the swingset in the backyard (despite being told to stay with the "rest of the kids"). As she says, "sometimes you have to make your own fun." They creep out of the designated kids' room under cover of coats. The front door is blocked by vicious guard dogs (Grandma's sleeping dachshunds). The "hall of aunts" may leave them pinched and smothered with hugs if they are spotted. They head for the back door, past the "great wall of butts" (parents watching football-don't get between them and the TV!). They make it past the zombies (teenagers playing video games in the basement) and the food trap (the kitchen)...but it's raining. Still, there's fun to be made! Graphic novelist and illustrator Fearing's first solo picture book, based on his memories of Thanksgivings past, is a hoot for all ages. Kids will identify, and parents will reminisce. The digitally manipulated colored-pencil illustrations from a kid's-eye view layer the humor on an exaggeratedly goofy text.A holiday offering that definitely makes a fun all its own. (Picture book. 5-9)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2014
Grades K-2 Everybody needs a bad influence. For Gavin, bundled along to Grandma's house for another Thanksgiving, it's his cousin Rhonda. Sometimes, Rhonda says, you have to make your own fun. Bold, digitally touched pencil illustrations follow the characters through the gauntlet of holiday terrors, from pinching, snuggling aunts to the (allegedly) booby-trapped but so-wonderful-smelling food in the kitchen. Filled with humorous dialogue and with surefire read-aloud appeal, this will easily find an appreciative audienceespecially among those who are, like the characters, too old to play with the little kids and too young to play with the big kids.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)