Toby Goes Bananas

April 15, 2017
Toby, an 8-year-old white boy, fancies himself quite the comedian...most disagree.Toby lives with his parents and younger sister, Zaza, and goes to school with his friends like any regular kid, but he loves to drive adults crazy with his behavior and his cheek. When his teacher asks him why he is standing on his chair, Toby responds that she told him to sing higher. When his mother buys him high-quality but ugly clothes for school, she tells Toby it's so they will last longer; he assures her they will since he will never wear them. His friends amuse Toby. During a torrential downpour, Toby tells a friend that he should stay overnight; the boy vanishes, comes back dripping wet, and tells Toby he had to run home to get his pajamas to stay the night. Girard's Toby, who has been around in his native France for 15 years, is a precocious, bratty smart-aleck that young readers will wish they could emulate (without getting in trouble) as they giggle over these illustrated one-liners and short jokes--there is no sustained narrative to speak of here. Messy, heavy-lined, color comics and illustrated pages resemble James Proimos' and are full of slapstick overreactions: Toby's victims usually fall over so only their feet are in the reaction panel. The jokes will be new to the target audience, and they will likely want more after they've been released from timeout for acting like Toby. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)

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May 1, 2017

Gr 2-5-Toby is an eight-year-old class clown who always gets the last word. He might not be the smartest kid in his class, but he often sprinkles grains of wisdom in among his wisecracks. This graphic novel is a look at one very busy day in Toby's life, from waking up-reluctantly-to going to bed and looking forward to his dreams. Essentially, this is a joke book, full of cute and funny vignettes ("What's the difference between broccoli and boogers?" "I never eat my broccoli!"). Most of the panels end with a one-liner or a sharp and witty quip in which Toby pokes fun at the world and the people around him. Toby is a well-known character in France (where he's known as Toto), and his stories have been delighting children there since 2002. The art style is rough and unsophisticated, with thick outlines and minimal backgrounds-in short, very childlike. VERDICT Sure to appeal to beginning jokesters, this is a solid addition to any young graphic novel collection and a great choice for reluctant readers.-Kelley Gile, Cheshire Public Library, CT

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