Stop Thief!

March 19, 2012
“I am a big boy now!” announces Randall McCoy to his parents at the
beginning of this action-packed story. Randall goes on to prove it when a thief steals his a stuffed pig, Mr. Pigglesworth, and Randall pursues him in a madcap nocturnal chase that takes them to such places as a park, chocolate factory, museum, and carnival. Half the fun is tracking the progress of the main characters via a looping dotted yellow line (not unlike the neighborhood adventures of the children in Bil Keane’s Family Circus cartoons). In contrast to Randall’s harum-scarum activities, his Willems-style hapless parents calmly yawn through all the excitement. The slapstick humor is on target for the book’s audience, and Lane fills his spreads with sly references that both adults and children will get (Batman peeks from behind the zoo’s bat habitat, and several famous paintings are on display in the museum). A combination of summer action flick and old-fashioned adventure, Randall’s story should hold up to multiple re-readings. Best of all: it isn’t just a dream. Ages 4–7. Agent: Meredith Kaffel, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.

April 1, 2012
Randall McCoy is a self-proclaimed big boy now, with all the boundary testing that goes with it. Randall shuns the usual bedtime routine. He doesn't need to be tucked in or kissed good night. He doesn't even need his stuffed animal, Mr. Pigglesworth. (And vegetables? He certainly doesn't need to ever eat those again.) But when Randall tries to fall asleep he realizes how much he misses his stuffed friend. Just when he is about to grab him off the shelf, Randall sees a thief stealing Mr. Pigglesworth! He does what any big boy would do: He yells, "STOP THIEF!" But the thief doesn't listen, so Randall chases him into the night--through the zoo, the chocolate factory and even the museum. A thick, dotted line shows the characters' madcap dash across several pages. Lane's burglar is classic bad-guy fare, complete with striped shirt and shifty eyes. And Randall demonstrates a youngster's true lung power with his head thrown back and mouth open wide during each yelling refrain. The story meanders just as much as the chase, but comics-style panels and fun, intricate details demand a closer look at this caper. (Picture book. 4-8)

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June 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 4-On the first night that Randall tries to sleep like a big boy, without dear, stuffed Mr. Pigglesworth, he becomes restless. Climbing out of bed and making his way downstairs, he encounters a thick-necked stranger with the pig in hand. "Stop, thief!" cries Randall. In this riveting picture book for comic lovers, he gives chase worthy of a feature film. Kids will cheer him on as he twists and winds under the night sky full of constellations, comically drawn to announce the adventures to come. He reels through a zoo, chocolate factory, natural-history museum, and carnival. The swashbuckling chase is all seen from a bird's-eye view and is traceable with a finger due to the trail of arrow and dash marks on a series of maplike spreads. Then they take to the air, the robber in a hot-air balloon, Randall swinging from its rope over the big city. This delightful, dramatic tale is full of energy, intrigue, and humor, and the writing is pitch-perfect. Lines like, "There was no time to think" and "A steady breeze carried the balloon high over the city" season the story with high drama, as do the blown-up comic book views of the night sky. Compassion is evident as well, as the youngster rescues his tormentor and helps reform him. Randall is a true hero, and this is the kind of story that boys crave like candy. Perfect for an action-packed read-aloud, and bound to be read, and pored over, again and again.-Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades K-2 Young Randall McCoy has decided it is time to put away childish things. He informs his parents that he no longer needs a booster seat, good-for-you vegetables, or his nighttime companion, Mr. Pigglesworth, a stuffed pig in a top hat. But then Randall spies his porcine friend being burgled and gives chase in this charmingly over-the-top romp. In comic-style illustrations, the young boy pursues the robber, shouting Stop Thief! as the two run through a series of mazelike nighttime scenes with dotted lines following their winding paths through a zoo, a chocolate factory, a museum, and a carnival. In the end, Randall gets his criminaland his pig. Visual jokes abound in Lane's vibrant, detailed illustrations, and readers will want to comb every inch for all the madcap fun, including unusual constellations in the night sky, Oompa Loompalike workers in the chocolate factory, and a caped crusader hanging out at the zoo's bat house.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)