Doug-Dennis and the Flyaway Fib

February 15, 2010
Sharp-edged irony and wacky cartoon visuals provide newcomer Farrell's moral tale with some serious wattage. Doug-Dennis, a rather vacant-looking sheep with stick legs and red basketball sneakers, can't bring himself to confess that he's eaten his friend Ben-Bobby's popcorn. After he tells a fib (“Hmm, maybe it was monsters. Yeah, that's it, monsters!!”), he quickly gets “carried away”—quite literally—by the very speech balloons that contain his fibs. To the amazement of onlookers below, he floats across the continents on his own hot air before arriving in a sort of fibbers' purgatory in outer space. Surrounded by hardcore fibbers (“This limited time offer is the deal of the century!!!” announces a man with five o'clock shadow and a briefcase), Doug-Dennis is so lonely and unsettled that he finds it in himself to confess, which allows him to descend to earth and make up with Ben-Bobby. Despite the antifib message, the fibs are where all the entertainment is (“I invented the inter-web,” declares a spider), and the ethically unsteady Doug-Dennis has plenty of Homer Simpson–like appeal. Ages 5–8.

March 1, 2010
PreS-Gr 1-Doug-Dennis, a sneaker and cap-wearing sheep, goes to the circus with Ben-Bobby, an elephant with jet-black hair. In the midst of the action, Dougy commits the cardinal friend-offense; he eats Ben-Bobby's popcorn and then lies about it. After telling his fib, he is immediately launched into space where he is surrounded by all sorts of other liars (everyone from kids with imaginary friends to used-car salesmen) and eventually figures out that the only way to escape is to tell the truth. Farrell's offhanded humor and the absolute absurdity of the situation and characters make this a fun lesson in truth-telling. The pen and ink and digitally created cartoon illustrations feel almost childlike in their imagination (the animals inexplicably have pink eye patches over one eye) and contain hidden gems of humor, much like the text. Each page contains dialogue and characters that offer funny asides and quips beyond the main story. Much like the work of funnymen Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, and Mo Willems, some of the humor is intended for adults, but the absolute silliness of the story will have young readers giggling as well. Farrell takes the typically dull subject of lying and offers a wacky sheep and elephant friendship as a way of opening up family conversations about telling the truth."Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2010
Preschool-G Doug-Dennis, a sheep, and Ben-Bobby, an elephant, are bored. So they head off to the movies, where the first order of business is to buy a bucket of popcorn. Then a bad thing happens. Doug-Dennis, riding on the elephants back, eats all the popcorn. And lies about it. Lies have a tendency to morph and grow. Pretty soon, the lies have lifted Doug-Dennis into the air, where he meets other liars attached to their tiny, whiney, sometimes slimy fibs. Theres only one way down, of course, and here thats to tell the truth by yelling, It was me! Back on terra firma, D-D makes his confession to B-B, who is nonchalant about laffaire de popcorn, adding, Thats OK. While you were gone, I ate your candy bar. First-time picture-book author Farrell creates amusing artwork with pen and ink, Photoshop, and Illustrator and adds graphic-novel elements (panels and lots of speech balloons). Theres plenty of Mo Willemstype fun here, and this just might lead to a discussion of lies as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)