Iggy Is Better Than Ever

August 1, 2020
Iggy finds that trying to be good is a possible recipe for disaster. Iggy Frangi, a 9-year-old fourth grader first introduced in The Best of Iggy (2020), is not particularly adept at anticipating adverse outcomes, and his analysis after things go wrong is not especially accurate. He's more of a doer than a dreamer. "Mostly Iggy gets in trouble. He does Thing 1, and then Thing 2 happens, and then, unfortunately, Thing 3 happens too." In a wry direct address, the narrator/apologist affirms that Iggy will not be transformed, that this is not about a kid who is "better at the end than he was in the beginning"--not "about a kid who plants flowers by the side of the road." Thing 1: Iggy, who appears White, and two of his best friends, Diego, who has brown skin, and Arch, who appears Black, discover a creative use for gardening tape. As a result of Thing 1, Thing 2 happens: Iggy accidently clobbers (but doesn't permanently damage) an elderly White teacher with a basketball. Thing 2 leads to Thing 3: a spectacular and, as it turns out, literal face-plant, "one of the best things that ever happened" in Iggy's life. Iggy wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again, and his fans will be the richer for it. Ricks' sketch illustrations feature lighthearted diagrams and cartoon interpretations of Iggy's thoughts and misadventures. Very, very funny. (Fiction. 7-10)

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September 1, 2020
Grades 2-5 In a sequel to The Best of Iggy (2020), this fourth-grader boy devises an ingenious prank to play on passing vehicles, including the school principal's car. After several tense days of waiting for retribution or at least a lecture, Iggy accidentally knocks down an elderly teacher with a basketball at recess. Finally, a hastily made bike ramp leads to a fall, lots of stitches, and an unexpected benefit. Inventive in his mischief-making but short-sighted about its probable results, Iggy has talent for trouble. And, Barrow assures her audience, he won't learn anything from his mistakes, though she'll ensure that readers do. She spells out each lesson along the way, printed in large type to ensure that no one misses her edifying advice (and also because, when forewarned, readers can tell which sections to skip). Ricks, who illustrated Adler's Geisel Award-winner Don't Throw It to Mo (2015), excels at expressing the comedy in Iggy's misadventures. And while humor is notoriously hard to write, Barrows makes it look easy in this episodic, amusing, and occasionally hilarious chapter book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)