Rocket and Groot

December 1, 2015
Origami Yoda's creator kicks off a trilogy for young readers starring two-fifths of the Guardians of the Galaxy. At book's opening, Rocket Raccoon and Groot have barely escaped a swarm of giant space piranhas, crash landing on a small, uncharted planet. With the ship destroyed, Rocket has no way to keep a captain's log, except the recording abilities of Veronica, a hyperintelligent if slightly too literal tape dispenser. (She's also handy, as far as Rocket is concerned, for bashing bad guys on the head.) The planet is not only uncharted, it's also one big strip mall. Personnel at every store they enter, from Granny Nano's Country Fresh 'n' Clean Nano-Cleaners to H.F. (for High Fructose) Happy Tooth's Candy Shop, seem to want the trio to use the bathroom rather than to buy anything...and the toilets are hungry. Will Rocket and Groot (and Veronica) be literally consumed by consumerism? Or can they save the galaxy from the planet's perilous plumbing? Angleberger cleans up Rocket's potty mouth and slapsticks up the violence to gift those too young for the movie and comics with a goofball adventure that's sure to please the Captain Underpants set. As in film and comics, Groot still only says "I am Groot," but Rocket often translates. Dotted with Angleberger's (as Rocket) purple-and-white scribbly illustrations and cartoons, the book will include Groot's polished art at the close (provided by John Rocco). Final art not seen. Good fun for Marvel fans. (Science fiction. 7-10)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 5 Up-"Origami Yoda" series (Abrams) author Angleberger presents a silly tale starring two popular Marvel comic heroes. This slapstick romp is full of potty humor and gags that middle schoolers will love. The book opens as Rocket and Groot become shipwrecked after battling a swarm of giant space piranhas. The only thing that they have left is an artificially intelligent tape dispenser named Veronica, who transcribes their adventures in the form of captain's logs. Veronica also has a Doodle app so the heroes can draw pictures to accompany the text. Desperate to find food, water, and shelter, they land on an unchartered planet full of strip malls. With a succession of scuffles, they find themselves encountering hungry, violent toilets, killer robots, dangerous washing machines with chain-saw arms, sewage monsters, and fantastic homicidal aliens. Readers will be amused by the Guardians of the Nacho Cheeze-themed restaurant. Black-and-white pictures in cartoon style accompany the story. Graphic novel traditionalists may have a hard time with the large amount of text, but fans of both Marvel and funny illustrated novels will be pleased to know that two follow-up installments are planned. VERDICT Recommended for kids who enjoy highly illustrated novels, laugh-out-loud comics, and extension stories from the Marvel universe.-Lisa Gieskes, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2015
Grades 3-6 Given that Guardians of the Galaxy hero Groot has a vocabulary consisting of the phase I am Groot, you would think this Marvel adventure would wear thin fast. Well, think again. The three words, as fans know, can be invested with infinite meaning, and both those familiar with the movie and those new to Galaxy's world should quickly catch on to the offbeat humor of this first in an easy-to-digest series featuring the rootless tree man and Rocket, the aggressively fearless raccoon who likes nothing better than fighting foes. This first volume sees the duo enter a truly terrifying land: an endless strip mall, home to High Fructose World and evil chomping toilets. Battles and toilet humor abound, and the targeted demographic is sure to be entertained. Hyperenergetic drawings sprawl across pages punctuated with a variety of typefaces that fit the sugar-high plot, and an amusing new characteran animated tape dispenserbrings added appeal. This zany space adventure is perfect for those drawn to graphic-novel hybrids and pop-culture junkies. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Angleberger's wildly successful Origami Yoda series gives this new book a built-in audience. Add to it the many Guardians of the Galaxy fans, and this won't stay on the shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)