Blue, Barry & Pancakes

January 1, 2021

K-Gr 3-During a trip to the beach, Barry, a frog with a penchant for problem-solving and inventing, and Pancakes, an athletic large yellow rabbit, play a game of keep away with a beach ball belonging to a studious and introverted worm, Blue. Against Blue's protests, Barry and Pancakes take the ball, and a series of unfortunate-and hilarious-events ensue. A whale swallows the ball, but when the pals get it back, it soon lands in a flying airplane before being sucked up by a passing UFO. The misadventures continue until the ball is secured and all is forgiven. This graphic novel is the perfect length for younger readers, with most of the panels taking up a full page. The cartoon art is bright and appealing, with loud colors, exaggerated comic reactions, and goofy details. Character guides offer more information on Blue, Barry, and Pancakes (a true bookworm, Blue can often be found "sipping a hot beverage and reading"), which will further endear them to readers. VERDICT Riotously entertaining. Readers will look forward to more adventures with this quirky trio.-Gretchen Hardin, Bee Cave P.L., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2020
This graphic novel might qualify as a Rube Goldberg device. Barry has a simple plan for retrieving his friend Blue's beach ball. He's even written it in his notebook. Step No. 1: "Find whale." Step No. 2: "Tickle fin" and then "Enter mouth." Later steps turn out to involve an enormous tuba, an upside-down airplane, and an active volcano. The plan gets funnier each time it goes awry, and every few pages, Barry and his friends get catapulted into the air. Near the climax, they drop out of a flying saucer and land in the middle of a duck's birthday party. The party, of course, is inside the aforementioned volcano. It ends cheerfully for everyone, especially the duck, who was afraid no one would show up for the party. The artwork couldn't be any more cheerful or appealing. Every character is made up of the simplest possible shapes and the brightest possible colors. Barry the frog is a green rectangle. A rabbit named Pancakes is, confusingly, shaped like a pear and is yellow except for her pink tail. Blue is, less confusingly, a blue worm. The details are so gloriously loopy that, if anything, the climax, featuring more than a dozen ETs with balloons, will seem a little sedate. But even the quietest scene, with hugs and morals, includes an orange sky and a purple bird. Only Rube Goldberg would find the story realistic, but slapstick fans will rejoice. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2021
Grades K-3 With the same bright colors and energy-producing buzz found in a bag of candy comes three friends' zany afternoon adventure. Pancakes (a giant, bubbly yellow bunny), Barry (a brainy, fun-loving green frog), and Blue (a refined blue earthworm with a yen for collecting things) are best buds who all have apartments in the same tree house. On this particular day, they all go to the beach, but conflict enters the narrative when Pancakes and Barry try to play with Blue's red-and-white beach ball, part of his ball collection and still in its bell jar. Despite Blue's vehement protestations, the other two send it soaring over Blue's head in a game of keep away. Unfortunately, a passing whale swallows the ball, setting off a wacky series of events where the threesome attempts to retrieve Blue's ball. Rapidly paced and loaded with absurdity and laughs, dynamic cartoon illustrations sweep readers along on a journey designed to humorously upend their expectations. A happy ending and gentle lesson on friendship close what is happily the first of many escapades.

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