Mr. Pants

April 28, 2014
Newcomers McCormick and Lazzell blend a chapter-book format with a comic-book sensibility in an oddball story about three cat siblings and their human mother. Mr. Pants, an orange cat with boundless energy, has neglected to clean his room, and now his end-of-summer trip to play laser tag is in jeopardy. Over seven semi-episodic chapters, Mr. Pants clashes with his responsible sister, Foot Foot, over a new toy, back-to-school shopping, and trips to build dolls at the Fairy Princess Dream Factory and, yes, play laser tag. Meanwhile, four-year-old Grommy, a white puffball, just tries to keep up with her siblings. Lazzell’s digital cartoons—simple, flat shapes outlined in black—provide many visual gags for a story that unfolds almost entirely through speech-balloon dialogue (“Why couldn’t she be beautiful and deadly?” Mr. Boots asks the shopkeeper at the doll store after learning that nunchucks and bazookas aren’t available as accessories). The jokes can be hit or miss, but readers with highly demanding siblings will find plenty to recognize in this family’s harried day of activities and errands, while enjoying Mr. Boots’s lighthearted comeuppances. Ages 6–8.

May 15, 2014
McCormick and Lazzell try to pass off frenetic bad behavior and annoying sibling rivalry as amusing antics and engaging character development in this graphic-style chapter book.The focus is on family interactions and everyday activities, though the family in question is at least a little bit odd. Inexplicably, Mr. Pants, an orange cat with two distinctly different-sized eyes, Foot Foot, a smaller gray cat, and Grommy, a white kitten with a pink bow, have a human mother who sports stylized Laura Petrie hair and gives off a retro vibe. The plot focuses on big brother Mr. Pants, who nags his mom for an end-of-summer outing while whining his way through a trip to the "Fairy Princess Dream Factory" and a back-to-school shopping spree. Uneven attempts at injecting humor vary from adultcentric (Mom's shoe addiction and Mr. Pants' nicknames for his sister, which include My Left Foot and Agony of deFeet) to gross-out (Mr. Pants' grungy room). Despite the graphic-novel format, there's no sense of flow to the static artwork, which features panels of varying sizes in mostly muted shades of mustard, plum, gray and mauve with flat, spare settings and simply silhouetted characters.Pedestrian, predictable and totally tedious, this generic effort fails to appeal either visually or literarily. (Graphic novel. 7-9)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-An initially obnoxious cat named Mr. Pants takes center stage in this graphic novel. The short chapters detail the adventures and high jinks of Mr. Pants and his two cat siblings, depicted with bright, colorful palette and in varied panels that match the quirky volume. After a jarring introduction to the key players, kids will quickly warm up to the curious feline and connect with his antics and multilayered relationships. Children will also see themselves in the title character as he is open to learning about new things and embraces them with gusto. The perfect book for those who have outgrown their beginner readers but are not quite ready to move on to chapter books. Plot twists keep the tale engaging and add depth to this light fare. Fans will wait excitedly for the next book in this fun, rollicking series.-Trina Bolfing, Westbank Libraries, Austin, TX

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