Warren the 13th and The All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio, Will Staehle
My rating: 4/5 cats
this is a pretty delightful middle grade book, perfectly suited for its intended age range and for adults who are young at heart.
the illustrations are great* – very lively and appropriate to the story and its atmosphere. without them, i might not have been drawn to this book, which i saw as an illustrated mock-up at BEA and immediately said WANT!!! i was thrilled to be approved for it through netgalley, and i thought it was a very cute and charming read.
i know that the words i am using – “cute,” “charming,” and “delightful,” are loaded, indulgent words people use when describing things that are kind of lightweight, and i don’t mean to sound patronizing by using them. but it IS a middle grade book and it reads like a middle grade book. it’s got a fun, wacky energy to it, and the mysteries and word puzzles aren’t the most challenging (come on, warren!!), but i think kids will love the characters and the zaniness, and i think everyone will dig the illustrations.
i particularly love this character, whose name is “sketchy” and is a sweetheart:
there is also an excellent pirate character.
the netgalley e-version i read had most of the illustrations in place with some temporary filler illustrations still to come. however, i kind of like thinking that these placeholders will be in the final book because they’re actually pretty cool in their frenzied scribbledyness.
if you enjoy funny children’s books, you will likely enjoy this one. if you are a highbrow elitist poop, you will likely not.
* my pictures are being taken offa my computer, so they’re a little meh, but they look GREAT on my screen. blame my camera.
here are some other cool illustrations by this dude that i love
