Question Boy meets Little Miss Know-It-All
(Book)

Question Boy meets every situation with insatiable curiosity. With his incessant questions he stumps and drives away the neighborhood's most illustrious superheroes: Garbage Man, Police Woman, and Paperboy. That is, until he encounters Little Miss Know-It-All. She has answers to all of his questions, and hundreds to spare. Indeed, Question Boy is helpless as answers keep coming until he turns the tables with that most powerful of questions: Why? In an epic battle of childhood banter, who will emerge victorious? Catalanotto's realistic, saturated watercolors, and blurry depth of field, paint an immediate and concrete backdrop for the comic action. Hand-lettered-style typeface, occasional paneling, and playful use of perspective add to the comic sensibility. The costumed adult superheroes read as inventions of the protagonists' imaginations, but their own costumes seem real enough. Indeed, children may not see themselves in the likes of Question Boy and Little Miss Know-It-All, but they are sure to recognize their siblings and friends.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist

In Catalanotto's surreal suburbia, many of the residents are costumed superheroes-there's Garbage Man and the duo of Mailman and Paperboy to name a few. But their grownup powers are useless in the face of the title characters' Kryptonite-like relentlessness. Question Boy sends people fleeing with his endless interrogations ("Could you fit a whale in there?" he asks Garbage Man of his truck. "How about a brontosaurus?"), while Little Miss Know-It-All evokes a similar response with her nonstop spewing of knowledge, accurate or not ("Hippos run faster than people! Hamsters blink only one eye at a time!"). When these two go toe to toe in a city park (complete with references to classic Star Trek and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), it's more than a comic smackdown. Catalanotto (Ivan the Terrier) slyly uses the duel to comment on the disintegration of civil discourse, the importance of connecting to others as individuals, and the possibilities for common ground through simply listening. A story that starts out as a wonderfully weird comedy ends up a surprisingly nuanced lesson in the art of being human. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 1-Question Boy roams the city, vanquishing foes with endless queries. Garbage Man, Police Woman, and Oil Man all flee from his barrage, but he meets his match in Little Miss Know-It-All. They face off, hurling questions and random facts till they both collapse. Strong, clever writing plays with the comic superhero genre: "He left Wonder Waitress woozy. Even Mailman and Paperboy were no match for his need to know." Unfortunately, the impressionistic watercolor and gouache art is an unnatural fit for comic-book adventure, and the slightly blurry people can feel bland and stilted. Little Miss Know-It-All's litany of trivia indiscriminately mixes truth with fiction, leaving young fact hounds to wonder what is strange but true, and what is "malarkey." While the concept of community workers as superheroes and children with super-strength skills at asking questions and knowing all the answers will appeal to both parents and kids, the negatives here outweigh the positives.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Young children do seem to have a superhuman capacity for interrogation. Catalanotto takes this concept and flies with it to create his intrepid caped crusader for whom no question is too daunting or trivial to ask. Patrolling a residential neighborhood, rendered in verdant sun-drenched watercolors, Question Boy takes on and bests one costumed everyday hero after another. For example, while Garbage Man (bedecked in head-to-toe spandex with a giant red G on his chest) is "busy freeing the city of filth and rubbish," QB fires increasingly impossible queries at him -- "How much stuff can you fit in your truck?" "More than an elephant?" "Can you fit a whale in there?" -- until the outmatched sanitation engineer has no choice but to flee. Obviously, parents of young children will identify with his plight -- and the plight of Police Woman, Mechanic Man, Wonder Waitress, etc. -- but, happily, the book's humor is not adults-only. The caricatured scenarios build to an absurdist height when from the depths of the park comes, finally, a worthy opponent who has all the answers and then some. When Question Boy and the tiara-and-tutu-clad Little Miss Know-It-All face off against each other, it's the most satisfying showdown sincewell, there really is no comparison. christine m. heppermann [star] The Obstinate Penby Frank W. Dormer; illus. by the authorPrimary Holt 32 pp.Writers and artists sometimes feel that their materials and tools are uncooperative, even hostile, but Uncle Flood has this problem in spades. His new pen is insulting, subversive, and anarchic. Uncle Flood tries to write, "The following story is all true," and what appears on the paper is "You have a BIG nose." When the pen falls into the hands of police officer Wonkle as he's trying to write a ticket, things look bad, but the pen turns out to be a bit of a romantic and matchmaker. In act three the pen ends up with Mrs. Norkham Pigeon-Smythe. She is determined to write a memoir of her "very lush life," but the pen has other ideas. Finally, the obstinate pen comes to rest with Uncle Flood's nephew Horace and in this congenial company finds its true purpose in life. Dormer's skinny-limbed, dot-eyed characters inhabiting a world of merry chaos are reminiscent of Quentin Blake and share his energy and warmth. sarah ellis(c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Question Boy meets every situation with insatiable curiosity. With his incessant questions he stumps—and drives away—the neighborhood's most illustrious superheroes: Garbage Man, Police Woman, and Paperboy. That is, until he encounters Little Miss Know-It-All. She has answers to all of his questions, and hundreds to spare. Indeed, Question Boy is helpless as answers keep coming—until he turns the tables with that most powerful of questions: "Why?" In an epic battle of childhood banter, who will emerge victorious? Catalanotto's realistic, saturated watercolors, and blurry depth of field, paint an immediate and concrete backdrop for the comic action. Hand-lettered-style typeface, occasional paneling, and playful use of perspective add to the comic sensibility. The costumed adult "superheroes" read as inventions of the protagonists' imaginations, but their own costumes seem real enough. Indeed, children may not see themselves in the likes of Question Boy and Little Miss Know-It-All, but they are sure to recognize their siblings and friends. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

In Catalanotto's surreal suburbia, many of the residents are costumed superheroes—there's Garbage Man and the duo of Mailman and Paperboy to name a few. But their grownup powers are useless in the face of the title characters' Kryptonite-like relentlessness. Question Boy sends people fleeing with his endless interrogations ("Could you fit a whale in there?" he asks Garbage Man of his truck. "How about a brontosaurus?"), while Little Miss Know-It-All evokes a similar response with her nonstop spewing of knowledge, accurate or not ("Hippos run faster than people! Hamsters blink only one eye at a time!"). When these two go toe to toe in a city park (complete with references to classic Star Trek and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), it's more than a comic smackdown. Catalanotto (Ivan the Terrier) slyly uses the duel to comment on the disintegration of civil discourse, the importance of connecting to others as individuals, and the possibilities for common ground through simply listening. A story that starts out as a wonderfully weird comedy ends up a surprisingly nuanced lesson in the art of being human. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)

PreS-Gr 1—Question Boy roams the city, vanquishing foes with endless queries. Garbage Man, Police Woman, and Oil Man all flee from his barrage, but he meets his match in Little Miss Know-It-All. They face off, hurling questions and random facts till they both collapse. Strong, clever writing plays with the comic superhero genre: "He left Wonder Waitress woozy. Even Mailman and Paperboy were no match for his need to know." Unfortunately, the impressionistic watercolor and gouache art is an unnatural fit for comic-book adventure, and the slightly blurry people can feel bland and stilted. Little Miss Know-It-All's litany of trivia indiscriminately mixes truth with fiction, leaving young fact hounds to wonder what is strange but true, and what is "malarkey." While the concept of community workers as superheroes and children with super-strength skills at asking questions and knowing all the answers will appeal to both parents and kids, the negatives here outweigh the positives.—Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR