BC Mambo

November 15, 2008
Grades 3-5 An unnamed young rabbit accidentally opens a deep hole in his bathroom and falls in. He lands in a prehistoric land where he is immediately chased by dinosaurs and is worshipped as a god by a village of prehistoric rabbits. After a monster captures the rabbits, he embarks on a mission to rescue them. Along the wayhe encounters Willie, the man who operates the robotic monster and who plans to use the rabbit heros bottle of barbecue sauce to start a chain of prehistoric fast-food joints to feed his millions of slaves.The problem is, what are these crypticingredients listed on the label of the sauce? Craddock, who is also the artist of Manga Claus (2006), brings a brightly colored, zany cartoon quality to the story and art, with the hero rabbit falling into one peril after another. The proposed fast-food empire is just the kind of plot that young readers can follow; reading this book is just as fun as watching Saturday morning cartoons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
These entertaining graphic novels star an adventurous rabbit, first traveling through time to a prehistoric world populated by dinosaurs (Mambo), then tangling with a pirate curse (Palooza). Both of the quick-moving adventures are filled with humor and danger, though the books' frantic narrative style, with busy illustrations to match, may induce whiplash.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)