Friday, May 8, 2009

Weekly Graphic Review - Game On! (Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy #3) by D.J. Steinberg

Steinberg, D.J. Game On! (The Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy, #3). Illustrated by Brian Smith. Grosset & Dunlap, 2009.

In a premise similar to that of the Powerpuff Girls cartoons, 5 super-powered kids take on bad guys, especially an “international web of cranky people known as Kid-Rid,” aided by Daniel Boom’s genius scientist uncle, Stanley.

The kids are: Daniel Boom (superpower – loud voice), his sister Jeannie S. Boom (super-power – know-it-all chatterboxing), Rex Rodriguez (superpower – destructiveness and chaos), Violet Fitz (superpower – rage and tantrums), and Sid Down (superpower – fidgeting). If those awesome powers weren’t enough, they have plenty of cool gadgets, courtesy of Uncle Stanley.

In this installment, an Uncle Stanley-designed gizmo called the Flooggget (which can fax any physical object) is sought by bad guy Old Fogy. Having disguised it as a banana, Uncle Stanley gives it to the kids to hide – but unfortunately, a classmate with a secret tie to Old Fogy steals it. Meanwhile, Daniel Boom discovers the joys of a videogame called Pig Planet. Eventually, Daniel must actually go inside the game to rescue a bunch of trapped kids, while crazed inventors Uncle Stanley and Old Fogy battle it out with an assortment of Awesome Weapons, including (but not limited to) a cane that shoots water balloons, huge sushi, and a smelly sock.

The Nickelodeon-style full-color artwork is laid out in easy-to-follow rectangular panels, both vertical and horizontal. The illustrations are action-packed and zany, and the text is minimal but funny and effective.

Recommended as a breezy, fun read for grades 2 to 4.

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