Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by David Roberts

This is an...odd book. It's a little too long for a picture book, but a little too short for a beginning chapter book. It doesn't have enough illustrations to be a graphic novel, but too many to be regular fiction.

It has a Dahlesquian teacher but other than her legendary horridness, we don't find out anything about her. It has an army of children with unique talents, but we never really discover anything about the narrator, other than that he is good at planning and likes chess.

It has a triumphant conclusion, wherein the underdogs are...well, triumphant, but no clues as to the consequences of their daring actions in the future. It has the broken-off feeling of a series, but I have difficulty imagining future adventures.

Verdict: We catalogued it in juvenile fiction and it has checked out several times since it arrived a few weeks ago. So, good?

ISBN: 978-0763624989; Published June 2009 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library

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