The Mischievians

Gr 1–4—Anxious to find answers to some of life's most vexing questions, like who's stealing their homework (which they've totally done, they swear!), a brother and sister find themselves mysteriously whisked away to the "most interesting laboratory" of Dr. Zooper. He presents them with an exhaustive, quirky treatise on the many varieties of Mischievians, the fantastic creatures "that make mischief, make mayhem, make noise, and make you crazy!" Readers learn, for instance, that when you've had a booger dangling from your nose all day and no one has mentioned it, you can thank a small group of Mischievians called Danglers, whose "only job is to lure…nervous Booger[s] out of the nostril. (Boogers are notoriously shy.)." This relatively text-heavy picture book does not have a particularly strong narrative, serving largely as a framework to showcase the zany world of Dr. Zooper and the Mischievians, from the Stinkers to the Itchies to the Earworms and more. Children will likely enjoy Joyce's silly humor. The colorful digitally manipulated paintings are the book's strength, infusing each Mischievian with plenty of personality and offering something for readers to enjoy when the text occasionally drags or certain jokes fall flat.—Ted McCoy, Oakland Public Library, CA