Desmond Pucket makes monster magic

Tatulli, creator of the syndicated comics Heart of the City and Lio, jumps to Wimpy Kid-style illustrated fiction with the story of self-described "Gourmet of Gore" Desmond Pucket. Like a budding Ray Harryhausen, Desmond loves nothing more than designing monstrous special effects. When readers meet him, he has awakened his mother in the middle of the night, complaining of a stomachache: "A large red stain spreads across my belly... and a slimy, multi-eyed, many fanged creature breaks out of my stomach with a screech, its tentacles jiggling and blood spurting from the gaping hole!" ("Are those the new pajamas I just bought you?" his mother sighs in the accompanying cartoon.) Despite Desmond's flair for the dramatic, his life is grounded in reality: he joins a series of clubs to try to avoid expulsion, as well as qualify for a sixth-grade class trip. Tatulli's sometimes-gruesome caricatures have the feel of George Booth by way of Ralph Steadman, and while the story's jokes don't always hit the mark, readers will walk away with plenty of mischievous ammunition. Ages 7-12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Desmond's monster magic pranks are excellent--but they might get him expelled. Sixth-grader Desmond Pucket loves to pull special-effects pranks: fake blood in the PTO's coffee cake, a goblin in the teacher's-lounge toilet, wiggling worms in the cafeteria mashed potatoes. However, Mr. Needles, head of the Cloverfield Memorial Junior High disciplinary office, has had enough. If Desmond doesn't participate successfully in one extracurricular activity, then Desmond is out. Getting expelled means missing the field trip to Crab Shell Amusement Pier and the chance to finally ride the awesome Mountain Full of Monsters thrill ride. Desmond finds just cleaning up his act won't cut it because someone's trying to frame him; can he find out who without losing his ticket to the amusement park? Tatulli's entry into the comics/fictionhybrid market is one of the best. Desmond's discovery of the importance of being himself adds just the right amount of realism and depth to his taleof course, "himself" is a prankster and troublemaker, so grown-ups might not appreciate this particular epiphany. Neither will they love the special-effects-prank instructions in the backmatter. The target audience will snap this up and beg for more. Colored illustrations and comics plus the whacked, gross humor and glow-in-the-dark cover make this a must. Sequel promised. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.