(3) 1-3 Big Idea Gang series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. A group of third graders form the Big Idea Gang and convince their schoolmates to ditch their traditional armadillo mascot for a dragon (Mascot); the group then persuades their school to add two buddy benches to the playground to help students find new friends (Buddy). The short, heavily illustrated chapter books contain a solid dose of learning along with the appealing contemporary-school-story plots. Review covers these Big Idea Gang titles: Everybody Needs a Buddy and Worst Mascot Ever.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 1-3 Big Idea Gang series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. A group of third graders form the Big Idea Gang and convince their schoolmates to ditch their traditional armadillo mascot for a dragon (Mascot); the group then persuades their school to add two buddy benches to the playground to help students find new friends (Buddy). The short, heavily illustrated chapter books contain a solid dose of learning along with the appealing contemporary-school-story plots. Review covers these Big Idea Gang titles: Everybody Needs a Buddy and Worst Mascot Ever.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) YA Lunar Chronicles series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. In this second engaging graphic novel (spun-off from the long-running sci-fi series), android Iko risks everything to protect her friend, Lunar Queen Cinder, from Lysander Steele's bioengineered wolf-soldiers. Meyer also compellingly weaves in discussion of nature versus nurture as Iko struggles with revelations concerning her humanity. Dialogue and action blend seamlessly across Gilpin's monochrome-blue panels, allowing fans to savor this reunion with all their favorite characters.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) 1-3 Chicken Squad series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. In their fourth mystery-adventure, the four chicken siblings visit a farm for a family reunion and end up searching for missing jelly beans (and learning about the concept of perimeter). Themes of family and belonging are highlighted through the experiences of a lonely owl. Black-and-white illustrations supply clues and emphasize plot details. Another satisfying entry in the chapter book series.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(2) 1-3 Chicken Squad series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. In this fifth misadventure, Sugar digs a storm shelter for a potential weather crisis. The resulting wacky drama parallels real-life political issues as the chickens debate who is welcome to use the shelter. But when a true emergency strikes, the yard's animal inhabitants all bumble through it together. Slapstick humor, a large font, and regular spot art keep this early chapter book series entertaining and accessible.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. "Grubby kid" Aidan's hair has gone berserk: on the school bus, it ties itself into bows; in class, it forms two airplane wings; and so on. Aidan and his hair finally have it out in the school bathroom, where tendrils literally spell out its demand ("WASH ME"). The art has a slipshod look, but the caricaturish style does serve this amusingly unruly tale.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) YA Lunar Chronicles series. Illustrated by Doug Holgate & Stephen Gilpin. This first graphic novel of the continuing sci-fi series sets up female android Iko's mission to track down the remaining wolf-hybrid soldiers threatening the peace between Earth and Luna. Over seven chapters, illustrated in a monochrome blue palette with dynamic panels, Meyer skillfully reintroduces her pre-established world with appearances by familiar characters (including Cinder, Cress, and Thorne) while establishing a new heroine in Iko.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) 4-6 Middle School Story series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Michael and David first bonded in preschool. The nicknames Pottymouth and Stoopid, respectively, follow the boys to middle school. After years of taunting from mean kids and clueless adults, vindication finally comes--but not before a TV show based on them makes things worse. With lots to say about bullying, this comedy, illustrated with Gilpin's caricatures, is more serious than it first appears.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Utilizing an elixir called "the Turbo Taco," the Fart Squad "farts [their] way back in time" to a sixteenth-century Scottish castle to retrieve the Golden Butt Scratcher, the only cure for Buttzville's contagious-itch epidemic. Full of the usual scatological puns and caricature illustrations series fans expect, but this volume's contorted time-travel plot comes across like a (less-clever) Time Warp Trio knockoff.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(2) 1-3 Chicken Squad series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. What is that new structure in the corner of the yard, and who lives there? In their third misadventure (The Chicken Squad; The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken), the goodhearted, demented poultry quartet investigates. Soon the mystery turns into an altruistic, if daft, rescue mission. Cronin is a master of comic misunderstandings, and Gilpin rises admirably to the challenge.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. When his teacher says it's time for show-and-tell, Jimmy says, "That stinks!" Turns out he's referring to his pet skunk, which he presents to the class. When Susie replies, "Aw, nuts!", she means the snacks she's brought from home. Amazingly, Katz sustains the clever-crude riff until the principal has the last laugh. Gilpin's semi-grotesque art has MAD Magazine–style swagger.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. A quartet of students endowed with super-powered flatulence discover a portal in a school toilet that leads to an alternate world (the sewers) ruled by a flushed pet who plans to use the portal for revenge. Battling the evil forces will take every ounce of combustion the squadron can muster. Fervent fans of this series' obvious scatological humor will be pleased.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Doctor René Bottom has it in for the Fart Squad. He has stolen all the underwear in Buttzville in order to harness their gaseous powers to create his own squad, leaving the now-commando townspeople caught in the crossfire and chafed. Five books in, and this pseudonymously authored series hasn't run out of gas for fans of below-the-belt humor.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. After eating burritos in the school cafeteria, a group of students at Harry Buttz Elementary find themselves with serious gas that they can harness to battle the school bullies who are stealing their lunches. Written in a breezy style and accompanied by slapstick black-and-white illustrations, the obvious, belabored gross-out humor aims low, which the chapter-book set may go for.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. While on a class field trip to the tar pits, Darren lets loose a fart that liquefies one pit enough to allow a deadly Fartasaurus Rex to escape. Of course, it falls to Darren and the rest of the Fart Squad to fight fire with fire. The series' obvious, puerile humor and comic illustrations will no doubt find fans.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Well acquainted with the punishment, Ben is prepared with many diversions and tasks when sent to his room: composing a birthday list, sorting his baseball cards, and organizing his Screamy Babies collection. Repentance is not a consideration, though a practiced letter of apology is key to an early release. Cartoony illustrations revealing a cluttered, messy room humorously spin this punishment as anything but.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(4) 1-3 Furry and Flo series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. In these two installments, Flo gets to see part of werewolf Furry's world when the crack in the floor that brought him into Flo's apartment building lets loose a mummy and skeletons. The danger is quickly resolved in each diverting story, but little feels at stake. Black-and-white illustrations feature not-very-scary monsters. Discussion questions and prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Furry and Flo titles: The Misplaced Mummy and The Skeletons in City Park.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) 1-3 Furry and Flo series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. In these two installments, Flo gets to see part of werewolf Furry's world when the crack in the floor that brought him into Flo's apartment building lets loose a mummy and skeletons. The danger is quickly resolved in each diverting story, but little feels at stake. Black-and-white illustrations feature not-very-scary monsters. Discussion questions and prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Furry and Flo titles: The Misplaced Mummy and The Skeletons in City Park.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. "One lonely snowman has a carrot nose. / Two other snowmen join him when it snows. / 1+2=3." In the ensuing spreads, the number of snowmen climbs ("9+10=19") and then drops until the combined tally is, as the title promises, one hundred ("1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=100"). This painless lesson in simple addition is bolstered by engaging illustrations of snowmen in berets, peacoats, and more.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) 1-3 Furry and Flo series. Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Flo's rundown apartment building has one bright spot: her new friend Ferdinand ("Furry"). Over these volumes, Flo learns that he's aptly named--being a werewolf who's come from another world through a crack in the floor. Flo's authentic emotions balance out the sometimes outlandish plot points. Cartoonish black-and-white illustrations convey that the beasties aren't all that scary. Discussion questions and prompts are appended. Glos. Review covers these Furry and Flo titles: The Big Hairy Secret and The Problems with Goblins.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax