Billy's Booger

Gr 1-4--In this most unusual picture book/memoir mash-up, Joyce describes a moment during his childhood that kicked off his writing and drawing career. Billy (aka Joyce) is an outside-the-box thinker whose attempts to make math, spelling, and PE more fun often land him in hot water, leading the school principal to dub Billy "one of my most challenging students ever." When the librarian announces a writing competition, Billy knows that his book, a quirky tale of a booger with superpowers, is a sure winner. However, "Billy's Booger" goes unnoticed at the contest, and Billy is dejected--until his classmates come across it and are bowled over by the boy's talent. Rendered in mixed media, Joyce's rich painterly spreads vividly convey small-town 1960s America (details such as Billy's mother's beehive hairdo are a nice touch). Joyce also visually emphasizes his own inability to fully conform with his more conventional community: Billy's fantastic imagination shows him taking out an impossibly huge stack of books from the library in order to derive inspiration for his story, while "Billy's Booger," tipped in to the center of the book and illustrated with childlike scrawls and bursting with zaniness, contrasts effectively with the cloyingly cute contest winners "The Super Cute Kitty of Haha Land" and "Save the World with Puppys." The text is effective, though a bit purposeful, driving home the message that there's nothing wrong with being different. VERDICT An inventive offering, ideal as a jumping-off point for lesson plans or programs about writing or storytelling.--Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Joyce's recreation of an episode from his own childhood bursts with energy and warmth. Eccentric fourth-grader Billy is obsessed with the Sunday funnies, which Joyce (the Guardians of Childhood series) spoofs lovingly, and he's thrilled about a children's book-writing contest at school ("Billy's brain was about to explode!"). His entry, Billy's Booger, is included as an insert, and it's a dead-on rendition of grade-school storytelling, complete with faux manila paper. In it, the small green product of a sneeze brings Billy such amazing math superpowers that the president appeals to him for aid: "Can you help me? I've got to know how many candy bars we need to give to all the kids of the US of A?" Billy's shaky grammar and spelling keep him out of the winner's circle, and he's disconsolate until the librarian tells him that his book has been checked out more than any of the winners. Discovering that his wild imaginings please his peers sets Billy on the road to a career in books, and there isn't a reader who won't share his elation. Ages 4-8. Agent: Michael Siegel, Michael Siegel & Associates. (June)