Do Not Open! (Marty Pants #1)

Gr 3-5—Another cartoon novel in the tradition of the "Wimpy Kid" series. Like other protagonists in this genre, Marty deals with small-time bullies, misunderstood school assignments, and clueless parents. Marty is more than a little clueless himself. He finds a note that says "An alien is observing you." Marty immediately pegs the alien as his taciturn teacher Mr. McPhee. He follows his teacher around, even breaking into his computer and rear-ending his car. It's too bad Marty remains oblivious to a new student, Analie, who seems to be everywhere Marty is, takes copious notes about his adventures, and even talks in a robotic voice. This incident-packed book features the usual bathroom humor, physical antics (for instance, a scene where Marty falls into a garbage can), and other situations bound to amuse young readers. This cartoonish novel is an easy pick for reluctant readers.

Parisi, creator of the long-running comic strip "Off the Mark," makes his fiction debut with a heavily illustrated series opener about a bumbling young artist whose overactive imagination, penchant for leaping to conclusions, and self-delusion drive the book's comedy. After Marty finds a tattered note that reads "An alien is observing you," he suspects that it refers to his short-tempered teacher, Mr. McPhee. Sneaking onto the teacher's computer, Marty spots the word "annihilate" (on a vocabulary list, it turns out) and vows to expose the extraterrestrial and save the Earth. Parisi's b&w cartoons are meant to be Marty's work, and both text and art deliver zingers, pratfalls, and running gags that will keep kids laughing: whenever Marty is supposed to be riding his bicycle, he's shown on a pogo stick ("I'm no good at drawing bikes"), and because his sister "changes the spelling almost as often as she changes her mood," Marty never bothers spelling it the same way (Erika, Ericcah, Erikcka, etc.). Though readers may find the ending unsurprising, they'll be eager to see more of Marty's high jinks. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lynn Reznick, Atlantic Features Syndicate. (May)