Billy's Booger

Starred review from April 20, 2015
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.

April 1, 2015
A boy funnels enthusiasm for monster movies, outer space, and snot into making a picture book for a school contest. Back "when TV was in black and white, and there were only three channels," a kid named Billy revels in the newspaper's "funny papers" and in turning the numerals on his math paper into dinosaurs. Unfortunately, his math gets failing grades because the actual answers are incorrect. Even sports and supper bring out Billy's wild side: pingpong paddle in mouth, scuba flippers on feet, mashed-potato-and-peas sculptures on his plate. "Your son has been very odd as of late," says a school note to his parents. Then the school librarian announces a book-making contest. Billy researches "meteors, mythology, space travel, and mucus" and produces Billy's Booger: The memories of a little green nose buddy, in which a meteorite crashes into Billy's head, causing the titular little green guy to emerge-"BONK!!"-and become "Super Booger," who specializes in math. Billy becomes a superhero too, specializing in invisibility and turning peas into chocolate. Joyce re-creates Booger here from a real book he wrote in fourth grade, preserving its manila-paper look and binding it into the middle of this book. The portions before and after, in contrast, feature zestful collage overlappings and retro-style illustration that slyly evokes old-school primers. A zippy piece for readers who share Billy's tastes. (Picture book. 5-8)

April 1, 2015

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

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades K-3 This meta-mash-up of comic books, basal readers, and a more linear narrative tells the author-illustrator's own childhood story, steeped in nostalgia. Joyce, along with his fourth-grade self (according to the title page), recounts a single episode from his elementary-school years. A struggling student, Billy takes refuge in the Sunday funnies that fuel his furious imagination. When a school contest invites entries for the best children's book, he is sure he will take the prize. His entry, Billy's Booger: The Memories of a Little Green Nose Buddy, details a young boy's superhero booger with amazing powers of math and speed, and is bound within this book in its hilarious entirety. Billy is disappointed when his submission doesn't win or even place, but when it becomes the most popular holding in the school library, a career in children's books is born. Joyce's recognizable style, smooth and polished and bursting with midcentury detail, is a natural foil for the abundant hand-drawn, childlike embellishments. This spirited memoir shows and tells what it feels like to struggle and to prevail.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An Academy Award for the short film of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012) solidified Joyce's spot on the map, and innovative multiplatform projects have kept him thereexpect this one to be a popular pick.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)