Splat!: Starring the Vole Brothers

This slapstick comedy plays out primarily in spare ink and pencil-crayon illustrations, especially in Schwartz's expressive characters. Two vole brothers look up to see a pigeon flying overhead: "Ooooooo..." But then--"SPLAT!" The clueless pigeon drops a bird-poo bomb on one brother's head. The silliness continues with a banana-peel pratfall and more bird poo--it's a recipe for a rollicking if low-brow storytime.

This slapstick comedy by the creator of the Mole Sisters stories plays out primarily in the spare ink and pencil-crayon illustrations, especially in Schwartz's expressive characters. A few sound effects (flap flap; splat) and minimal dialogue ("Err…"; "Hee hee hee") advance the bare-bones story, but pre-readers should be able to follow the action easily on their own. Out for a walk, two vole brothers look up to see a pigeon flying overhead: "Ooooooo…" But then -- "SPLAT!" The clueless pigeon lets loose, dropping a bird-poo bomb on one brother's head (pause here for laughter). His brother's reaction isn't very sympathetic: "Tee hee hee. Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho." Understandably annoyed, Brother #1 throws the poo at Brother #2 and sees just how funny poo on the face is. Brother #2's return volley misses its mark, instead landing -- "SPLAT!" -- on the head of the offending pigeon. The silliness continues with a banana-peel pratfall and more bird poo -- it's all a recipe for a rollicking if rather low-brow story time. kitty flynn