Larry in Wonderland

Gr 8 Up—With Larry, readers continue to peek into the illustrator's sarcastic world. Pastis is a comic-strip writer and former lawyer who draws unattractive animals—including Pig, Rat, and Goat—who say the things that many of us, including teens with a dry wit, might be thinking. The crocodiles actually get names, Larry and Burt among them, but these characters speak in a pidgin English that matches their ridiculous ideas (like shipping one crocodile friend to the zebra's house, only to realize that they wrapped him in a box with no air holes). Pastis uses his animals much like Gary Larson used his to make readers laugh at silly ideas like a pirate dry cleaner and feral ballerinas. Most of the strips are in black and white, as they run this way in the daily newspaper, but some are in the colorful Sundaycomic format. The overall quality of the art looks like something an average middle or high schooler would draw in a notebook, with simple lines and styling, but that is part of Pastis's appeal; his characters are not endearing, nor are they meant to be. The comics are funny but some of the jokes are subtle, making them best suited to high school and accelerated middle school students.—Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA