The Wrench

June 1, 2020
Bob--a cartoon character with a human body and a large, pink face that seems to merge a rabbit, a pig, and a badger--is repeatedly distracted from buying a wrench to fix his tricycle. When a short bout of searching turns up no wrench, Bob goes to "Megamart, the ultra-giant, supersized megastore where you can find ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING." There, Mr. Mart, a blue-faced, mustachioed figure in a cowboy hat, persuades Bob to buy an absurd contraption called a "fridge-hat" instead. When Bob shows off his purchase to friends Pedro and Lucien, they ridicule him. A third friend, Paulette--whose pink tail pokes out from a green dress--reminds Bob about his mission to buy a wrench. (Like Bob, his friends are brightly colored anthropomorphic creatures.) Twice more, Bob goes wrench shopping, and twice more, similar episodes ensue, as gullible Bob buys musical pajamas and then a screaming machine. Each time he is confronted with his mistake, Bob stuffs his new purchase into his closet. The punchline wraps up a simple, silly tale that warns against the dangers of sales persuasion and conspicuous consumption. The writing is made for reading aloud with different voices, and the silliness and repetition will keep the youngest viewers entertained. Unfortunately, each time Pedro, Lucien, and Paulette react to Bob's foolish behavior, the creatures' reactions are both unkind and gender-stereotyped, the two male-presenting characters jeering and the female-presenting one demonstrating practicality. The illustrations are colorful and comical, in an offbeat palette. Imaginative--but lacking heart. (Picture book. 3-5)

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July 13, 2020
Gravel (I Am Scary) pokes fun at consumer culture in this lighthearted if thin depiction of overconsumption. When Bob, a scrawny pink bespectacled bunny, loses a tricycle wheel one morning, his search for a wrench takes him to the local Megamart. Gravel’s hip, colorful scenes loudly emphasize the overwhelming explosion of products that Bob encounters. “Buy this!” a sign screams, and, prompted by a cowboy-like salesman with a knack for upselling, Bob does just that, over the course of several trips purchasing, not the wrench, but a fridge-hat, musical pajamas, and a screaming machine. As Bob returns home with these outlandish objects, his friends question their value, leveling up their confusion with every purchase: of the screaming machine, “Why did you buy this monstrosity?” Unfortunately for the tricycle, Bob’s shopping sprees have left him broke. Opening his closet in search of loose change unleashes an avalanche of stuff in which—buried beneath a Rubik’s cube, disguise glasses, and more—is the very wrench Bob needed all along. Has a lesson been learned by the seemingly helpless Bob? Gravel doesn’t say with this disappointingly abrupt ending, but surely cleaning up so much junk would make any bunny think twice. Ages 3–5.