THE TWITS

By Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Copyright © 1980
Review by Anthony Kendrick

What happens when 2 of the meanest old people come up against 4 young boys, 4 monkeys, 1 roly-poly bird from Africa, and hundreds of European birds? They get outwitted.

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are old, mean, and ugly. Mr. Twit has a long, unkempt, food littered beard and Mrs. Twit has a screwed up face and a glass eye that always stares in the wrong direction. These two used to be decent looking people but years of bad thinking has made them look as ugly as their thoughts. Mr. and Mrs. Twit love to torture each other with mean spirited practical jokes. They like to catch unsuspecting birds and make bird pie. And they like to train monkeys to perform upside down. All of this meanness is going to catch up with the Twits when the birds conspire with the monkeys to give the Twits what they deserve.

Giving mean and obnoxious people consequences of their actions is what Roald Dahl does best. In “The Twits” Dahl gives us two people who are laughably mean. The practical jokes that they play on each other are pretty old fashioned and low-tech by today’s standards, but still very funny. That said, however, the retaliation of the monkey’s and birds was in general predictable, so the first half of the book was more enjoyable than the last half.

After reading this and many other Roald Dahl books, I have to say that to me his writing style seems very giddy. It is not always pleasant to read because bits and pieces are always added, and sometimes you never do realize why they are there. I think this is what makes his stories enjoyable for children though, because when they read his books, they read as if a child was telling the story. That, I believe, is a hard thing to accomplish, and that is why he remains one of the most loved children’s authors of all time.

WONDERLAND

By Tommy Kovac
Illustrated by Sonny Liew
Published by Disney Press
Copyright © 2008
Review by Anthony Kendrick

“Why Mary Ann! What are you doing out here?...Don’t just do something, stand there... Uh... no no! Go go! Go get my gloves! I'm late!” The familiar cries of the White Rabbit, of course, but just who is this Mary Ann?

Wonderland is an unofficial offshoot of Disney’s original animated movie “Alice in Wonderland”. It isn’t the same old cutesy nonsense though. Wonderland takes us to the aftermath of Alice’s visit and show’s us Wonderland from the viewpoint of the White Rabbit’s clean freak maid, Mary Ann.

The White Rabbit is implicated in the events with the “Alice Monster” and he is soon being hunted by the Queen of Hearts with Mary Ann in tow. With the leading and misleading of the Cheshire Cat Mary Ann soon finds herself the object of the Queen’s ire and the focus of “The Curious” who view her as a savior. This chase is going to end with a battle for power between various members of Wonderland and a battle with power (or the idea of it) for Mary Ann.

This beautifully illustrated graphic novel is definitely Disney-esque but with a hint of Asian Manga influence. The story itself is edgy and funny, especially with Mary Ann’s obsessive cleaning and her over the top reactions to dirt. Who would think that such a character trait could get a person into so much trouble? There are moments when Mary Ann becomes very relatable, especially to teens, when she is contemplating her self-worth and what she wants to do with her life. I really appreciated what Mary Ann chose to do when presented with a decision to change her life. Would it be for the better? Was there anything wrong with her position as it was? Even though it is just a graphic novel, it makes a person think about what is really valuable and what it is that makes us important.

This is an enjoyable and colorful read that should keep most young adults attention, however it might help to be familiar with the original books by Lewis Carroll or with the 1951 Disney movie if you want to understand the story more fully.