Baloney, a cheerful orange pig, is starting to tell a story. It's a story all about Baloney and he's excited to tell his story, all about him... and his friend Peanut, the blue horse. And Bizz the bee. And Krabbit, the grumpy pink rabbit. Ok, it's a story about Baloney and all his friends. Oh, now Peanut has gone to the bathroom. Well, maybe the story is starting sometime...
Next up, Baloney is putting on a magic show, but while Peanut is thrilled with the "magic" Krabbit is a bit more (ok, a lot more) skeptical. Then they're going swimming and Baloney is NOT afraid, he just... doesn't want to swim. Right now. Between each longer "chapter" are short comics.
Instructions at the end show how to draw each of the characters, all made of simple lines and shapes. Reviews of this are universally positive, lauding it as the next step after Elephant and Piggie and sure to be popular. I think it will probably be quite popular, and it's similar to the layout of Willems' Squirrel series, which is more challenging than Elephant and Piggie.
Frankly, I did not care for it. It has a similar "mean" flavor as Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli's collaborative easy reader/early chapter series Jack. Baloney's "friend" Krabbit is constantly mean and readers are encouraged to poke fun at Baloney's naive attitude. Baloney and Krabbit are addressed as male, Bizz and Peanut (the two "friendly" characters) as female. It's mildly funny, in my opinion, and not as nasty as the Jack series, but it wouldn't be my first pick.
However, I will purchase it since I think it will circulate although I don't see it replacing Elephant and Piggie for any kids; it just doesn't have the charm and kindness that shines through that series.
Verdict: Not to my taste, but I will purchase on the recommendation of multiple reviews and my own knowledge of my audience.
ISBN: 9781368054546; Published April 2020 by Little, Brown; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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