The Epic Adventures of Huggie & Stick by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by David Spencer

My sense of humor is, I have been told, a little weird. Also, I dislike sentiment and infinitely prefer snark and sarcasm. Which explains why I have no strong feelings about Daywalt's bestselling The Day the Crayons Quit and all the love for his new book, featuring a goofily optimistic stick and a surly stuffed bunny.

Told in alternating sheets of torn notepaper, readers follow the exciting adventures of Huggie and Stick. Falling out of a little boy's backpack, they plummet to the ocean, to the delight of Stick and the disgust of Huggie. Their adventures follow this theme with Stick thrilled to test out their new friends' diving board and Huggie barely escaping pirates with his stuffing intact; Stick thrilled to visit a magical forest and get a kiss from a giant bear and Huggie rescuing Stick from being eaten by a panda against his better judgment; the penguins; the sharks; the bugs....

The illustrations are bold swathes of digital color, showing Huggie's disgruntled expression and rapid deterioration and Stick's delighted smile in the face of numerous calamities.

Verdict: This will make a hilarious, if somewhat lengthy, read-aloud. Buy it for reading with older kids and for your own enjoyment.

ISBN: 9780399172762; Published October 23 by Philomel; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library