The following is the dialog I imagined in my head when I decided to write this one up.
You: “Are you really reviewing a children’s book?”
Me: “First off, fuck you. I’ll do what I want. Also, yeah. Kinda. I mean, children’s is kinda widgy of a description when it comes to our dear Princess Alethea. Besides, it’s really damn cool. I promise.”
Sorry, I had to get that out of my brain before pretending to be serious while talking about the illustrated diary entries of a garden gnome’s adventures in angry science, wherein a sock monkey kidnaps a fairy and everything kinda sorta sprouts rabbit ears. Well, lookie there, I just summaried. We can move onto the review proper now.
The market for this book is pretty simple and self-explanatory: three year olds who are super into Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog and the new plastic pink flamingo. That’s a demographic, right? So maybe it is a bit more complicated than that. Let’s resimplify: The story is simple and a tad silly, pulled off in short, punchy chunks. Did you really expect anything else from She Who is Glitter Incarnate?
Janet Lee’s accompanying artwork is more detailed than I expected, while holding onto the flouncy-bouncy attitude of the story. I especially got a kick out of the backgrounds, that look kinda like contact paper. There’s also a surprising amount of pathos and joy reflected in what seem like simple faces. The fairy on the cover is more than a bit heart-breaking. Kudos for that, Ms. Lee.
Bottom line: adult dorks into angry science, steampunk, blatant Joss Whedon adoration, fairies and ninja sock monkeys or just weird, fun stories will have a good time. My first thought was a comparison to It’s Okay to Be A Zombie, with more focus on story. Unlike that book, though, there is nothing blatantly problematic for any little kiddies you may have in your life (barring, perhaps, a small issue with a blue jay that made me weep a bit). The price is a bit high, but you’re paying for the art as much as for the words and pretty pictures don’t come cheap.
Now, someone tell me how to find that handy guide on How to be Ninja (100% more!).
Buy it from Amazon or Barnes and Noble here.
Eviscerating Pen 
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