Synopsis
The dastardly Scurvy Burr grabs the spotlight in this second graphic storybook about the exciting goings-on in Burrwood Forest.
Welcome back to Burrwood Forest, where Sticky Burr and his friends are getting ready for a harvest fair. But not if Scurvy Burr can help it! The most prickly burr of all (some even call him an evil genius), Scurvy is stuck on jabbing squirrels, making trouble, and keeping all the burrs prickly through and through, whatever it takes. So say good-bye to ukuleles and niceness and get ready for spiders and beetles and sinister villains as Scurvy schemes to give the hook to Sticky Burr’s cheerful plans!
School Library Journal
Gr 2-4–In this sequel to Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest (Candlewick, 2007), the narrator is Scurvy Burr, the naysayer in that book. Annoyed at how the village thinks more highly of Sticky Burr than of him, Scurvy makes a deal with exiled Burweena and her insect army to take over Burr Village. Scurvy’s grumpy dislike of the idolatry surrounding Sticky Burr, and his general feeling that he’s unappreciated by the burr community, is reminiscent of Oscar the Grouch’s personality and provides an enjoyable, if unreliable, perspective. This book could offer a useful lesson for children about inclusion and communication, but Scurvy Burr’s motivations seem to be simply that he’s championing that which is properly prickly, or appropriately burrlike. After his inevitable betrayal by Burweena, he doesn’t learn that being different is okay or that he’s part of a community; he remains an unapologetic foil, unhappy with his cheerful neighbors. The mild peril of the adventure is fine, and the humor rungs true, but there may be a missed opportunity here. Impeccably cute and with high-quality production, this is a fun, if simple, pleasure.–Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH