When Randolph Turned Rotten

Publishers Weekly

Ivy the goose has been invited to a fabulous sleepover party at her cousin's beach house, and she can't stop talking about it. Her best friend, Randolph the beaver, starts feeling "horrible, rotten, awful, and icky" (never mind that it's an all-girl party), and he decides to do everything possible to make Ivy's experience miserable. Positioning himself as a "sleepover expert," he tells Ivy to pack all kinds of impractical things (like a ridiculous flashing hat) to scare away "awful beach bears" and "huge, hungry beach snakes." But Randolph's plan backfires: everything he has Ivy schlep to the beach-including the logs he's snuck in just to make her bag extra-heavy-are the very things that save the party from disaster. Harper (Just Grace) uses a range of framings to give her story the brisk pace of a comic book, and she embellishes her wry, economical narration with word balloons that let the characters have their say. Every one of her acrylic vignettes is a goofy gem-the doll-like characters bubble with endearing, outsize personalities. An astute and empathetic look at jealousy and other emotions. Ages 5-8. (Nov.)

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Children's Literature

Randolph and Ivy are best friends, until Ivy is invited to an all-girl sleepover birthday party. While the anthropomorphic goose is excitedly anticipating, her “beaver” friend gets ever more depressed and angry at being left out. He goes from nice to nasty, plotting to ruin the party for Ivy by packing many strange items for her. After she leaves, Randolph feels guilty, but it turns out that the odd things he packed for her make possible a great beach party. When she returns, all is made right again for the best friends. The story is visualized in different shaped and sized boxes of action, with captions and speech and thought balloons. Acrylic paints depict stylized, almost cartoon-like characters with minimal props and settings. The light-hearted fun includes a message about feelings and friendship. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Kirkus Reviews

It's probably true that 95 percent of the time Randolph the beaver is an upstanding fellow. Living with his best friend, Ivy the goose, the two eat, play and read together in perfect contentment-that is, until Ivy is invited to a girls-only sleepover. Jealous and put out, Randolph's formerly lovely insides seethe with such envy that they are replaced by new stinky rotten ones. He plots to keep Ivy from having a good time, loading her down with unnecessary baggage. Yet when events turn out for the best and Randolph is unwittingly made the hero of the day, the sober and apologetic beaver gratefully makes up with his best friend. Harper's cartoon layouts and thick, colorful paints complement each another well here. She is adept at doling out equal parts sweetness and sly understated humor. Randolph at his most gleefully evil hasn't the mischievous staying power of a Rotten Ralph or a David, but that just means he has other more lovable qualities. A charmer of a read. (Picture book. 4-8)