Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island

Another of the wonderful authors I got the chance to meet last weekend at Read Up! Greenville, Constance Lombardo created the book I am reviewing today. Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island is the third book of a trilogy (I have to admit that I had not read the other two, but that did not stop me from enjoying this book at all). It features a fun tale full of laughs and a skewering of popular culture. The title character Mr. Puffball is a stunt man trying to become a celebrity. And his avenue for finding stardom is competing on reality TV shows. First, he wins the grand prize in Feline Ninja Warrior, a send-up of this show. The fame goes to his head though, and he blows through his new-found fortune in record time.

While languishing on the trash heap of ex-celebrities he hatches a plan to embroil him and his friends in another reality show, Castaway Island (think Survivor). This motley cast of characters features many strong personalities, from the famed star El Gato to body builder/celebrity personal trainer Bruiser to a feisty kitten named Pickles to the martial arts expert Rosie. Part of the fun in reading this book is seeing this cast of characters bounce off each other, part of it is in seeing celebrity culture being ridiculed, and part of it is in delightful cat-themed puns that abound.

First rule of Castaway Island: Help no one!

Also, as you can see from the excerpt above, this book is an illustrated novel, that is a hybrid of pictures and prose in the style of books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Big Nate series. I thought that the illustrations were hilarious and expressive, and that the interplay of text and images was very well crafted. I had a lot of fun reading the adventures of Mr. Puffball and his crew, and I think many other readers, both young and old would, too.

In addition to the Mr. Puffball trilogy, Constance Lombardo is publishing her fourth work, a children's book titled Everybody Says Meow. She talks more about this latest book in the Mr. Puffball series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Douglas Gibson felt that this might be the best of the trilogy, adding that "a group of friends choosing connection and empowerment over money and stardom makes for a beautiful and compelling story in a world where even kids can fall prey to our celebrity-obsessed culture." Kira Moody gave it 4 out of 5 stars and called it "lively, funny, and engaging." You can see more reviews of it at Goodreads where it has a 4.38 (out of 5) star rating as of this post.

Mr. Puffball: Escape from Castaway Island was published by Harper, and they offer a preview and more here.