Bad Astrid
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Everyone knows a bully like Astrid--she's "the meanest girl you could possibly meet," and she and her family have moved in down the street! She has a bad attitude and thinks nothing of terrorizing tabby cats, trashing tulip beds, or toppling lemonade stands. It's not easy to stay out of Astrid's way. Who has the strength of character to ask her why she's so mean? Not since Bootsie Barker Bites has such a deliciously mischievous character (who gets her comeuppance) been drawn. From the author of Dirtball Pete comes another character you won't soon forget.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Are bullies just lonely and misunderstood? It's a hot topic, and where readers stand may determine their willingness to embrace this story and its cast of anthropomorphic dogs. Astrid is "a cranky, crabby troll," declares Brennan's (Dirtball Pete) put-upon narrator, an unlucky neighbor of Astrid. "She loved to destroy any fun I had planned./ She'd squirt-gun chalk drawings, topple my lemonade stand." But when Astrid takes a tumble on her bike, the narrator seizes the moment to confront her ("Why? Why are you mean to me?") and discovers that "my abominable new neighbor could really use a friend." Most readers especially those who may have been bullied themselves will probably feel that Astrid's redemption is earned far too easily. And that's too bad, because Dunnick's (Creak! Said the Bed) cartoon art is first-rate. His penciled textures and pops of offbeat color give the pictures the hip look of contemporary animation, while his sense of action and pacing is faultless. In fact, Astrid's bike crash (and yes, she's wearing a helmet, albeit a skull-emblazed one) is one of the most vivid in recent memory. Ages 3 6.
