Sound Off! #1 (DANIEL BOOM AKA LOUD BOY)
Grade 3–5—As an infant, Daniel Boom is incapable of being quiet. He grows older and works hard to not be injudiciously noisy—to use his "inside voice"—but he just can't help being loud. Then he is warned by his eccentric uncle that this may be just what the evil society Kid-Rid wants, as it tries to silence all children around the globe. Taking action, Daniel, his sister, and three other kids battle against the adults who try to squash their exuberant youthful tendencies. The basic message is simple: talking a lot, forgetting to be quiet, fidgeting, and other things that make parents shush you are held up as normal and even ideal by being elevated to the level of superpowers. Each page has a goodly amount of detail crammed into the colorful art, with Easter eggs, jokes, and clues throughout. The book has plenty of gags for anyone reading closely, and the persistently cheesy jokes and constant action will charm youngsters. It's a pity the denouement is so limp after the frenetic climax, doing little more than encouraging readers to buy the next book, but that will certainly not dampen the appetite of most kids who pick up this volume.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.