cover image Bobby's Biggest Bubble!: A Really Big Tale

Bobby's Biggest Bubble!: A Really Big Tale

Jim Romer. ARRRGGGHHH! Ink Publishing (www.arrrggghhh.com), $15 (36p) ISBN 978-0-9857628-0-3

Romer%E2%80%94who has worked as a cartoonist, animator, and toy designer%E2%80%94brings a sense of playfulness to his debut children's book, funded through Kickstarter. After Bobby wins a contest and receives one million gumballs, the boy finds an array of uses for them, including shaping animals from chewed gum, bouncing on a "gummy trampoline," and strapping gum onto his shoes to walk up the side of a tree. Bobby then decides to blow the "biggest bubblegum bubble in the world," and as the bubble grows, it takes up more and more real estate in Romer's spreads. The enormous bubble turns out to be more than just a neighborhood nuisance, though, when it saves the town from an impending meteor strike. Romer's illustrations have a chunky, appealing quality and a classic TV cartoon vibe (Bobby calls to mind a young, modern-day Barney Rubble). While the story's wordiness slows its pace and mutes some of its humor, readers should still giggle over Bobby's over-the-top, candy-fueled antics. Ages 3%E2%80%938.