From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-Jiggy McCue, protagonist of Lawrence's Poltergoose (Dutton, 2002), is back in this far-fetched adventure featuring-literally-the underpants from hell. The trouble begins when the boy's mom buys him a pair of wildly patterned briefs at the local flea market. The minute he dons the wacky pants, they cling to his form like Saran wrap. When he tries to remove them, they tighten their grasp with a spiteful persistence. The alarmed and embarrassed Jiggie turns to his friends Pete and Angie for help. Try as they may, they cannot remove the nasty knickers either. To make matters worse, Jiggy is suddenly overcome with an unbearable itchiness in his nether regions. He offhandedly tells Pete to "Go flush- [his] head down the toilet." Imagine his surprise when Pete does just that. Apparently, anyone in earshot must obey the wearer's commands during this itchy state, and Jiggy uses his new power to get revenge on various enemies, including a bully classmate. He finally tracks down the merchant who sold the bewitched briefs to his mother and the guy turns out to be Lucifer's kid brother, up to no good. Jiggy eventually figures out that the only antidote is heather, which he promptly stuffs down his pants with good result. In the end, poetic justice rules when the aforementioned bully steals the undies, unaware of the consequences. Aside from the ridiculous plot, constant references to and the preoccupation with Jiggie's unmentionables seem cheap and somewhat perverse. Stick to Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" series (Scholastic) for more wholesome fun.
Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public SchoolsCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Gr. 3-5. Jiggy McCue, who last appeared in
The Poltergoose [BKL Ja 1 & 15 02], returns in another supernatural adventure. It starts when Jiggy's mother buys him some colorful underpants. Soon he discovers that these are no ordinary shorts, since they can't be removed and have the ability to communicate through cryptic messages on the label. Eventually, Jiggy learns that the Killer Underpants are the fiendish trick of none other than the younger brother of Satan himself. Lucky for everybody, an antidote is found. Like the first Jiggy book, this was originally published in Britain and is set in America. There are occasional and sometimes jarring British references and expressions remaining. It's easy to feel that children's authors have already fully explored the comic possibilities of underwear (think Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series), but there are still plenty of kids who will enjoy this plunge into the extremes of silliness.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
