Lookit! A Cheese Related Mishap and Other Stories (Paperback)

~ (Author) "HI! WELCOME TO "LOOKIT!..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–The most impressive thing about this book is the author, who started his cartoon career at age 12 and is now 17. The comic follows the zany adventures of two young teens and a penguin as they race to save exploding cheese from chicken ninjas. Two bickering narrators tell this whimsical tale. The story tries to come off like a witty imitation of Jeff Smiths Bone, but ultimately feels more like an extended version of Dav Pilkeys Captain Underpants (both Scholastic). The illustrations lack detail, but they match the texts wackiness well; they come across as cheesy and retro. While the story falls short, it is a worthy effort from a young writer who obviously has a bright future.–Scott La Counte, Anaheim Public Library, CA
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From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Fidget the penguin, a pair of daffy narrators, assorted evildoers, overly domesticated turkeys, and scenes from a small-town America that hopefully will never come to pass combine to keep the action in high gear in this collection of graphic-novel tales. Although author-artist Friesen is only 17 (" I began my cartooning career at age 12"), the comedy here is a cut above sophomoric high jinks, and his crisp artwork pays skillful, energetic homage to mid-twentieth-century black-and-white television cartoons. The two parts of the titular cheese tale bookend several unrelated vignettes, but the overall flow of the volume is smooth and nicely edited. The typeface is bold, and the panels are generous, so it's easy to find the details that make the verbal patter three-dimensional. With nothing risque and plenty of interesting goings-on, this will be welcomed by kids and by librarians alike. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Dont Eat Any Bugs Productions (July 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097281776X
• ISBN-13: 978-0972817769
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,871,976 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that launched our adoration of Friesen's work, August 16, 2009

By	R. A. Patton "RAPatton" (Dublin, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a find! I cracked up at its goofiness and absurdity, including parts my sons didn't get. The boys have memorized several lines and even wrote and performed a spin-off play based on two of its characters. Thank you Ray for this fantastic book that keeps on giving!

Alex, 9, says: I thought it was extremely funny. Two narrators fight to tell the story. It's so funny! When one gets hungry, he goes into the story because a character was cooking food. This book is about a kid named Raymond who visits his Uncle Clark and cousin Fidget in the country of Pellmellia. He arrives during the Cheese Festival. Eggner Von Shmoodledike, who is a professor, invented C5, which turns things into cheese. An evil scientist, who once lost to him in a dancing contest, sends his chicken ninjas to steal the C5. There's a penguin character (Melville) who says penguins aren't made for the cold. There's an intermission when Raymond reads his comics.

And here's Michael, 11: Lookit! was a really humorous book. I liked how the two guys argued in the beginning about who got to narrate the story. They were bad narrators, but that made it funny. I liked when the professor showed his lame movie, "The Rivals," which won an award named after the guy who made the movie. My guess is that it's an award you'd get if you were really bad. The villain is Jarvis Van Chickenheimer. The two guys were rivals because back in kindergarten one said, "Cheese sucks." At the end of part one, the main character Raymond joins the narrators to take a break and read his comic books about Captain Cautious. At the beginning of part two, the narrators return and get off script. The bad disguises on the characters cracked me up. They were horrible - a sock pocket, the narration hat and roller skates - but they worked to fool chicken ninjas. The art style was cool, and I think others would like this book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting debut with much potential., December 20, 2006

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Ray Friesen, Lookit! Vol. 1: A Cheese-Related Incident and Other Stories (Don't Eat Any Bugs Productions, 2005)

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the current upswing in popularity in graphic novels is that a reasonably talented artists can, for all intents and purposes, self-publish a collection and get it picked up by a distributor major enough that it shows up on library shelves half a country away from its point of origin. A Cheese-Related Incident is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

A Cheese-Related Incident seems patterned after the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show, complete with fractured fairy tales and "Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!" skits. It's decently written and illustrated, not the best thing you'll see all year, but certainly not the worst, either. What makes this such an interesting book, however, is the originality here; Friesen is not a well individual by any standards, and his sense of humor is a few (okay, a lot of) degrees off center. There are only a handful of graphic artists working today who can get away with doing stuff that's just out-and-out weird; Friesen seems, with a bit more learning and attention to the craft, to be poised to put himself on that same shelf.

An interesting debut with a great deal of potential. I'll be very interested to see how this series grows and changes over the years. ** ½

5.0 out of 5 stars MY Son's Favorite COMICS!!!!, June 6, 2006

By	Joel N. Allmandinger (Allentown PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My son loves Ray's comics. We originally had to wait till family could get them for us from the West coast but are excited to see we can get them online!!! These are great fun for kids and adults.