Billy and the Giant Adventure

August 15, 2023
The popular chef invites readers on a food-filled quest to save both our planet and a magic forest. Waking to a savory bacon sandwich served by his publican mother, 9 1/2-year-old Billy throws off the sheets and rises to join his best friends on a venture into mysterious Waterfall Woods. Intrepid Anna grew up in foster care before being adopted; Andy has earned his nickname, the Fart Blaster; and avid naturalist Jimmy, who moved to the village from London, is Black in a human cast that otherwise appears white. While stopping to share yummy smoked salmon and other snacks, the kids meet Basil the Sprite and go on to a quick series of exploits, including exposing an illegal operation that is polluting the local river while turning factory-farmed turkeys into pink slime nuggets. Billy finds a way to approach more common challenges too, such as coping with his reading and attention difficulties at school. Along with plenty of spot art and some snigger-inducing scenes, such as one showing Anna lighting up one of Andy's humungous blasts, Armi�o strews lively, full-page views of the pals grabbing a bite, hanging out in a spacious treehouse, or marveling at a flock of Sprites. Oliver dangles several open threads to spice up interest in future episodes, leaves his Everylad chowing down on a luscious ploughman's lunch, and tempts further kitchen exploits with a trio of recipes. Dishes up a tasty round of youthful derring-do with several meaty topics on the side. (Fantasy. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 2, 2023
Celebrity chef Oliver combines goofy humor and wilderness whimsy with serious real-world issues to craft a layered story-within-a-story, framed as a bedtime tale that a father recounts to his two children. Despite warnings from the local adults that no good will come to those who wander into the surrounding wilds, tween Billy and his compatriots Andy, Anna, and Jimmy venture into enchanted Waterfall Woods. After befriending members of a Sprite civilization, the quartet learn that the Rhythm—or the natural balance of the forest—is off-kilter. At the Sprites’ urging, the youths investigate a faceless industrial poultry farm that’s spewing waste into the waterways. As Billy and company navigate the perils of the verdant woods, they use the lessons learned in the wilderness to counter challenges back home, such as bullying and managing learning disabilities, grounding the fantastical adventure and pleasantly decelerating the quicksilver plot. Descriptive writing renders plenty of delicious food scenes throughout, portrayed via textured pencil illustrations by Armiño (A Wolf Called Wander). Recipes conclude. Most human characters appear white; Jimmy reads as Black. Ages 8–12.