"Rugrats": Oh, Brother!

ISBN 1416915206 - I've loved the Rugrats for years and I had some doubts about how well author Luke David would handle them in book form. At least half of the funny in the TV show is the way they speak, so the text matters more than usual. David does an all right job.

Tommy doesn't understand why his parents think Dil is so special. When his mother says Dil is adorable, Tommy hears that Dil is a doorbell and suggests that he and Chuckie can be doorbells, too. Told to stop the racket, Tommy's ready to try anything. Didi refers to Dil as "angelic" and Tommy hears "Angelica": he thinks that acting more like Angelica will help get the attention he wants, but that plan also backfires. Finally, quite by accident, Tommy acts like a good big brother and gets the praise he's been after.

The illustrations, by Louie del Carmen and James Peters, are right out of the TV series and should be - del Carmen is a character designer on the show and Peters is a color designer. The storyline isn't quite up to expectations, it's average at best. Most of the humor of the characters comes from the words that the children misinterpret, but that aspect isn't as played up in the book, so it misses the mark a little. Still, the Rugrats are favorites and if it gets them reading, it's a good thing. The addition of Dil was a great Rugrats moment and this story is one of many that are good picks for families with new babies.

- AnnaLovesBooks