lisandrea's Full Review: Jane Yolen - Commander Toad and the Planet of the ...
Brave & bright, bright & brave, Commander Toad. Here he is in my son's favorite of the three books of this series that he has read so far--Planet of the Grapes. Yolen is an accomplished, award-winning author, recently known for her Dinosaur series, "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight," & "How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read," (Illustrated by Mark Teague), who over the span of her career has written over 250 books! This explains the smooth read of her episodic adventures for young ones, the Commander Toad series.
I have allergies; you might have allergies. You know how they can wreak havoc on your body: from sniffly noses to cold sores or eczema...what a bother! Well, what if you got a big sneeze attack just as your Commander needed you? What if you had one hand on your Starfleet issued hankie (nose-kerchief) and only one hand available to reach out to your Star Warts leader as he got sucked into some grape-like substance of ooze? Here, we find Lieutenant Lily so stranded. She sneezes, "Ah-chippity-choo!" and Commander Toad is gone!
In a bizarre and creative tale of mishap & adventure, Yolen answers the question, "If you can be allergic to your environment, couldn't your environment be allergic to you?" The Star Warts crew finds such a planet--"The Planet of the Grapes," where large grape-like blisters form to swallow up offending organisms; in this case, bright & brave, brave & bright, Commander Toad, himself! The remainder of his crew returns to the planet to try to extract him from the pustule into which he has disappeared, but they, too, become engulfed. Until the whacky Dr. Peeper (think Dr. Who's moppish hairstyle) accidentally discovers the solution! Allergy medicine he intended to inject into Lieutenant Lily punctures a grape, instead, and cures the planet momentarily. Peeper injects each additional bubble to discover crewmates within, and Star Warts is able to escape from the planet where the crew originally thought they'd be taking a vacation from exploring new planets and alien stars.
Yolen's writing, alone, is humorous, fun of puns and creative; then she is paired so well, here, with illustrator Bruce Degen, who brings great drama and expression to each page. One cannot read these tales without cracking a smile or chuckling aloud. What is striking about her style is that it rolls off the tongue (frog tongue or toad tongue in this series) in complex stories that are somehow still easy to read & follow. The details are present without distracting from the central theme. Pure describes this book: pure silliness! Punny!
"Have a grape day," says Commander Toad.
"I am grapeful to be out of there," says Mr. Hop.
(Those grapes) "Liked to wine a lot," says Commander Toad.
Bad jokes? Commander Toad thinks differently. "I thought those jokes were the grapest."
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