Staff Review: "Planet Tad" by Tim Carvell

If you’ve read all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this book just might fill the void as to what
to read next. The humor is compelling , even if in a goofy, erudite-trite sort of way."Planet Tad"
already exists as a Mad magazine blog series, so there is a built-in audience for this novel. The
writing seems like a stream of stand-up comedy one-liners (or maybe two or three-liners). Given that Tim Carvell is the head writer for Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on television, this makes sense.

Antics at school and home get described by Tad. Instead of using the word disgruntled with
his mom and staff at school, Tad uses “gruntled” (which he tells us is not a real word, but, I
looked it up and it is in the Oxford English Dictionary. It is a back-formation or derivative of
disgruntled), just to throw them off. They simply respond as if he had used disgruntled, as if they
weren’t really listening?

Tad submits a volcano science fair project, like twelve other guys in his class, using baking soda and vinegar. The teacher is unimpressed, but, Tad re-purposes the project. He enjoys taking it over his friend’s house, places Lego characters in front of it and videotapes the erupting volcano. Fun, huh?

Doug Holgate's  illustrations are silly...photo-shopping his parents wedding picture with dinosaur head/body parts is rather creative. The section about the Donner Party has a great illustration of a plate of food. You’ll have to experience it for yourself, I don’t want to give it away, but you can imagine.

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