Cardboard

by Doug TenNapel

Overview

When cardboard creatures come magically to life, a boy must save his town from disaster.

Cam's down-and-out father gives him a cardboard box for his birthday and he knows it's the worst present ever. So to make the best of a bad situation, they bend the cardboard into a man-and to their astonishment, it comes magically to life. But the neighborhood bully, Marcus, warps the powerful cardboard into his own evil creations that threaten to destroy them all!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545418720
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	GN300L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Doug TenNapel was raised in the town of Denair, California. In 1994, he created the immensely popular Earthworm Jim. Doug's first graphic novel for Scholastic, GHOSTOPOLIS, was a 2011 ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and his follow-up, BAD ISLAND, is a 2012 ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens as well as one of School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2011. His most recent graphic novel from Scholastic, CARDBOARD, has been published to critical acclaim. Doug lives in Glendale, California.

Editorial Reviews

An out-of-the-box story of golems, guys and guts. Though dealing with the recent death of his mother, Cam and his father are trying to make the best of a difficult time. Currently unemployed and virtually penniless, Cam's father buys him the only birthday present he can afford: a cardboard box. From the get-go, it is apparent that this is no ordinary cardboard: It comes with a list of rules, which Cam's father casually dismisses. In an attempt to make the bland box more exciting, his father fashions a cardboard man, a boxer he names Bill, who undergoes a Pinocchiolike transformation and becomes a loyal friend. The animated man catches the interest of menacing Marcus, a well-off, wide-eyed, fish-lipped bully, who steals the cardboard for his own malicious intent. When Marcus' plans go horribly, terribly awry, he discovers that he needs one thing that money can't buy: a friend to help him. TenNapel's story is edge-of-your-seat exciting, but what really drives home this clever outing are the added complexities and thought-provoking questions it asks of its reader, specifically examining what constitutes "good" and "bad," and how to change how one is labeled. The result? An exceptionally seamless blend of action and philosophy, two elements that usually do not mix easily; TenNapel handles this masterfully. Utterly brilliant. (Graphic fantasy. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Bad Island:

* "A clever, old-fashioned adventure with some modern twists and a light-hearted tone, this, like TenNapel's previous work, is not to be missed." - Booklist, starred review

"An exciting alien adventure." - Publishers Weekly

Praise for Ghostopolis:

* "TenNapel's colorful illustrations are filled with energy and life." - School Library Journal, starred review

"Creepy details, quick quips and a wry, deadpan humor are sure to delight." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher