Author: James Kochalka
Illustrator: James Kochalka
© Date: 2016
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 125
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, graphic novel
Publisher Recommended Age: 6-10 years old
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Not really, there are short bonus comics at the end
Summary from Book: A Glork Patrol is no place for little kids, but Gonk and his team of Junior-Junior Glorkian Warriors won’t give up. They’re out to prove they’ve got what it takes to be real heroes. But if they’re going to help the Glorkian Warrior defeat Quackaboodle the Space God, these kids will have to grow up fast…and grow giant mustaches too!
Can the Glorkian Warrior face his destiny and grow a giant mustache of his own?
Page Pig Thoughts: If I had gone into this book expecting an intellectual gem, I would have been ridiculous. However, this one felt particularly low on the intelligence scale and I was not feeling the humor. Even while I typed up the Items of Interest, I wanted to like this book more. I was not amused with the Glorkian Warrior’s obsession with his coffee cup being a talking coffee cup person, and the baby/child talk of the kids did not stay cute for very long, it got slightly annoying. And the Glorkian Grandma’s grow light that aged the children was a bit disturbing. Gonk being afraid to grow up was sweet, but it was more to serve the wacky plot than have a learning moment (which is fine, wacky/zany was the tone of the story). I wanted to appreciate the silliness of the book, but I just didn’t get there.
Page Pup also wasn’t so sure about this book. We independently determined that there must be another book that would explain some of the stuff in this one (turns out this was volume 3). We were never sure what Glorkian Warrior really is or what a Glork Patrol is. But even with that information, I’m not sure that we would have like this book more.
Family Unit: The Glorkian Warrior seems to live with Super Backpack and little Gonk.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- The kids want to be Junior-Junior Glorkian Warriors, but Glorkian Warrior says that they could get hurt and only real Glorkian Warriors can go on Glork Patrol.
- Quackaboodle steals Super Backpack to finally escape the hole that he was trapped in for a thousand years.
- Three of the kids get grown up in Glorkian Super-Grandma’s grow light, but one is scared to grow up.
Positive Items:
- The kids had good teamwork. They were able to help Glorkian Warrior, even when he didn’t think that the patrol was safe for kids.
- Through Gonk’s story line, growing up is okay and can bring good skills/things.
- The book was truly ridiculous and never tried to be anything else.
Items of Interest:
- Glorkian Warrior has a bad dream, so he quietly sneaks downstairs to get Super Backpack and a cup of coffee without waking Gonk. Glorkian Warrior is way into his coffee and treats it like a person, he calls it Wendy. Super Backpack is frustrated that Glorkian Warrior seems to be replacing his best friend status with Wendy the coffee cup.
- Gonk and his kid friends attack Glorkian Warrior in his kitchen to prove that they can be amazing Junior-Junior Glorkian Warriors.
- Glorkian Warrior says that Gonk Patrol is not safe for kids, but they follow him anyway.
- Glorkian Warrior seems to value his coffee cup more than living creatures.
- Everyone falls into a hole. Super Backpack is injured in the fall. The kids help Glorkian Warrior figure out how to reset him. Then Glorkian Warrior carries everyone out of the hole.
- Once they get to the top of the first hole, they fall into a second hole. This hole is where Quackaboodle lives. Quackaboodle steals Super Backpack to escape the hole that he has been trapped in for a thousand years.
- The kids launch an arm that broke off the Quackaboodle statue out of the hole to knock out Quackaboodle. Glorkian Warrior climbs everyone out and rescues Super Backpack.
- After three kids become grown-ups in Glorkian Super-Grandma’s grow light, a comment is made that one is now a pretty lady and the other two get muscles.
- Gonk was initially scared to become a grown-up, but then runs off to get grown up by Grandma. On his way to find Grandma, he runs into Quackaboodle and has to fend him off by himself until Grandma grows him up.
- Glorkian Warrior is sad that Gonk is going to grow up and the top of his head might get cold without Gonk riding around on it.
- Gonk grows up bigger than Glorkian Warrior and puts Quackaboodles back into his hole because his mustache is a Quackaboodles weakness.
- Giant Gonk rides around on Glorkian Warrior’s head while balancing Wendy the coffee cup on his nose.
- The bonus comic at the end of the story has Glorkian Warrior trying to kiss a cute, kissy lip thing. He winds up getting his face doused with flames by the critter.
- The second bonus comic shows Super Backpack blasting mystery critters while Glorkian Warrior is jumping around trying not to get in the flames of the Spitters (cute, kissy lip things).
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza (Volume 1)
- The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie (Volume 2)
