Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy!

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2017

Review

The first book in a new Branches series about a boy who starts a new game set in Animal Town, a happy place where animals dance everyday. They dance and frolic until King Viking decides that he's had enough and he brings his Robot Army to Animal Town to stop the happiness. When he kidnaps Singing Dog, it's too much and the town turns to its hero Super Rabbit Boy (SRB). Undaunted, SRB heads to the Boom Boom Factory to rescue Singing Dog and stop King Viking. SRB, at the hands of the boy playing the game, does not always make it out of a level unscathed, so while readers think that they are reading about a video game, they are also learning about persistance and learning from mistakes. With that "can-do" attitude, SRB is successful in the end and the reader familiar with conquering a strategy game will possibly pump a fist in the air when order and happiness are restored in Animal Town. The colorful illustrations are eye-catching and there is excellent dilineation between scenes from the game and the glimpses into the life of the boy playing the game. Flintham has a great concept here that could hook those readers more inclined to grab a controller than a book.

Overall Book Score: good