Killer Koalas from Outer Space

Readers of Griffiths and Denton’s previous collaborations—The Cat on the Mat Is Flat and The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow—won’t be surprised by the abundant scatological humor (“poo” is a recurring motif), gruesome demises, and all-around absurdity that fill the pages of this collection of poems, comics, jokes, and short stories. Griffiths and Denton, who contributes sketchy line art that ranges from piles of guts to Mad magazine parodies, work together in discordant harmony to land one playfully vile punch after another. In the opening sequence, a newscaster announces that extraterrestrial killer koalas have arrived and are “running around ripping everybody’s faces off,” a mock apocalyptic scenario documented in panel cartoons (the newscaster’s fate is hardly pretty). Among the collaborators’ creations are “Little Bad Riding Hood,” (who refuses to bring medicine to her grandmother); “Bad Macdonald,” whose “stinky farm” is filled with dead animals; and a family of dog poo. It’s lowest-common-denominator fun, and while parents may turn up their noses, there are plenty of kids who will laugh their heads off (if not literally). Ages 8–12. (Oct.)