Super Burp!

Kicking off the George Brown, Class Clown series (a spinoff of Krulik's Katie Kazoo series), this goofy caper centers on goodhearted but troublemaking George, a fourth grader whose mission—to go from being the funny kid who does "dumb stuff that got him into trouble" to "the new, improved, raise-your-hand George"—seems doomed to fail. His campaign gets off to a rocky start: his classmates crack up when he falls on his butt while square dancing in gym class and when pepper makes him sneeze "ropes of snot" at lunch. Things go further awry when George begins to burp uncontrollably—enormous belches that compel him to misbehave. One "magic super burp" drives him to juggle eggs that smash onto the classroom floor; another entices him to ride his skateboard into the art room, where he crashes into a pail of "icky, sticky, papier-mâché goo." Krulik serves up kid-pleasing slapstick and doesn't resolve the burping dilemma, leaving plenty of opportunity for further class clowning. Final art not seen by PW. Also available: Trouble Magnet. Ages 7–9. (July)