Booklist Reviews
Peirce delivers a medieval adventure epic with a progressive social agenda woven into the tapestry, as followers of his Big Nate character won't be surprised to hear. Though Max is apprenticed to Uncle Budrick, the troubadour, he's got no interest in singing and story-telling; he wants to be a knight. But wait a second! It turns out Max isn't a "he" at all but a young lady who is prophesied to save the kingdom of Byjovia from the evil usurper, King Gastley. Joined by a motley crew, including a pack of can-do kids and a bumbling wizard, she frees her captured uncle, braves a darksome forest, and rides a dragon toward the final showdown, managing to give authority a piece of her mind on unfair gender rules along the way. With tough, spunky female heroes and loads of derring-do, the concept is already a winner, but Peirce's cartooning—comics sequences intercut with occasional blocks of text á la Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid—is top notch. The charming characters, smooth visual flow. and snappy gags prove irresistible. Grades 3-5. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
BookPage Reviews
Illustrated tales of nonstop fun
Fans of Lincoln Peirce's Big Nate series will adore the author and cartoonist's Max & the Midknights, a superb hybrid of chapter book and graphic novel that's packed with nonstop adventure, dragons, wizards and flying rats. The daring, wise-cracking Max (who discovers she's actually a girl) is stuck in the Middle Ages, longing to become a knight but acting as an apprentice to bumbling Uncle Budrick, a troubadour who's anything but tuneful. This down-on-their luck pair courts catastrophe when they enter the Kingdom of Byjovia, where the evil King Gastley carts Uncle Budrick off to be his jester. While Max and her merry band of misfits bear a noticeable resemblance to Charlie Brown and his buddies (Charles Schulz is one of Peirce's inspirations), these characters have a modern Wimpy Kid vibe.
In the second adventure of his Mac B., Kid Spy series, Caldecott Medal-winning author Mac Barnett recounts his supposed youthful adventures in 1989 as an espionage agent in Mac B., Kid Spy: The Impossible Crime. One moment, young Mac B. is playing mini golf in Castro Valley, California, and the next the queen of England is summoning him via pay phone to help her protect the crown jewels. Three hundred years ago, Colonel Thomas Blood stole them, and the queen believes one of his heirs will try to steal them again on the anniversary of this real-life 17th-century crime. The action never stops in this light-hearted adventure that's fueled by Barnett's jaunty narration, jokes galore and Mike Lowery's entertaining, full-color cartoon illustrations. The plot may be preposterous, but it's hard not to enjoy the ride.
Family dynamics are decidedly tricky for Happy Conklin Jr., a 10-year-old who has to shave three times a day after being experimented on by his inventor father. In 2018's How to Sell Your Family to Aliens, Hap battled his authoritarian grandma, and in How to Properly Dispose of Planet Earth, he longs to be lab partners with Nevada Everly, the new girl in his science class. Hap manages to befriend her, but he also opens up a black hole that threatens to swallow his school—and the solar system. In this rollicking sci-fi adventure by New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth, Hap and his superpowered sisters endure extraordinary exploits reminiscent of Netflix's "Stranger Things," with appearances by Genghis Khan, magical lizards and a gigantic robot. There's never a dull moment in this outlandish romp.
This article was originally published in the January 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Copyright 2019 BookPage Reviews.Horn Book Guide Reviews
In this humorous, action-packed, comics/novel hybrid set in the Middle Ages, troubadour's apprentice Max longs to become a knight--but girls aren't allowed to. Then Max discovers she's prophesied to save the kingdom. With help from new friends (who dub themselves "the Midknights"), she sets off on a hero's journey. Peirce's accessible, enlightening narrative flows seamlessly between regular text and speech bubbles in the black-and-white comic panels. Copyright 2019 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
It's the Middle Ages, and redheaded Max is Uncle Budrick's troubadour apprentice. Max longs to become a knight, but there's just one problem: Max is a girl, a fact neatly not revealed until almost fifty pages in. She's shocked when she learns that girls aren't allowed to be knights or do most jobs boys do. When the kingdom of Byjovia's treacherous King Gastley makes the inept Budrick his fool, Max rescues her uncle with help from new friends Kevyn, Millie, and Simon (who dub themselves "the Midknights") and a bumbling magician named Mumblin. Then Max discovers she's prophesized to save Byjovia from Gastley, so Max, the other Midknights, and Uncle Budrick (disguised as a goose) set off on a hero's journey, encountering zombies, a real knight, a sorceress, dragons, and a boy with a life-changing secret. There's much to enjoy in this newest comics-novel hybrid from Peirce (Big Nate, rev. 7/10; etc.). Max is a strong female protagonist who defies gender expectations, and she and her fellow Midknights repeatedly showcase their determination, skills, and bravery. Peirce's narrative flows seamlessly between regular text and speech bubbles in the black-and-white comic panels. He offers readers not only a humorous, action-packed story but also enlightening information about life in the fourteenth century in an accessible modern vernacular. Here's hoping there are more entertaining adventures in store for Max and the Midknights. cynthia k. ritter January/February 2019 p 100 Copyright 2018 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
In the 14th century, young Max yearns to buck convention and be a knight. In this fictional, European-esque kingdom, Max lives with Uncle Budrick, a comically terrible troubadour. Children in Byjovia follow in the career footsteps of their families; Max however, dreams not of songs and lutes but of becoming a knight. When Budrick is captured by the nefarious usurper King Gastley, Max finds a crew of like-minded kids and forms the Midknights. Together they fight an evil sorceress, zombies, and winged rats in their efforts to save Max's uncle and, ultimately, the kingdom from Gastley's evil grasp. This middle-grade graphic/prose hybrid plays with gender conventions, mixing in a feel-good theme reaffirming that everyone should be able to follow their dreams and defy pre-existing gender constructs. Plucky, gender-nonconforming Max makes a heartfelt soliloquy imploring the king to allow both girls and boys to pursue what they love, be it magic, knighthood, or writing. The zippy mi x of prose and comics panels rockets along with quick plotting and lots of funny medieval madcap antics. Peirce's black-and-white illustrations will be stylistically familiar to fans of his Big Nate series and should resonate with fans of Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid. Main character Max presents white, as are most of the Midknights with the exception of one dark-skinned boy; one other is chubby, and a secondary adult character uses a leg prosthesis. A knight's tale in shining armor. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
PW Annex Reviews
Max's uncle Budrick is a traveling troubadour in a 14th-century Europe-like countryside, and he's the only family Max has. When the two visit Budrick's homeland, the kingdom of Byjovia, they encounter King Gastley, who kidnaps Budrick and orders him to be his court jester. Max, who has always yearned to be a knight, must figure out how to rescue Budrick with the aid of new friends, the newly anointed Midknights. Thus begins a winding adventure filled with laughs, hijinks, and unexpected revelations, including a few about Max's identity. Peirce mixes the formats of traditional and graphic novel, conveying much of the tale with panels but including prose passages on many pages. Filled with exciting elements, including wizards, dragons, zombies, and flying rats, this mischievous medieval tale in characteristic cartoons by
School Library Journal Reviews