Toilet Paper Mummy (Icky Ricky Series #1)

by Michael Rex, Michael Rex (Illustrator)

Overview

   The creator of Goodnight Goon and The Runaway Mummy pulls from his mad-scientist brain a kid so attracted to slime, muck, dirt, and yuck he could only be called Icky Ricky.

Uh-oh! Icky Ricky is in trouble and has a lot of explaining to do. Why? Well, you see . . .

He did his homework on cheese slices, but got hungry and ate them.
He had his friends over for a sleepover . . . on the bedroom ceiling.
Senor Pinata Dude, Icky Ricky's hot dog with a mustache, just landed in his dad's toolbox.
The town bully, Mean Dean, is looking to pound whoever lost his remote-controlled car. Was is Icky Ricky?

Icky Ricky is up to his eyebrows in mayhem--and in ick!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307975386
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	05/14/2013
Series:	Icky Ricky Series , #1
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Writer-illustrator MICHAEL REX has made his mark on the kids book industry with New York Times bestselling picture book parodies like Goodnight Goon and The Runaway Mummy, graphic novels like Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, and with an appearance on Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice.

Read an Excerpt

What makes Icky Ricky so icky? Well, there was this time, for example . . .

Chapter #1
HOMEWORK CHEESE and THE BOOGER BUBBLE FREAKOUT
    Starring
THE NOT-SO-SAFE WATERMELON BIKE HELMET!
     Yesterday, Gus came over to my house and wanted to go bike riding. I couldn't find my bike helmet. So instead of wasting time looking for it, I decided to make a helmet.
     I brought a watermelon from the kitchen out to the front steps. I cut it in half with a plastic knife because I'm not allowed to use real knives and that took forever. Then I scooped out all of the insides. I put the watermelon on my head. It looked really cool. I had an awesome bike helmet, even though it was all drippy and stuff. Then Gus wanted a watermelon helmet, too. So we made his from the other half of the watermelon.
     We didn't know if the helmets were safe for bike riding, so we tested them. We dropped things on them, like a book, splop! And a shoe, clomp! And a wrench, blonk! And then a really big book, kasplop! Then we did one more test. We ran into a wall as hard as we could.
     Wham!
     Splop! The helmets cracked, and the juices and gunk ran all over our faces. We couldn't go bike riding.
But all of that testing had made us hungry. We went back to the steps and scraped all of the watermelon insides into a bowl. But there were ants in it now, and a leaf and a stick. I don't eat ants. (It's not fair to them.) We let the ants have the watermelon, and we picked out the seeds.
     We decided to have a watermelon seed-spitting contest.

Editorial Reviews

Rambunctious "Icky" Ricky earned his odious nickname by doing slimy things that would gross out most adults. In this series launch, he's up to his ears in muck as he tries hard to outwit Mean Dean, the aptly-named town bully, who is searching for the little fiend who lost his remote-controlled car. Riotous fun for little boy mavericks.

Gr 2–4—Icky Ricky is a wild little boy, although he has a good heart in that he looks out for a bully's little sister. The author has created ridiculous scenarios; it is okay if Ricky wastes food or puts ketchup and peanut butter on the ceiling. This early chapter book has a lot of destruction and not much substance. It probably won't appeal even to the crowd attracted to slime and dirt as Rex's goal seems to have been merely to fit in as many gross references as possible. Each page has a black-and-white cartoon illustration. Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School (HarperCollins, 1998) is a better option.—Elizabeth Swistock, Orange County Public Library, VA

School Library Journal

Readers with a soft spot for gross-out humor will find plenty to keep them gagging in Rex's latest novel (Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, 2012) for the early-middle-grade set. Told through a combination of vignettes about Ricky's icky escapades and such "Time-Saving Tips" as how to turn toothpaste into a tasty sandwich spread, this novel is a fast-paced, enjoyable read--but not for the faint of heart. From earwax to booger bubbles to mango, french-fry and fish-stick soup, the ick-factor bar is set high. It is raised even higher by illustrations that capture Ricky in all his gross glory. And with the exception of one chapter in which Ricky stands up to the town bully, gross is what this book is all about. While there is nothing particularly new or clever about this series opener, Rex fans eager for another dose of his trademark brand of humor will walk away satisfied. Certainly there are young girls who might get a kick out of the image of Ricky turning in homework on a piece of cheese or crafting a bicycle helmet out of a watermelon, but the antics of the predominantly male cast of characters will most likely appeal to young boys. The format of the novel, with its numerous illustrations and short chapters, also makes it a good bet for reluctant readers. Hits the gross-out sweet spot. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews