SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

May 21, 2010 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day – Wiff and Dirty George: The Z.E.B.R.A. Incident by Stephen Swinburne

May 21, 2010 by Betsy Bird   4 comments

Wiff and Dirty George: The Z.E.B.R.A. Incident
By Stephen Swinburne
Boyd Mills Press
$17.95
ISBN: 978-1-59078-755-7
Ages 9-12
On shelves now

Once in a great while I get a little bored with the usual children’s book tropes. Another new kid in school who meets a seeming outcast and bonds with them? Whoopie. A foster kid who seems prickly but has a heart of gold? Woo. Two boys in swinging 1960s London defeating a rabbit-obsessed villain intent on making people’s pants fall down? I . . . . wait, what? Back up a bit. What was that? You see, once in a great while I forget about being bored with the usual children’s book tropes when I find myself walloped upside the head something as original as Stephen Swinburne’s Wiff and Dirty George, particularly the first installment, The Z.E.B.R.A. Incident. If weird is good (and it certainly can be) then it is fair to say that Wiff and Dirty George are doggone great.

When we first meet our intrepid heroes, they are without pants. Not of their own volition, mind you. One minute they’re taking the early train to London, as per usual, and the next thing they know every person in their railway car has discovered that their skirts, trousers, and other legwear is cascading downward thanks to the evil machinations of a man in a rabbit suit. That’s the first indication that Wiff and Dirty George are in the middle of a full-fledged mystery. Someone is behind the pants falling incident, and our two heroes are determined to get to the bottom of it. Along the way they meet the mad genius Basil, his ward the mad-in-a-different-way Daphne, and they’ll discover a plot that threatens the very Queen of England and that only they can thwart.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Okay, you know what this reminded me of, though I can’t imagine why that would be? The Three Investigators. In both cases you had boys in the 1960s (one is historical, one was contemporary at the time) running around solving mysteries. And there’s also the fact that this is a children’s novel starring teens. That used to be a whole lot more common back in the day. Since the rise of the YA novel, however, it feels as if librarians, booksellers, and even publishing companies themselves figure that if a book contains teenage characters then it must be marketed to teenage readers. That’s why you see so many twelve-year-old protagonists these days. But teens have all sorts of advantages over tweens when it comes to novels like this one. They can hop trains on their own and no one so much as blinks. They can battle villains and have crushes and do all the kinds of things kids wish they could do but can’t yet. And really, between the dirt eating and the falling trousers in this book, this is kids fare through and through. Find your YA angst elsewhere.

As settings go, 1960s London is an interesting choice for an adventure novel of this sort. It’s a happening place, of course, but there’s not much in this book that’s particular to the time period aside from the lack of technology and the young Queen. Be that as it may be, the time affects the tone of the book more than anything else. I can’t say if it feels like the 60s in this book. I wasn’t alive then. But it certainly does feel like a world apart from our own, and when you’re dealing with creepy scientists and dragonfly-shaped flying machines you need a bit of distance. I suspect too that this is merely the first title in an ongoing series and that we will be seeing far more Wiff and Dirty George in the future. Perhaps those tales will make a little more use of the decade. We shall see.

In terms of characters, you’ll like your heroes. They are adequately differentiated, for which I was grateful. I was particularly taken with Daphne, though. This would be the ward of the bunny-sotted Basil, but she’s not a true villain. She’s not even adequately malicious. More a benign obstacle to get around. There’s more than a drop of Luna Lovegood to that girl too. She has an interesting wide-eyed take on things. This is never clearer than when the book takes a moment to describe Daphne’s Perfect Day. And I confess, it sounded rather charming, what with all the tea drinking, Casablanca watching, and stargazing. You understand why Dirty George might be taken with her, even if her loyalties do lie in the wrong place.

I’d love to end this review by comparing this book to similar books like it, but that would be difficult, as I can’t think of anything along the same lines. It’s an action, adventure, historical, psychedelic dream involving sentient worms. And it’s British. Can’t forget that. Basically, I’d hand this to the kid that claims they’ve seen it all. The one who says you can’t surprise them anymore. Or maybe just the kid who wants something fun and out of the ordinary but doesn’t like the Goth/Snicket vibe of a lot of alternative realistic fiction for kids. This is a book that doesn’t slot neatly into a category. It’s probably why folks will enjoy it so. Good times.

On shelves now.

Source: Galley sent from author for review.

Note on the “About the Author”: There’s a bittersweet mention at the end of this book that reminded me, not a little, of a situation involving Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. In that book the author wrote of a childhood friend he hadn’t seen for years. Then, far away, that friend’s son was assigned Ray Bradbury’s book in school and through this connection the two old friends met once again. In the case of Wiff and Dirty George, Swinburne reminisces about his own Dirty George pal from his youth and ends by saying, “I lost track of my English friend, went to college, married my sweetheart from New York, moved to Vermont, and grew up to write books. If you meet someone named George with a scruffy past, let me know.” I hope someone does.

Other Blog Reviews: Charlotte’s Library

Professional Reviews: Kirkus (bottom of the page)

Misc: Download the first three chapters here, if you like.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
2010 reviewsadventure novelsboyd mills pressfunny bookshistorical fictionmiddle grade novelstephen swinburne

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

The Top Ten Most Disappointing Edibles and Potables of Children's Literature

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

Announcing the 2023 Newbery/Caldecott/YMA Pre-Game Show!

by Betsy Bird

January 2023

2023 Arrived and a Blog Is Still Here: What Does the Future Hold?

by Betsy Bird

November 2022

A Lost Hero: The Rediscovery of Mildred Batchelder

by Betsy Bird

November 2022

The Yellow Áo Dài : A Talk with Hanh Bui and Minnie Phan

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Poems As Picture Books: Zetta Elliott Discusses the Upcoming A Song for Juneteenth

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Conversation with Kendare Blake about BUFFY, THE NEXT GENERATION

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Nonfiction 2019 | SLJ Best Books

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Books Read in 2021

Best Young Adult Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Best Middle Grade Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Best Nonfiction 2020 | SLJ Best Books

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nathan Hale says

    May 21, 2010 at 10:21 am

    I’m sold. This sounds fantastic.

  2. Rawley says

    May 21, 2010 at 10:22 am

    In my opinion, the weirder the better, and this sounds FAB! My British-humor-loving kids will love it!

  3. Carl in Charlotte says

    May 25, 2010 at 10:39 am

    Does the villain try to make everyone look like fools with their pants on the ground?

  4. Fuse #8 says

    May 25, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Sorta. But it’s more to distract them while he carries out his dastardly plans. It’s difficult to thwart evil when your trousers are around your ankles.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023