School Library Journal (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Gr 1-4 In this most unusual picture book/memoir mash-up, Joyce describes a moment during his childhood that kicked off his writing and drawing career. Billy (aka Joyce) is an outside-the-box thinker whose attempts to make math, spelling, and PE more fun often land him in hot water, leading the school principal to dub Billy "one of my most challenging students ever." When the librarian announces a writing competition, Billy knows that his book, a quirky tale of a booger with superpowers, is a sure winner. However, "Billy's Booger" goes unnoticed at the contest, and Billy is dejecteduntil his classmates come across it and are bowled over by the boy's talent. Rendered in mixed media, Joyce's rich painterly spreads vividly convey small-town 1960s America (details such as Billy's mother's beehive hairdo are a nice touch). Joyce also visually emphasizes his own inability to fully conform with his more conventional community: Billy's fantastic imagination shows him taking out an impossibly huge stack of books from the library in order to derive inspiration for his story, while "Billy's Booger," tipped in to the center of the book and illustrated with childlike scrawls and bursting with zaniness, contrasts effectively with the cloyingly cute contest winners "The Super Cute Kitty of Haha Land" and "Save the World with Puppys." The text is effective, though a bit purposeful, driving home the message that there's nothing wrong with being different. VERDICT An inventive offering, ideal as a jumping-off point for lesson plans or programs about writing or storytelling. Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

This meta-mash-up of comic books, basal readers, and a more linear narrative tells the author-illustrator's own childhood story, steeped in nostalgia. Joyce, along with his fourth-grade self (according to the title page), recounts a single episode from his elementary-school years. A struggling student, Billy takes refuge in the Sunday funnies that fuel his furious imagination. When a school contest invites entries for the best children's book, he is sure he will take the prize. His entry, Billy's Booger: The Memories of a Little Green Nose Buddy, details a young boy's superhero booger with amazing powers of math and speed, and is bound within this book in its hilarious entirety. Billy is disappointed when his submission doesn't win or even place, but when it becomes the most popular holding in the school library, a career in children's books is born. Joyce's recognizable style, smooth and polished and bursting with midcentury detail, is a natural foil for the abundant hand-drawn, childlike embellishments. This spirited memoir shows and tells what it feels like to struggle and to prevail.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An Academy Award for the short film of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012) solidified Joyce's spot on the map, and innovative multiplatform projects have kept him there pect this one to be a popular pick.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Creative, strange, energetic Billy (a young Joyce) finds an outlet for his imagination when he enters a school contest for the best kids' book. He's devastated to not win--until he discovers his entry (included as a book within this book) is the most circulated entry at the library. Budding writers and illustrators will find reassurance and inspiration, plus plenty of chuckles.