ALA Booklist (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

Cleverly conceived and charmingly visualized, this stars young Molly, happily scattering her toys about when her mother calls pick-up time. Molly goes through the standard protests e wants to play more, it's too hard, can't her mom do it instead? en the battle of wills is interrupted by the arrival of a green behemoth. The giant, also a child, is making a mess of his toys as well, except that his toys are the actual town that Molly lives in! Roofs removed, planes snatched, bridges collapsed e giant is, in turn, told it's clean-up time by his parents. However, his tantrum is interrupted by Molly, who demands that he get the town back in order. Any young reader will find a connection to this simple but compelling turnaround, and Ebbeler's art features jolly characterizations and a number of flourishes before-and-after layout of Molly's town, a cross-section of an apartment building at ratchet up the visual interest significantly. This is an agreeably quick read, but it features pictures packed enough to satisfy several return visits.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

In this beginning reader in comic format, a kid named Molly pouts when instructed to clean up her toys. She is soon distracted by the sight -- and sound -- of a Hulkish green giant stomping outside. The giant, named Jack, is also a child; Jack plays with Molly's home, neighborhood, and even Molly herself as if everything were a toy, moving items and people around haphazardly. After the giant ignores his parents' call to tidy up and join them for a picnic, Molly eventually stands up to Jack: "Stop! This is a giant mess! This is your mess. You must pick it up." Jack reluctantly follows Molly's direction, but runs away before the job is complete, leaving some silly visual surprises for readers to discover. The narrative is told exclusively through sequential art, rendered digitally with a clean line, purposeful paneling, and a vivid palette. Humor abounds in the visual imagery; for example, Jack mistakes a construction vehicle for a dragon and is shown shoving items under the grass. Parts of the dialogue repeat through the characters' parallel stories, and word balloons afford beginning readers an opportunity to read with the comfort of hefty white space. Sound effects and exclamations written outside of balloons add detail but might be challenging for some new readers to follow. At story's end, Molly offers to assist with the remaining mess, encouraging us to consider the character's (possible) growth: "Mom! Can you help?" Elisa Gall

Kirkus Reviews

A child doesn't want to clean up after playtime, only to discover a mess that's much bigger.Molly, a White child cued as a girl with pigtails and a bright orange dress, is having fun playing with an abundance of toys. When Mom tells her to clean up the "giant mess," Molly starts to throw a tantrum-only to be interrupted by a literal giant. Bright green and bushy-eyebrowed, giant toddler Jack (cued as a boy with oversized sweater and red pants) runs through Molly's neighborhood, using houses, infrastructure, animals, and people as playthings. When Jack's parents insist he clean up his "toys," Jack begins to throw a tantrum, and Molly decides to pass down the lesson she's been taught: You should clean up the mess you make. Unfortunately, Jack leaves the job unfinished, and Molly finds her room even messier than before. The upside-down second story of the house puts a whole new spin on Mom's request that Molly "pick up your room." Simple sentences and short sight words are apt for a new reader. Full of big facial expressions, sweeping movement, and destructive chaos, the dynamic illustrations carry the book. While some may find the double-entendre concept and resulting chaos humorous, the comedy is flattened by giant disparities of gender and power, as a girl and her mother are left to clean up after a (giant) boy who treats them like objects.Something of a mess indeed. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A play on words yields a hugely imaginative story about cleaning up in this short but eventful early reader comic by Ebbeler (The One and Only Dylan St. Claire). After a white child named Molly makes a -giant mess- and is unwilling to tidy it, a series of -booms,- accompanied by the appearance of a large green foot, suggest that the situation is about to get more chaotic. With bushy black eyebrows and elephantine ears, a giant arrives, lifting the roof off Molly-s house and making a Godzilla-like grab for the child. Rampaging the town with pretend play that includes zoo animals and a biplane, the giant makes a mess even larger than Molly-s: -Jack! Pick up your toys,- shout picnicking giant parents nearby. Calling to mind Molly-s earlier antics, Jack tantrums before halfheartedly putting things away in all the wrong places: dumping a train inside a house and tucking zoo animals into a store. Finally, Molly hollers -stop!- and insists the giant take responsibility for the disorder. Spare text is presented entirely through dialogue, while colorful sequential panels feature subtly textured digital art-Ebbeler-s busy cinematic pages have an energy that translates to big fun. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

School Library Journal (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

Gr 1-3 Molly's mom implores her to clean up her bedroom, but just as the little girl protests, they get an unexpected visit from an equally messy Jack the Giant, a barefoot, green-skinned child with jug ears and a fuzzy caterpillar unibrow. As the massive toddler wreaks havoc on Molly's town, it's up to her to teach him the value in picking up one's toys, which in Jack's case happen to be freight trains and townspeople. Ebbeler showcases an imaginative and delightfully chaotic spread in comic form. Each panel will captivate young readers, depicting Molly and Jack's adventures from different angles and inspired perspectives. The artist's clever layout and descriptive text ("Boom! Crack!") provide a colorful landscape for beginning readers to devour. Molly and her mother are white, but Ebbeler depicts townspeople in a variety of skin tones. VERDICT A larger-than-life comic adventure that's sure to entertain emergent and newly independent readers. Claire Moore, Manhattan Beach Lib., CA