Fart Squad

February 16, 2015
Forget gamma rays and radioactive spiders, these young superheroes (who might as well be called the Flatulent Four) gained their powers after eating five-bean burritos from the cafeteria at Harry Buttz Elementary School. With newfound abilities that include bloat-induced levitation, chair-melting heat, and “silent but deadly” knockout gas, Darren Stonkadopolis and three of his classmates try to control their gastric talents while keeping Buttzville safe from a dangerous butt-scratching device that threatens to “flood the entire town with never-ending itches!” Scatological, ridiculous, and proud of it, this is sure to please fans of gross-out humor. Final art not seen by PW. A Full Fathom Five property. Ages 6–10.

December 15, 2014
Lunchroom burritos fuel superpowers in a series blastoff aimed at alimentary readers.When the disappearance of his homemade pickles-and-sauerkraut sandwich forces him to buy lunch ("Horrified gasps erupted around the table"), Darren Stonkadopolis proceeds shortly afterward to issue a "burrito blooper from below the belt" so fiery that his seat melts. The widely feared Five-Bean Burritos cause different but equally powerful effects in three fellow students at Harry Buttz Elementary School. Who is stealing lunches, and why? Can Darren and the others learn to control their vicious vapors and get to the bottom of the mystery? It doesn't take long to sniff out the culprit-Harry Buttz II, noxious grandscion of Buttzville's founders-and (literally) poot paid to his scheme to steal a magical butt scratcher that will spread his itchy family curse to the whole town. Illustrations are frequent but were not seen in finished form. Readers who get a gas from such relentlessly fart-sical humor will come away with aching cheeks. (Fantasy. 8-10)

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February 1, 2015

Gr 3-5-Ridiculously farty, this slim book is smelly fun. When his lunch is stolen by school bullies the B.O. twins and Harry Butz II, Darren is forced to eat the school cafeteria's five-bean burritos, with malodorous results. After he releases the smelliest and loudest "fart to end all farts," he is sent to the nurse's office. There he meets Tina, Juan-Carlos, and Walter, who are also suffering from the burritos' side effects. The next day, the farting foursome find themselves using their special abilities to save Walter during a school assembly. Stan, the school custodian, offers to help them hone their gaseous skills for good to become the Fart Squad. While doing research for extra credit, Darren figures out the connection among the stolen lunches, burritos, and Harry Butz II's dastardly plan to stop his perpetual "butt itch" by unearthing the magical Golden Scratcher. The Fart Squad must band together to save the town. VERDICT A goofy and quick read. Put this in the hands of kids who enjoy action and plenty of potty jokes.-Kefira Phillipe, Nichols Middle School, Evanston, IL

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades 2-4 Few things are more uncouth than flatulence, which makes it the perfect subject to capture the attention of middle-level readers. This story of a band of unlikely heroes at Harry Buttz Elementary begins with perennial troublemaker Darren Stonkadopolis, who is just as surprised as everyone else when he lets rip the most volcanic fart of his life during an otherwise normal afternoon at school. But when many of his friends begin to suffer the same symptoms, it becomes clear that these new fart-bilities are no coincidence. Rather, the friends start to unravel an evil curse on the town of Buttzville, and it's up to them to save the rest of their school from the same hideous fate. Hilarity ensues when Darren and his pals come up against their stern teacher, Miss Priscilly, and the stinky brother-and-sister duo of Bertha and Oscar, better known as B.O. Like most things that adults find reprehensible, young readers will delight in this gross adventure, illustrated almost too well by Gilpin.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
After eating burritos in the school cafeteria, a group of students at Harry Buttz Elementary find themselves with serious gas that they can harness to battle the school bullies who are stealing their lunches. Written in a breezy style and accompanied by slapstick black-and-white illustrations, the obvious, belabored gross-out humor aims low, which the chapter-book set may go for.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)