Concerning & Potentially Concerning Content

Note 1: this review only covers the Graphic Novel version of this book. At the time of this review, we had yet tackled the original, non-GN version. Note 2: When considering everything below, realize it is all crammed into an extremely short book (especially when you consider the amount of dialogue on each page). The biggest issue with this title revolves around the main characters. Mom acts odd and is not a good example compared to what we would have expected. When two police officers see her doing something extremely suspicious and strange out of nowhere, she says, “You think I’m some kind of weirdo, huh?” and then directly to the officers in front of her son she says, “People should think twice before being rude. Then just not be rude!”. His younger brother is pretty awful. He has a bad attitude, is disrespectful and unkind. To make it significantly worse, this same mom character justifies it, saying “Arthur can’t help being jealous. Be nice to him. You’re the big brother after all”. Stanley uses his new flattened condition to sneak into his brother’s room under the door and his brother responds with, “I’ll show you!” before running and charging him angrily. To round it out, unfortunately, it is Stanley’s turn later in the book. When his brother messes up, but then sincerely apologizes, Stanley is rude and completely ignores him. Other items to be aware of: When Stanely is first squished, Mom flippantly exclaims, “Heavens!”. Stanley asks his brother not to tell their mom and dad what’s bothering him, suggesting, “It would only make it worse” (a bad message to put in front of young children).