Picture Book Review and Interview for The Great Caper Caper ‘Great Virtual Virtual Tour’
THE GREAT CAPER CAPER
Written by Josh Funk
Illustrated by Brendan Kearney
(Union Square Kids; $17.99, Ages 4-8)
REVIEW:
Welcome back to the fridge, home of the popular food pair, Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast. It’s an honor to be part of this virtual tour packed with passionate kidlit people helping to promote Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney’s latest picture book, The Great Caper Caper, #5 in the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series!
When the story opens (see above illustrations), Sir French Toast awakens during the night only to discover everywhere is draped in darkness. But we’re not talking about ordinary nighttime darkness. No this was the dreaded fridge light darkness.
A glowing light leads the curious characters to Las Veggies where Lady P and Sir FT try to enter Las Veggies Tower but are initially held back by security. Soon they confront tower owner, Count Caper. “‘I haven’t stolen a thing,’ he lied.”
Adding to the urgency to recover the light, readers learn that Sir FT is scared of the dark. This convinces Lady P, in a nod to Ocean’s 11, that she must assemble a crew including Baron von Waffle, Miss Brie, Tofu, Professor Biscotti, the Fruitcake, the Beets, and Inspector Croissant. No crummy collection of pros here.
A plan is hatched, disguises are donned, and solving the great caper caper is underway! Zero hour is scheduled to take place during the Tower show. The team, tasked with distractions, and more amusing antics involving Animal Crackers, and an asparagus accomplice, recover the stolen light. But, while celebrating their success, the food friends learn Count Caper’s M-O was a relatable one, and it all boiled down to friendship. With a little introspection, the briny bud “sees the light” so to speak, and can now count Lady Pancake, Sir French Toast, and the whole crew as pals.
Yet again, Funk and Kearney have delivered a readable, rhyming picture book that will entertain parents as much as the kids due to witty wordplay, careful plotting, and of course, the movie inspiration. From the minute I saw Las Veggies was the destination in this story, I was hooked, eager to see how the heist was handled. Multiple readings will be requested to study the whimsical spreads that Kearney clearly enjoyed designing. The Great Caper Caper is a fast-paced, funny, action-packed tale that children will love adding to their bookshelves.
Q + A:
GoodReadsWithRonna: I asked Josh a few fun questions that popped into my head as I was reading The Great Caper Caper.
Josh Funk: Thanks so much for inviting me to chat! I’m a huge fan of Good Reads with Ronna!
GRWR: Aww, thanks, Josh! You’ve described The Great Caper Caper as Ocean’s 11 in the fridge. It’s got the Las Veggies location, the crew of 11, the hotel vault to break into, and huge stakes. In this case, there’s a fridge light to recover not millions of dollars or an ex-wife to win back. Were there other elements of the film you wanted to recreate but just couldn’t fit into a rhyming picture book format?
JF: Actually, I was able to get pretty much everything in that I wanted – even more than I originally planned – especially the final page at the fountain! Brendan Kearney’s art is sooooo perfect for this series and this book – it’s brilliant.
GRWR: Can we talk Julia Roberts as Lady Pancake and George Clooney as Sir French Toast?
JF: If we’re gonna go with a Julia Roberts film, I think Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast’s relationship is more like Julia and Rupert Everett from My Best Friend’s Wedding. They’re truly just friends – they might find romance elsewhere, though.
And if you happen to know anyone in Hollywood that might have interest, please do let me know. The film rights are available!
GRWR: Was this the hardest plot to pull off?
JF: This is a great question, one that I haven’t really thought about in full until answering it right now.
I always like changing up the genres in each book. Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast is a race. The Case of the Stinky Stench is a mystery. Mission Defrostable is an action-adventure spy-thriller. Short & Sweet is a sci-fi comedy / magical body-swap (think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Big or Freaky Friday).
And when brainstorming new ideas, my wife threw out the title The Great Caper Caper – which everyone immediately fell in love with. The title gave us the villain (a caper) and the genre (a heist). And the hardest thing about a heist is that the protagonists must have an altruistic reason to steal something. In Ocean’s 11, the reasons for the heist are revenge and greed – and those wouldn’t work all that well in a children’s book.
I figured the best reason would be if they were stealing something back from someone who stole it first. And in order to get others on board with the plan (in lieu of greed) was if the thing that was stolen also affected them. And the missing light bulb leaving the fridge in the dark was a perfect (and tangible) item to be the object of the heist.
But why is it up to Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast to solve this problem for all of the denizens of the fridge (other than the fact that this is their series and they seem to always find themselves in the center of every adventure)? Because Sir French Toast is afraid of the dark, of course!
So I guess it was a pretty hard plot to pull off, now that you mention it. Was it harder than book #6, though? No. That one was harder. You can ask me about that more in the fall of 2024.
GRWR: You’re one of the busiest, hardest-working children’s book authors I know. What feeds your soul and keeps you keeping on?
JF: Vanity.
I’m kidding (mostly). I genuinely like cracking myself up with silly things and sometimes those things also make other people laugh or entertained.
That, and reading so many amazing picture books that others create and release on a weekly basis. There are so many fantastic authors and illustrators out there that continue to inspire me daily.
GRWR: Any clues for us as to the duo’s next adventure?
JF: Clues … hmmmm…. I already gave you one (book 6 will be fall 2024). And I sort of gave you another (it will be a different genre than each of the previous 5).
How about this for a clue? There’s something/someone in book #1 (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast) that doesn’t belong in the fridge which sets off a series of events leading to book 6… And that’s all I’ll say for now.
GRWR: I really appreciate that you took the time to answer these burning questions, Josh. I’m heading back to the fridge to see if I can figure out book 6 from your clues!
JF: Thank you, Ronna!
