Hip and Hop Don't Stop: Disney Hyperion Books

Aspiring rappers Hip, a slow turtle, and Hop, a quick bunny, hail from the west and east sides of Oldskool County, respectively, and their paths cross at a poster for an upcoming “Rap-Off.” Admiring each other's talent, they begin helping each other prepare for the contest, but both bomb until they team up, and their complementary styles earn them the crowns for “Best Rappers.” Czekaj's bright, fun art style is consistent with his previous work, including illustrations for Nickelodeon Magazine and The Circulatory Story (2010), and he includes plenty of humour in the words, action in the layouts, and visual clues to heighten the experience of reading (or rapping) aloud. Other than the pace of the characters' lifestyles, the classic tortoise-and-hare story is barely referenced; the best allusions are those to hip-hop music in wordplay that slyly relates to the forest setting and animal characters, such as “Queen LaTreeFrog,” “Jay Zebra,” “Ludafish,” a skunk called “P-Unit,” and the topographical “Sugar Hills,” a nod to the group with the first top 40 hip-hop single, 20 years before this book's primary audience was born. Preschool-Grade 2. --Andrew Medlar

About Jef Czekaj