Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever is a fun and funny adventure with a boy genius and his dog. Naturally, he has built a device so he can talk to his dog, and it’s wonderful.
Mal and Chad are a great mix of a few things I enjoy. They have a blend of friendship as seen in Calvin and Hobbes or Jake and Finn from Adventure Time. Mal’s genius is up there with the other hapless children inventors as in Jimmy Neutron and Dexter’s Labratory. And somehow, even with all the similarities, it still comes up as quite original and genuine.
The story really gets started when Mal is given an assignment in school to write about what he wants to be when he grows up. What I like about this story is that it speaks to many of us who didn’t have that one thing while we grew up. Mal doesn’t know what he wants to be. Even with all of the knowledge about everything, he doesn’t know. As an inventor, he goes to great lengths to discover what he would like which always turn out quite hilarious.
This story is just further proving that the author, Stephen McCranie, is in my brain though and somehow knows where my heart and passion are at all times. The ending of this book is quite poignant, without being so deep as to confuse anyone. It is interesting to see that this was McCranie’s first published foray into the poignant. I’ve been a huge fan of his Doodle Alley series where he talks about creativity, art, failure and other abstract ideas in illustrated glory.
But, in the end, Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever is a story about a boy and his dog as they make a quite humorous adventure through time and sinks. It’s entertaining, funny, well-illustrated, and fun for all ages!