The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Cedric 2: Dad’s Got Class

by Cauvin and Laudec

Cinebook

Cedric is an eight-year-old boy who is desperately in love with Chen but too shy to let her know. Between school, rowdy friends, nosy parents and an insufferable cousin, little Cedric has a lot to deal with. Thankfully, his grandpa is always there to help, no matter how much mischief Cedric makes…

The second in the series – I reviewed Volume 1 here. Molly thought it was great, I thought it was good. Here’s my wrap up from that review:

I might enjoy the soppy, silly stuff more than the out and out silly. But Molly loved the lot. And she is the book’s audience after all. And she’s looking forward to getting hold of Volume 2

And I can tell you she enjoyed this one just as much as she did Volume 1. It had everything she enjoyed – all the slapstick, all the silly stuff, all the daft puppy love of the first. I have to say that I got a little bored at times with the sameness of the stories – the book is made up of stories between 1 and 5 pages in length -but I’d take Molly’s reaction to it as a better judgement on the book – she is, after all, the target audience for this one.

There are some lovely gags in here, all revolving around young Cedric and his relationship with the adult world, his friends, his life and loves and the really daft situations he finds himself in. Just as with Volume 1 I found myself really enjoying those strips where Cedric puts his heart on the line, whether it’s his teacher or his classmate Chen but there’s also a sentimental streak running through the book with Cedric’s relationship with his grandfather, who’s always there for some, often dubious, usually funny, advice:

So just on the basis of Molly’s enjoyment, I can recommend this one for any child you have that shows any passing interest in comics. Give them Cedric and take great delight in the enjoyment they get from it. It’s not complex, it’s perhaps not the best, perhaps not the funniest, but it’s good and it’s something perfectly suited for children – and that’s never a bad thing.

Richard Bruton.