Slacks, Camera, Action!

Mr. Pants! #2

by Scott McCormick

Mr. Pants is a hilarious comic book style chapter book series, perfect for fans of Bad Kitty and Fly Guy!Mr. Pants only has a few hours to make a movie with his sisters if they’re going to win the filmmaking contest and get a trip to Hawaii. Why do dumb things like chores and tea parties always get in the way? With a little creative thinking, and a big dose of goofball personality, the cats get their debut film done just in the nick of time. And don't forget about Mr. It's Go Time!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Humor, Cats, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Juvenile

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Scott McCormick is the author of more Scott McCormick bios than any other Scott McCormick who ever Scott McCormicked. Look it up if you don’t believe me. He also writes the Mr. Pants graphic novels and the hilarious Audible Originals The Dragon Squisher, Spies! Sneak, Snoops, and Saboteurs Who Shaped the World, Mutually Assured Detention, and the number-one bestseller Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World. But who are we kidding? The real money is in writing bios. You take that advice to the bank. Tell ‘em Scott McCormick sent you. And if they ask you which Scott McCormick, you tell ‘em the Scott-McCormick-bio-writing Scott McCormick of the North Carolina Scott McCormicks. They’ll know who you mean.

Reviews

[Angie]

Title: Mr. Pants: Slacks, Camera, Action
Primary
Briefly evaluate the use of text and images for each book. Describe a possible application and audience for each book.
The images are similar to the Sunday comics. There are several frames on a page and the characters speak through speech bubbles. Students may need help figuring out how to zigzag through the panels and navigate the speech bubbles, but once they get the hang of it, the story reads easily. When they are showing the movie, there are black frames (similar to a film strip) around the panels to show it is the movie and not “live action”. Mr. Pants and his sisters, Foot Foot and Grommy, (all cats) are the main characters of the story. Their “mom” is a human woman who sometimes gets in on their antics. This is a fast-paced, entertaining story about Mr. Pants wanting to enter a movie making contest and bargaining with his mom and sisters to help him. It is arranged in chapters, so it would be a good transition for students from picture books to chapter books. I would use it for those readers that are ready to move to chapter books, but might be intimidated by all of the text. Then, you could celebrate them for completing a chapter book and suggest they move on to one with more text.
Share positive attributes OR cautions/concerns for educators to be aware of for each book.
This is another great story of sibling rivalry and teamwork. In one of the other submitted movies, a character resembling Mr. Pants gets blown up, but the cartoony nature of the illustrations and text, make it non-traumatic. I do know, however, that some schools ban all violence.

[Matthew Winner · Rating 5 out of 5]

And speaking of random and crazy, the best book ever this week for me is one that I can't stop thinking about. It's called Mr. Pants: Slacks, Camera, Action! This is book #2 of the Mr. Pants series and it's written by Scott McCormick. Pictures are by R. H. Lazzell. And it comes out from Dial Books for Young Readers. And I'm gonna tell you up from that this might not be a book that you as an adult like because it is written so clearly for children. The illustrations look, I'm sure how else to say this respectfully, but they look sort of amateurish. They look wittled down enough that a kid could copy this book and make a semblance of a sequel to Mr. Pants that would fit in the same universe. And yet there's a lot of sophistication to this story and it is certainly about three cats trying to coexist in a house with a mom who is very aware that these cats talk and who talks back to them. But Mr. Pants, our protagonist, is trying to shoot a movie and is kind of forcing his family around to do different things. It's ridiculous. He enters a film show. You will laugh out loud. Your kids are going to want to read this over and over and over and over. And that is why I'm calling Mr. Pants: Slacks, Camera, Action! the best book ever this week. Way to go!

This review appears on an episode of the “Best Book Ever [this week]” segment of the Let’s Get Busy podcast. Check out the original post here: http://lgbpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/0...

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a hilarious book! I never read any of the books in this series before, so I didn't know what to expect. But it's basically about a human mom raising children who are talking cats. One cat, Mr. Pants, is really funny and the one who is always up to something. In this book, he wants to create a movie for a contest, so he tries to con his brother and sister in to doing his chores for him. The entire book was so good. I look forward to checking out the other books in this series. I think kids would really love this series!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another slapstick graphic novel we found in the library that my kid finds to be hilarious and therefore reads aloud over and over again, often to himself, and then squeals with laughter in the middle of the night.

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Corny kids graphic novel series with dull art and text. Pick up Squish, Baby Mouse, or Lunch Lady instead.

[DeA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute installment in the lives of three cat siblings.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Mr. Pants book. Four stars just for starting the discussion of what a "sore winner" is. Funny story arcs about being on camera, fame and how to behave with grace.

[Galion Public Library Teens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by C.N. : "Like. Mr. Pants makes a movie to win money. He has to do [a] lot of things but loses. [Recommended for those] who like mystery."

[Parisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny

[weirdo named Henry Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Mr. Pants! He didn't get $1,000 to go to Hawaii!

[Jaymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird and funny! Loved it!!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of exhausting. Mr Pants is a cat with a terrible attitude about losing and he is convinced that he will win a trip to Hawaii based on a film he creates in less than a day. Fine for kids who want something ridiculous. Bad Kitty fans, check here.

[Molly Ritterbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to read and follow. I read to do something with my daughter, and even though she loved it it was too much for my old self. LOL

[Pashmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the first book awhile ago, and my sister checked out this one from the library. A quick read, appealing to younger children, though the first, at least in my opinion, was better.

[Jada D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I would actually give a 3.5 stars

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not as funny as the camping one. I liked it but I'm looking forward to another one in this series making me laugh cry like the camping one!

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/FCZFWxEISms

Enjoy!

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Rikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the hilarious sequel to Mr. Pants: It’s Go Time!, Mr. Pants the cat decides to enter a film contest. Before he can make his certain-to-win-first-place spy flick, he must complete his chores and help with his kitten sister Grommy’s tea party. In true cat-like fashion, Mr. Pants is not the type to focus on chores or to be of help to anyone. He bribes his other sister Foot Foot to do his chores for him, plays a prank on their mother, and attempts to use Grommy’s tea party guests as extras in his film. In the end, however, his film gets made with cooperation from his sisters and lots of voice dubbing. In a nicely executed ironic twist, Mr. Pants’s movie comes in second place behind Grommy’s friends who decided to make a film about him after he ruined their tea party. Mr. Pant’s: Slacks, Camera Action delivers plenty of laughs and even a few moral lessons in graphic novel form that can be read in one sitting and without having read the first Mr. Pants book. The story’s brevity and the comedy will certainly appeal to reluctant readers. Recommended for school and public libraries for grades K-3.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another funny adventure of Mr Pants, his two feline sisters and a human mother. This time, Mr P wants to enter a film contest and has one day to submit his entry but he can only work on it after chores and his sister's tea party if there is time. This is a similar set up to the first book. Mr P. decides to keep the camera rolling all day whether it's him or his little sister filming. Hi-jinx abound and it becomes quite the day for all concerned. Book one was better but this still has all the fun and the cutest art.

[Kelly Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young readers seem to really like this series. I still have difficulty enjoying it. The illustrations are not very detailed; however, they are in color, which adds appeal. The plots in each book are starting to get repetitive. It seems like Mr. Pants wants to do things; however, his mom says only if there is time after doing everything else.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The childlike wackiness began to grow on me more in this second Mr. Pants book than the first one, and amusement gradually outweighed annoyance as I was able to read this more from a child's perspective than an adult's. 3.5 stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, these are not getting better. I think they appeal to a younger mindset for sure, since my kids enjoy them but I do not. Of course, the kids insist on reading them to me, so I am not given a choice whether to continue reading them or not.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I just waste 10 minutes reading this? WHY?! The inanity is driving me mad!

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids love Mr. Pants. ("Evil, weird-looking penguin" has become a catch phrase in our house.) I like the signs and references. It's a book I enjoy reading to my youngest.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

book 2 in the series about 3 cats who can talk to their human mommy, which is a bit weird but will have tons of kid appeal. The stories nicely merge at the end, but then falls flat. Silly cat fun.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I couldn't get through this book, but I know it's perfect for readers just starting chapter books.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sean read it to me. Good times!

[Cristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some funny parts, but I liked the first one better.