I was excited about the concept, but the resulting story is just too strange for my taste. ( )

It starts out very promising, and I greatly enjoyed the first few chapters, but quickly devolves into rather boring episodic nonsense as a new author enters with every chapter. Some of the later chapters do, however, make an admirable effort at bringing it all together. By the end, it's been a mostly bland reading experience, but the occasional funny moment helps, as does the fact that it is all tied up neatly at the end. ( )

Narrated by Phil Gigante. Sixteen children’s authors contribute episodes in this progressive story about circus kids Nancy and Joe Sloppy who receive a card on their 11th birthday directing them to save the parents they believed were dead by piecing together a robot. They must run a gamut of motley villains and friends to accomplish their mission before time runs out! Gigante’s vocal work is skillfully dextrous, with an amazing ability to stretch, push and pull as each character demands. An entertaining job, but with so many wacky developments and characters involved in the progressive story format it does take some effort to track the storyline. ( )

A completely bizarre and somewhat disjointed account of the adventures of Nancy and Joe, twins left at the circus as babies when their parents open a portal into another dimension, as they search for the pieces of the exquisite corpse robot that will help them to rescue their parents. A modern-day take on the Victorian parlor game, the Exquisite Corpse is written by some of the best-known children's authors writing today. Not my favorite book, but an entertaining read.

This is a goofy, delightful, careening tale. The joy at cobbling together the tale, one author/illustrator at a time, is evident. This story is the kind of wild romp that will make kids snort when it's read aloud in a classroom. Save literary analysis for another project and just enjoy in the giddy fun of the creators. (152) ( )