No Ordinary Boy, No Ordinary Dog

Listen...did you hear a loud ka-boom?  Did a boy wearing a lab coat go running past?  Did that dog just talk?

If you answered yes to all those questions you have entered the world of Mal and Chad, an inventive guy genius and his talking canine companion.  Creations of graphic artist, Stephen McCranie, their third adventure was released on December 6, 2012.  With every turn of page Belly Flop! (Philomel Books) brings readers closer into the lives of this perfect pair of pals.


This episode begins with one of Mal's inventions going slightly haywire.  The small arm meant to come out from the top of his alarm clock and wake him up with a gentle tap on the head, pops out swinging.  Luckily Chad hits the snooze button before Mal ends up all black and blue.

Barely making the bus on time, he arrives at Einstein Elementary to sit in his favorite spot, the base of the large bust of Albert E outside the school.  It seems that his major crush (who barely acknowledges him), Megan is handing out birthday party invitations.  By the end of the day it looks as if Mal's awkward social skills will prevent an invite until his chivalry toward Megan attracts attention.  He's going to the party!

The dilemma of the quintessential gift, how to afford the purchase price, the use of the weather cube to do chores backfiring, getting caught on a windmill blade, a too-close encounter with his super-duper glue and an embarrassing dip in a pond, leave Mal feeling very un-cool, down in the proverbial dumps.  Never fear...Chad to the rescue.  Satisfying his craving for snow cones, Chad has been busy with Mal's weather cube.  One snowball fight, snow angels and an ice castle later all is well...or is it?

Still trying to win Megan's attention, or more, Mal masters a magic act for an entry in the school talent show.  A fiasco ensues involving a tarantula named Susan, a levitation mishap and a blizzard. Will Mal make it home in time to save his best bud from the out-of-control giant snowflakes and lightning hail?  What's a Musketeer doing in the middle of the blizzard?  Friendship, the true-blue-forever kind, in all its shapes and sizes triumphs.


Stephen McCranie's skills as a writer are obvious in the dialogue between his characters exhibited realistically, full of life and emotion; each statement revealing the speaker's personality.  Through conversations between Mal and Chad readers are privy to the deep affection and loyalty they share, one for the other.  The pacing from one speech bubble to the next is smooth, fast and completely engaging.


McCranie is an absolute master at designing the layout of his panels.  The panels on each page are placed together like pieces on a puzzle, the pages becoming pieces in the larger puzzle of the story. Alternating size to accommodate the moments, events and action and shifting perspective generate a pleasing whole.

Portions of the items in a panel move outside the edges to add interest, movement and enhance the flow of the narrative.  Lines in the text and visuals increase in size, width and boldness for emphasis.  Liberal use of sound words, onomatopoeia, draw the reader into the story.


My new copy of Belly Flop!: Mal and Chad 3 written and illustrated by Stephen McCranie is filled with dozens of small sticky notes extending from the pages marking dialogue and visuals I deem as memorable, outstanding in their delivery.  To be sure, the action, even in the day to day events at school, is non-stop.  But there are moments that will touch your heart and leave a mark.  This particular inventive guy genius and his canine companion have become treasured characters in my literary life.  Well done, Stephen McCranie.

Please follow the link embedded in Mal and Chad above to access the official website.

The Perfect Combination-A Boy and His Dog

Black and white illustrations never looked as good as they do in this first graphic novel, Mal and Chad: The biggest, bestest time ever! by Stephen McCranie.  McCranie began the adventures of Mal and Chad as a feature for his college newspaper.  They have evolved from a mad scientist and his test subject into a child genius and his dog, a forever friend.

McCranie does not waste a single frame as the story begins with a bang; literally as Mal's experimental jet pack with his favorite stuffed animal, Captain Porky, is accidentally shot through the ceiling of his bedroom (roof of the house) by Chad to wander in the upper atmosphere.  Of course the jet pack was Mal's backpack containing his homework, textbooks and lunch.  Chad's over-dramatic reaction at the mention of lunch is the humorous, classic dog-always-craving-food response; not dog food though because it tastes yucky.

At Einstein Elementary School Mal has chats with the huge Einstein statue in front of the building.  It's his way of sorting through his thoughts.  Most of the students stay clear of Mal; in trying to protect his giftedness he comes across as a dork.

Two characters, Megan and Zachary, play prominently in the storyline.  Mal has a major crush on Megan even after she strikes him with one her flaming dodge bombs in gym class.  Zachary is the classic know-it-all whose biggest supporter is himself; spying Mal's backpack with Captain Porky through his telescope thinking it's an alien ups the ante in the laughter department.

Each day Mal can hardly wait to get home, trying out inventions stored in his treehouse, building his rocketship and just being with Chad throughout all his escapades.  When his teacher assigns an essay about what they want to be when they grow up, Mal has no clue. We readers get to share in all his attempts with Chad to discover what that might be.

An old vacuum cleaner becomes a Mini-Mega-Morpher shrinking Mal and Chad to bug size; a sink full of dishwater their venue for underwater exploration.  Barely escaping when Mal's Mom comes home early, lands them in a cloud of dust in the kitchen and straight upstairs for a bath and bed.

A time machine crafted from an old elevator, complete with the appropriate music, zings them into the age of dinosaurs.  Chad's attraction to a baby Ankylosaurus nearly costs them their lives and the possibility of a return trip home.  As the time machine blasts homeward Zachary spies it through his telescope thinking it's a crashed spaceship. 

Between the inventions (rubber ducky life raft, modified Swiss Army knife, seed growing into a flower tent, potion that makes even dog food taste good), the day to day challenges of school life, the presence of Murphy's Law in their fast-paced perils, the upbeat dialogue between Mal and Chad (he can talk due to Mal's creativity) and an ending that couldn't be better, Mal and Chad:  The biggest, bestest time ever!  is just that for each and every reader.

A mixture of frame sizes, liberal use of sound effects sans balloons and facial expressions that leave no doubt as to the character's state of mind, continually move the reader forward quickly turning the pages.  Readers explore with Mal and Chad just what it means to live life with a sense of wonder. Stephen McCranie manages to convey zany hilarity and true heart throughout with the seamless blend of narration and graphics.

More copies are on their way to Charlevoix and the new title to be released in January of 2012, Mal and Chad:  Food Fight! has been preordered.  Don't miss all the extra features at the web site linked above by clicking on Stephen McCranie's name.