THE ICE CREAM MACHINE

A compilation of stories drawing upon the appeal of ice cream.

Six short tales are combined into an ice cream–themed collection written by Rubin and illustrated by half a dozen leading illustrators. Each story is entitled “The Ice Cream Machine,” although the characters, settings, and genres vary greatly, and the subtitles are distinct. The only connections between the stories are that each features an ice cream machine of some type and that each story’s characters have an affinity for exclaiming “jangus!” Some stories are more successful than others. “The Ice Cream Machine (the one with the sorcerer’s assistant),” illustrated by Miles, combines magic and humor to create a story with a surprisingly deep moral, while the “The Ice Cream Machine (the one with the alien space lab),” featuring art by Miller, is a slow-burn spiraling tale of wish-making reminiscent of The Twilight Zone. Others aren’t as successful: “The Ice Cream Machine (the one with the five-armed robot)” meanders, and “The Ice Cream Machine (the one with the ice cream eating contest)” is fun but has a superficial subplot about bullying that will make most readers roll their eyes. As a whole, the text is entertaining but may not be as consistent as readers will hope for. The variety of artistic styles forms a pleasing complement to the different entries.

An uneven collection that mostly succeeds.