Anyone who likes Mac Black's "Please call me Derek" (and the rest in the series covering his grown-up adventures) will enjoy introducing younger friends and family to his new series, "Sweaty and Pals." Derek hated his nickname and now we find out how he came by it. Filled with stories about Derek's exploits with his gang in the eighties, with quirky illustrations (by Mac Black), the stories build on Derek's ability to find disasters and get himself into one mess after another.

Sweaty's tales are about little kids enjoying life, before smartphones and computer games came along. Of...