THE STARTUP SQUAD

A fresh business venture faces challenges in the big city.

In a new story separate from their previous series, the Start-Up Squad—a group of young friends who have run a range of businesses, from a lemonade stand to wedding planning—have made the move from prose chapter books to comics, and they’ve also left home to visit Resa’s Abuela in New York City. Resa’s friends get along swimmingly with Abuela, and Resa quickly begins feeling like the fifth wheel. But Abuela sprains her ankle and has to stay home, so Resa offers to work at her grandmother’s shop in her stead, hoping to escape her frustrations. Serendipitously (or suspiciously) she contributes capital funds—questionably procured from the cash register—to support two girls planning to make and sell dog bandanas. The girls flippantly accept her hastily offered cash and nearly tank their business with sloppy product and overly aggressive marketing. Fortunately, Resa divulges her dilemma to her friends, who rally to help with product development and a coherent sales strategy. They’re a team for a reason; they know that every angle of the process counts. With functional, bright illustrations, occasionally stiffened by long stretches of dialogue, and a straightforward storyline, there’s definitely a lesson here, relayed with conviction. Resa’s frustrations with her friends add a dash of drama to entice even skeptical readers to invest. Resa and her grandmother are brown-skinned and Latine, and other characters represent a diversity of skin tones.

Business smarts and collaborative creativity laid out clearly in comics form.