An appealing whodunit about friendship and community, great for fans of comics.
A tiny girl and her miniature panda companion solve a mystery and help their plant and insect friends.
Poppy is a small girl who lives inside a hollow pumpkin set in a pumpkin patch. Her panda friend, Sam, who acts like a child or younger sibling, helps her tend her garden. One day, they hear yelling nearby and run to find the cause. It’s Basil: Someone bit their leaves while they slept and they and the other plants are outraged. Poppy promises to help find the culprit. When interviews with Ms. Honeybee, Ladybug, and Mr. Bumblebee result in conflicting accusations, they make another plan to catch the thief. After two more failed attempts, Poppy finally figures out a clever way to find the nibbler. The thief apologizes and discovers that Basil is more than willing to share a leaf or two: “You only have to ask.” The simple, clean drawings are colored in natural tones, and the panels resemble comic art, varying in size to complement action and drama. Poppy may be curiously small, but she is resourceful and smart. With a dark beige skin tone and straight, black hair in a topknot, she is ethnically ambiguous; that she is a clever girl of color will appeal to many readers. The plant and animal friends are as adorable as Poppy and Sam, and there are clever surprises to discover on several pages.
An appealing whodunit about friendship and community, great for fans of comics. (Graphic mystery. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77147-329-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It has color, magic, and ponies—but little else.
A graphic-novel series to accompany the Melowy chapter books.
A concise pagelong summary opens the story, explaining the distant world Aura, which consists of four island realms and the Castle of Destiny in the clouds, which houses the school for Melowies, winged unicorns with magical powers. Five first-year friends and roommates—Cleo, Maya, Electra, Cora, and Selena—are preparing for a big exam in defense techniques. Each Melowy has a distinctive quirk: Cleo’s a bookworm, Maya bakes, Electra likes fashion, Cora’s brainy, and Selena’s aloof. Cleo also has a mysterious backstory and an equally mysterious locket. The five, along with side characters, all share similar silhouettes (slender, leggy, long-haired, short-snouted, and with the same shape and size wings and horns for all); aside from variations in hair styles and skirt lengths, readers must rely primarily on color schemes to keep track of the large, otherwise bland cast. When the test ends up separating the Melowies, luring them in with desires and then trapping them with fears, Cleo’s locket and the strength of her friendships carry the day, allowing her to pass while aiding her friends in the test. The ending confirms the obvious—that Cleo’s special—and reveals a villain scheming in the wings for subsequent episodes.
It has color, magic, and ponies—but little else. (Graphic fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-54580-002-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Papercutz
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Not perfect but a pleasant-enough caper that bridges a gap between leveled readers and chapter books.
A hedgehog and rat solve a gentle whodunit.
Quillan, a tawny-hued hedgehog who goes by Q, and Ray, a chocolate-colored rat, return for their third graphic-novel mystery. Inspired by famous women ballplayers, Q has joined the Loons baseball team and is anticipating a fun season practicing catching. Ray, however, is more interested in indoor pursuits, sharing his recent reading about forgery and fakes. This information comes in handy as the pair soon discovers that a valuable signed baseball has been stolen and a forgery left in its place. Stephen Shaskan’s panels are large and bright, focusing on the prominently displayed characters alongside uniformly stylized and easy-to-read speech bubbles. As they are constructed with blocky outlines and solid colors lacking detail, readers may find it difficult to discern exactly which mammals they are intended to depict. Although a stand-alone mystery, this new case does not rehash necessary details explained in earlier installments, which may be perplexing to series newcomers. Those familiar with the series, on the other hand, may notice that this volume follows an almost identical investigational path as its predecessor, reinforcing mystery conventions for young readers but perhaps causing more-seasoned ones to feel it is stale. This affable mystery is probably best for younger readers looking for more of a challenge than leveled readers provide.
Not perfect but a pleasant-enough caper that bridges a gap between leveled readers and chapter books. (Graphic mystery. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2644-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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