MABEL IS (^NOT) A LIGHTNING BUG

Mabel must weather social discomfort in a new setting.

Following the events of the first book, which Mabel’s imaginary friend, Mr. Elephant, helpfully summarizes via an introductory puppet show, Mabel is about to join the Scouts-like Lightning Bugs. “You can make me go, but you can’t make me like it,” she tells her parents; she’s a creative and playful sport but definitely not a joiner. Mabel and Elephant spot other kids’ imaginary friends, including Gertie and her “eager beaver,” Slappy, an encouraging sign that Mabel might get along just fine with her fellow Lightning Bugs. Meanwhile, Mabel anticipates seeing the movie version of her favorite video game, Crash Kittens Racing, with besties Flora and Bea. Marko makes canny observations about the nature of preferences and change: Ms. Fanny, the Lightning Bugs troop leader, fixes Mabel’s uniform so the tag stops itching her; Mr. Elephant reminds Mabel she can change her mind about a dreaded social experience after enjoying it. These themes land naturally in Marko’s world of fully loaded family minivans and cheerful coed youth groups. Symmetrical page layouts of large squares and rectangles, with occasional circular inset panels for quick asides between characters, allow readers to clearly navigate panels and speech bubbles. Most of the cast is light-skinned, though Flora is brown-skinned and there’s some diversity among the Lightning Bugs.

How to make new friends but keep the old? Marko proves that the real and imaginary can both be gold.