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Bunny & Tree by Balint Zsako. Enchanted Lion, 2023. 9781592703937. 184pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781592703937?partnerid=34778&p_bt
This wordless story of friendship features a tree that saves a rabbit on the run from a wolf. The lonely rabbit then digs up the tree and transports it in a wagon, in a journey that reminded me of Regis Faller's Polo books. Minor spoiler: on a faraway island they find other rabbits, and what happens next is magical.
The Magicians by Blexbolex. Translated from French by Karin Snelson. Enchanted Lion, 2023. 9781592704040. 210pp. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781592704040?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Blexbolex (Seasons, Ballad) experiments with illustrations and printing techniques. The way the words are arranged at the bottom of the pages makes the book feel like it's from a bygone era, and the illustration style and the paper give the whole thing a hand-printed feel.
The story involves the reappearance of magicians in an abandoned house, plus a huntress and a clinker (the dragon-like thing on the cover) who are on their trail. It's action-packed and full of strange moments; then things get weirder when the magicians fall through the paper and end up outside the story.
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The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha. Balzer + Bray, 2024. 9780062685124. 314pp. https://www.powells.com/book/-9780062685124?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Ha's first fictional graphic novel, a historical fantasy set in Joseon-era Korea, follows her Cook Korean! graphic cookbook and Almost American Girl, her graphic memoir. The memoir shows Ha's love of Korean fantasy manhwa, so the subject of this book isn't a huge surprise, but this one makes the variety of her comics work truly impressive.
At the center of this tale is the gumiho, a nine-tailed fox with magical powers associated with seductive and evil women. General Song is famed for having killed gumiho. He has three children by two wives, and he teaches martial arts not only to his sons but also to his daughter, Kai. Because she's a better fighter than both her brothers everyone says she's gumiho's daughter. She's also clearly someone we can root for, as evidenced when she stands up for a poor young girl being beaten as a suspected thief early in the book.
Unfortunately for Kai, the rumors are kind of true, as she finds out when she gets her first period and starts to turn into a fox. Her mother takes her away to the mountains where Kai meets gumiho, who survived her conflict with Kai's father. Gumiho teaches Kai what she must do to hide her fox-nature and continue to live in the world of men.
The whole story is super bloody (though not as much on the page as in the reader's mind), and it turns into a murder mystery toward the end with Kai helping her father investigate a series of murders while trying to make sure he doesn't discover the culprit. A romantic ending ties up the story; it's a bit melodramatic, but Ha makes it work. And I can't wait to read whatever comics Ha creates next.
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If you're in San Antonio for TXLA today, drop by the Library Comic booth and say hello!
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Super Boba Café by Nidhi Chanani, colors by Sarah Davidson. Amulet, 2023. 9781419759567. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781419759567?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Aria flies to San Francisco alone to spend some of her summer with her Nainai. They both have secrets, which come out gradually. (Minor spoiler) Aria's involves a boy she liked who shared photos of her online; her Nainai's involves what she does every night in the kitchen at her Super Boba Café (and the groundhogs she feeds behind it). As Aria tries to help her Nainai improve business, the café's cat Bao offers a way to attract more customers. This leads to Aria finding out her grandma's secret (and telling her grandma hers).
Based on the look of this graphic novel's art, I assumed it would be squarely aimed at very young readers, but it has a lot to offer to upper-elementary and even middle school students. (Aria is about to turn 14.) And its great depiction of a friendly grandmother/granddaughter relationship reminded me of my mother-in-law and my daughter. Note: there's nothing too scary or adult in the book.
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Club Microbe by Elise Gravel. Drawn & Quarterly, 2024. 9781770467026. 56pp. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781770467026?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Every book of Gravel's feels like a party, and this one celebrates microbes by showcasing facts about them and how fun they are to draw. My favorite illustration is the one about useful germs that live in our intestines, which features a toothy grin and a fart. I loved Gravel's enthusiasm for bacteriophages, prochlorococcus ("We're superheroes!"), hand washing, and cool Latin names. The book swept me along and made me want to draw.
If you've never heard Gravel's name, you may recognize her art from the USPS's Message Monsters postage stamps. https://www.painted-words.com/2020/11/elise-gravels-message-monsters-are-among-the-u-s-postal-services-new-stamps-for-2021/
And if her drawings in this book leave you wanting more, check out The Mushroom Fan Club, If Found… Please Return to Elise Gravel (her sketchbook), and my favorite of her books, The Great Antonio.
#bookreview#graphicnovel#graphicnovelreview#kidsgraphicnovel#microbes#bacteria#bacteriophages#drawing
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The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell. Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2024. 9780593533239. 352 pp. https://www.powells.com/book/-9780593533239?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Most of the Swifts have odd names you'd find in a dictionary, and, once named, they know their roles.
Shenanigan Swift lives in a strange, 17th-century manor, her family's ancestral home, with her Aunt Schadenfreude, Uncle Maelstrom, Cook, and her two older sisters, Phenomena and Felicity. She's been quietly mapping the place for years in an attempt to find the treasure hidden there by Vile Swift.
Inheritance Swift arrives and announces she's called for a Swift Family Reunion. Relatives are soon milling about, ready to tear the house apart to find the lost fortune. After Aunt Schadenfreude explains the rules, she also announces that in three days she'll be choosing her replacement as family matriarch. Then someone tries to kill her.
Shenanigan vows revenge. Plus she needs to beat her relatives to the treasure. The mystery that follows involves more deaths, a duel, deception, suspicion, a secret room, a library full of traps, and a cousin who refuses to use their dictionary-given name.
It's great fun and not nearly as adult as all of that "murder" might make it sound. Lincoln's storytelling skills are top-notch, and Powell's illustrations add to the book's Gorey-esque feel. (Her art reminds me of Warwick Johnson-Caldwell's in the best way.) This is a mystery kids and adults will love, and I've already given it to a few friends and family members as a gift. A sequel is due out later this year.
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This strip is based on an inspiring story submitted by a reader.
If you're in San Antonio next week for the TLA conference, please stop by the Library Comic booth and tell us a story.
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Monster Og: Og Meets Mog (Ready To Read Pre-Level One) by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Elio. Simon Spotlight, 2024. 9781665941440. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781665941440?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Og, a monster, finds something frozen in ice that's blinking like it needs help. She succeeds in freeing it and makes a friend in the process, a giant cat named Mog. The drawings are very fun, and the simple rhymes are, too.
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, pictures by Christian Robinson. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014. 9781442451025. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781442451025?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Gaston is not like Mrs. Poodle's other puppies. He's bigger, messier, and his voice is very different. Things get weird when his family meets Mrs. Bulldog and her puppy, Antoinette, who also doesn't seem to fit in with her siblings. The story is great, and Robinson's paintings are full of silliness and joy.
Some Pets words by Angela DiTerlizzi, pets by Brendan Wenzel. Beach Lane Books, 2016. 9781481444026. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781481444026?partnerid=34778&p_bt
This follow-up to Some Bugs takes place at a chaotic and friendly pet show. The variety of pets is huge, as is what they do -- it's a great chance to build some vocabulary. The costume contest is probably my favorite page, though I also love the "What's that pet?!" section at the end which also has the pets' names.
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The Public Library Association's conference starts today in Columbus, OH. Library Comic will be at booth 1118 -- come find us and say hello to Willow (it's her first library conference) if you're there, too.
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Maurice by Jessixa Bagley. Chronicle, 2023. 9781797211732. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781797211732?partnerid=34778&p_bt
After reading Bagley's graphic novel Duel (illustrated by her husband Aaron), I ordered a few of her picture books. This was my favorite. It's about a friendly, once-famous accordion-playing dog in Paris living a humble life with his birds, and what happens when he can no longer afford to keep them. It's a bit sad and simply wonderful.
The Grand Hotel of Feelings by Lidia Brankovic. Cicada Books, 2023. 978800660410. https://www.cicadabooks.co.uk/books/p/the-grand-hotel-of-feelings
The manager at the Grand Hotel of Feelings tries to welcome each of the feelings, and figure out what they need even though they're not all great to spend time with. This is a strange book full of illustrations that are wonderful and sometimes a bit of a puzzle in a good way; what's the name of that little blue feeling with wings?
My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder. Thames & Hudson, 2023. 9781760762957. Includes a brief note from the author at the end. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781760762957?partnerid=34778&p_bt
The narrator's parents came from far away and had difficult lives, but they are full of love for their son. And as they raise him the work they do doesn't provide enough money for school and uniforms and birthday cakes and such, so they trade a few inches of their height for whatever he needs.
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Spirited: Day of the Living Liv by Liv Livingston, illustrated by Anna Volcan at Glass House Graphics. Little Simon, 2024. 9781665942287. 144pp. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781665942287?partnerid=34778&p_bt
Liv is the only living person at her new school, Gloomsdale Elementary, where all the other students are ghosts. Finding a seat in the cafeteria is awkward when everyone is invisible, her new Principal thinks he's royalty, and there's a rude group of ghosts that are mean. But a few non-ghostly students seem like they're going to be friends, and (minor spoiler) Liv's art eventually helps her connect with others.
This is a simple, amusing take on the "new student" stories that younger elementary school-age kids will enjoy, and it's the start of a series. Worth noting: both cat and dog lovers will find something to love in this graphic novel.
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