There’s something for everyone to choose from in graphic novels for early and beginning readers now and this goofy offering 
will certainly appeal to many readers.
Marco, a brown-skinned kid, is happily marching home from school on Friday when his green-haired sister races past him, trying to escape from “those psycho squirrels.” Marco makes it inside just in time, before the two gray-furred squirrels slam into the door and he calms himself down by offering to make his sister one of his special sandwiches. She turns down the offer, but Marco goes ahead with his creation anyways; joined by his pet dog Poofypants.
No sooner is the sandwich completed and an effort to steal it by the squirrels thwarted, then Marco makes a shocking discovery—the sandwich can speak! He quickly gets over his shock and Sandwich helps him out in pranking his sister only to be stolen by the squirrels! Luckily, Sandwich can speak squirrel and it turns out the squirrels aren’t psycho, they’ve just been challenging Marco’s family to dance battles. Can Marco and Poofypants beat the squirrels and retrieve their friend Sandwich before it gets eaten?
The quirky story is matched by the silly art; Poofypants is a fluffy puffball of a dog, with a black ball of a nose and Marco has a round, Charlie Brown-style head with big glasses and a perpetually attached green knit cap. Sandwich is a three-humped sub, topped with cartoon eyeballs, while the squirrels show off their tough hip-hop moves with an old-fashioned boombox, cool shades, and two dark slashes of eyebrows. The panel backgrounds reflect the cartoon landscape, showing pink walls inside the house and a green backyard.
This is a quick, fun read for kids just transitioning into chapters and stands out because of its representation of brown kids in a funny story. Adults will probably roll their eyes and groan at the ridiculous talking food and wacky hijinks, but fans of other goofy tales like Bad Guys will be delighted with this new series.
Lunch Buddies: Battle in the backyard, Vol. 1
By Daniel Wiseman
Harper Collins Harper Alley, 2023
ISBN: 9780063236233
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)
