Stories can make you sigh for all sorts of reasons. Frustration, contentment, resolve. Angelica and the Bear Prince, published by Random House Graphix in October 2025, pulls a deep, comforting, swoon-like sigh from the reader, at least this reader. This is a cup of cocoa of a graphic novel. A warm, joint popping hug of a graphic novel. A fully broken-in hoodie of a graphic novel. It’s the best kind of sweet, romantic, comfort read.
Angelica and the Bear Prince, author/illustrator Trung Le Nguyen’s follow up to the award winning The Magic Fish, is a very loose reimagining of the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon. It follows Angelica, Jelly to her friends, who is picking herself back up after hitting a pretty serious burnout wall. Jelly is an over-achiever and a people-pleaser who got so wrapped up in her desperation not to disappoint people that she ran herself right into the ground.
With perfect timing for her to realign herself, Jelly gets an internship at the theater company that was her happy place as a child. She gets to spend the whole winter stage managing her favorite play with her best friend Christine who is starring opposite the play’s lead and the theater’s mascot Peri the bear in Jelly’s favorite play. The mascot whose social media account Jelly has developed a pen pal style relationship with. The mascot who is embodied by a figure from Jelly’s past who is desperate to reconnect with her. The reveal here and the shift in their relationship takes a while to develop but is so, so satisfying.
Per Nguyen, this is a story about grief and it drips off every page. The grief that comes with growing up, grief of mourning a loved one, grief of dealing with mental health struggles. And with all that heaviness, this is an incredibly light, hopeful graphic, partially because of Nguyen’s stunning art. The illustrations are like a manga processed through a Disney lens, giving the graphic a bright, beautiful flow that is incredibly easy to read. The characters feel lived in and real and their hopes and struggles are incredibly relatable. The story is romantic and sweet and so beautifully told.
One of my favorite things about this graphic is that all the characters are given room to grow. So frequently in stories like this anyone who is not the central romantic couple just fade into the background, but Nguyen doesn’t fall into that. Jelly’s mom, still mourning the loss of her own mother, is anxious and uncertain and desperate to help her daughter grow while keeping Jelly her little girl. The stern manager of the theater is learning how to keep loving after their own loss and massive life changes. Christine, who easily could have been relegated to the barely-seen-best-friend role or the focus of Jelly’s jealous for landing the lead role of the Princess in the play, is a ride or die bestie throughout both being there for Jelly to lean on and going to her for support when she realizes her relationship isn’t what she deserves.
Angelica and the Bear Prince is such a lovely, cozy graphic. Teens and preteens alike can easily get wrapped into the romance and coming of age elements of the story and the focus on transformation and growth. It’s a legit pleasure to read.
Angelica and the Bear Prince By Trung Le Nguyen Penguin Random House Graphic, 2025 ISBN: 9781984892669
Company Age Rating: 12+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Vietnamese, Nonbinary , Character Representation: South Asian, Trans, Anxiety, Depression
Mika Song’s repertoire includes both picture book illustration and the Norma and Belly graphic novel series. She returns to the world of tasty food in her newest graphic novel, Night Chef.
In a gourmet kitchen, when the chefs leave, Night Chef takes over. A small raccoon, she ties on her blue apron, recites her chef mantras, and gets to work. Her latest creation needs an egg and fortunately there’s one almost within reach… When her ingredient hatches a noisy baby bird, Night Chef ends up going on a journey with her new responsibility. Along the way, she will cook new dishes, encounter new friends, and discover secrets about her own past.
Song’s work is instantly identifiable. Her lush watercolors create a night world of dark greens and blues, a cozy waterfront diner with simple browns, and a unique cast of characters. Rounded green frogs with headbands mingle with a sharp-eyed grey shrew and a pink-hued possum. Night Chef herself is unique – when she first appears, sneaking olives from the humans, she’s a small round bundle, her cheeks bulging. In her own world, she stands on her hind feet, sporting a neatly tied blue apron with handy pockets and carrying a large spatula. At one point in her travels, she meets a crowd of other raccoons, “The Pats” and stands out from their round, brown bodies with her own larger size, gray fur, and oval head. The villain of story, although treated with understanding, is a flurry of brown and white feathers and snapping, angry beak.
The book ends with a fun little comic of Night Chef making “fly frittata,” and the same recipe tweaked for more human tastes. Song also includes the character development of Night Chef, from rough sketches to completion.
This is lengthier, with more space for a deeper plot and character development, than Song’s earlier works. Although the story is a simple one, readers will feel the courage and dedication of Night Chef as she steps out into a scary world, leaving the only place she’s ever known, but keeps following her calling as a chef no matter where she goes. Squeamish readers may not enjoy the plentiful servings of worm-related food at the waterfront diner, but Song’s art makes everything look tasty.
This will be a sure bet for fans of Mika Song’s earlier works but will also appeal to readers who like reflective animal stories like One and Only Ivan as well as funny-food based stories like Stick Dog. It’s a great choice for encouraging young readers to explore different styles of art and graphic storytelling and even includes a timely message about the consequences of poisoning “pests” in the wild. Readers will root for Night Chef all the way to the satisfying ending.
Night Chef By Mika Song Penguin Random House Graphic, 2025 ISBN: 9780593303153
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Filipino-American,
Santiago—Santi to his friends—is both excited and nervous to spend the summer with his beloved Abuela Emma. Excited, because he loves his grandmother (and her Colombian cooking), and her small town sounds like an interesting change from his NYC home. Nervous, because a big goal for this visit is to practice his Spanish, and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep up.
Santi is half Colombian, half white, and his parents intended to raise him bilingual. But since he had some trouble learning to talk, they decided to start with just English. Now Santi is twelve, and is taking classes, but he’s embarrassed not to be fluent in the language spoken by half his family. This visit will be an immersion experience – just what he needs to improve. If he can understand enough of his abuela’s Spanish to stay afloat, that is.
At first, things go better than Santi expected. He can understand and speak enough Spanish to get by, and his abuela is patient and kind. Plus, he meets a crew of friendly local kids who show him around town and invite him to join their soccer team. Santi loves soccer! But it’s not all smooth sailing. Sometimes he feels like his Spanish will never be good enough, or like he isn’t Colombian enough. People laugh at his accent or act shocked that he doesn’t know Colombian slang. It makes Santi want to stop talking to anyone, including his abuela and his friends. Can his summer be saved?
This is a good-hearted book full of imperfect but well-intentioned people. They make mistakes, like Abuela Emma joking about Santi’s accent, or Santi taking out his frustration on his friends, but they apologize and forgive each other. Santi works diligently to improve his Spanish, which eventually allows him to have real heart-to-heart conversations with his abuela.
Santi’s struggle is a common one. In a note at the start of the book, author Julio Anta (who is Colombian American and Cuban American) discusses his own difficulties with navigating English and Spanish growing up. He explains that he modeled Santi partly on his son, who is also part Colombian and part white, and also struggled with language early on, complicating his parents’ plans to raise him bilingual.
This is the first of a planned series of Hillside Valley graphic novels. Each will follow one of the kids we meet in this story, with the other kids appearing as supporting characters. This volume introduces the town of Hillside Valley, with its charming main street, diverse and close-knit community, and woodsy mountain surroundings.
The art style is a slightly simplified realism – the characters a little cartoonified, the colors a little brighter than natural. The characters are distinct and expressive, and the backgrounds are clean, with just enough detail to set the scenes. There is some good visual variety, from mountain scenery to soccer field action to plates full of Abuela Emma’s Colombian dishes.
Much of the plot revolves around language. When Santi speaks Spanish, or another character speaks and he understands, their dialog appears in Spanish with an English translation following it in an attached speech bubble. These translation bubbles are outlined with dashed lines, while the speech bubbles actually spoken have solid outlines. If, however, a character speaks Spanish and Santi does not understand, then there is no translation bubble—and sometimes, a few of the Spanish words are scribbled out to indicate that Santi didn’t catch them. This is an effective and interesting way to put readers in Santi’s shoes.
Santi’s struggle with being a Latino kid who isn’t fluent in Spanish is relatable, but not commonly explored, especially in graphic novels. This book is an interesting and heartfelt addition to the category of middle-grade realistic fiction.
Speak Up, Santiago By Julio Anta Art by Gabi Mendez Penguin Random House Graphic, 2025 ISBN: 9780593651636
Company Age Rating: 8-12 Series ISBNs and Order Related media:
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Colombian-American, Cuban-American, Mexican-American, Queer, Character Representation: Colombian-American,
While Tamora Pierce has been building her Tortall Universe since the late 80s, First Test marks the first adaptation of her YA novels into graphics with the promise of more to come. This graphic is the first in the Protector of the Small series of Pierce’s tales which follows Keladry (Kel) as she becomes the first girl after the rise of the Lioness Lady Knight Alanna to enter knight training. Despite girls now being allowed to train, Kel immediately faces opposition not only from other students who vandalize her room and tamper with her training weapons, but from instructors as well.
She’s placed on probation simply for being a girl and her earlier training is dismissed as “brutish” and not worthy of a knight. In a world where magic swirls around the edges of life and constantly threatens to disturb it, Kel must work against ever growing obstacles to make it through her training and defend those who cannot defend themselves. The stakes are real and high with possible failure being more than just a lost knighthood, but lives at stake. It’s a familiar story of working from within to change a broken system, building strength out of presumed weakness, and finding friends and support in those who believe in you.
First Test is an interesting choice for the first adaption of Pierce’s books. With the plot crossing over and through multiple other storylines in the Tortall Saga, Kel’s story sees many of Pierce’s most popular characters on the outer edges of the story, peeking in and out in near cameos. The graphic gives these cameos weight, but not always context. If the reader is not already familiar with the series, the impact of these moments would be lost, even confusing. It lays the groundwork for future adaptations, but may not give a new reader enough to grasp onto to seek out those adaptations.
Additionally, while this was a genre bending feminist piece when it was published in 1999, with a present day mentality, this graphic just doesn’t seem to say enough or present what it’s saying differently enough. The story, faithfully adapted by Devin Grayson, may not present a new reader with a reason to keep reading. In a literary field where strong female characters fighting to occupy their own space are now much easier to find, this version of First Test risks fading into the background.
The graphic is at its strongest in moments of action. Becca Farrow pounds a tremendous amount of emotion and movement into her wordless scenes and her illustrations of the many physical fights Kel is forced into are exciting and fluid. In these moments, the book sings only to slow down again during exposition.
For readers familiar with Pierce’s universe and characters, this graphic provides a fun, different way to interact with the figures and stories they have already grown to love. For new readers, I’m not sure this gives them ample room to fall in love with Pierce’s world. A graphic adaptation of Alana the Lioness, the first and arguably most popular of the Tortall Universe books, is scheduled to publish through Abrams Fanfare in the Spring of 2025. Further fleshing out the graphic versions of this world may allow First Test more room to shine.
First Test: Protector of the Small, Book 1 By Tamora Pierce, Devin Grayson, Art by Becca Farrow Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780307931566
Twelve-year-old Maya knows a lot about cooking, but not so much about making friends. She has just finished a lonely school year and now her dad’s girlfriend Charlotte is moving in, making Maya worry that she’ll get less of her dad’s time and attention. At least Charlotte is nice. In fact, she’s so nice that she is paying for Maya to go to culinary camp this summer. Finally, things are looking up!
Except that, oops, the camp where Maya ends up isn’t for young chefs-in-the making—it’s for vampires. Camp Dracula is a regular summer camp, with swimming, campfires, and other outdoor activities, except that all the other campers have fangs, don’t appear in mirrors, and drink juice boxes full of animal blood. Maya has no idea what they would do if they realized she was human, so she pretends to be a vampire, too. At first, she focuses on escaping Camp Dracula, but then she finds herself making friends and even doing some cooking in the canteen. Maya is having an excellent summer—but what happens if her new friends find out she’s actually a human?
Summer Vamp is a fun, silly story full of friendship and hijinks. Maya and her friends sneak out at night, get caught in a food fight, and play games like Capture the Bat, which is the vampire version of Capture the Flag. (Cue Maya claiming that not turning into a bat is “part of my strategy.”) There is lots of humor based on Maya badly pretending to be a vampire, her obsession with cooking, the vampire movie “Midnight” (this world’s version of Twilight), and more.
The book also touches on tricky friendship stuff: Maya has trouble speaking up for herself, while her cabinmate Alex keeps accidentally hurting her feelings when she’s trying to connect. As the summer goes on, Maya gains the confidence to try new things, and she and Alex both get better at communicating and being good friends.
The art is colorful and cartoony. The characters have a friendly, roly-poly look with floppy hair and lots of exaggerated expressions. They all have distinct appearances and their own fashion styles, like Maya’s collection of silly food-themed t-shirts. There are fun cooking sequences and yummy-looking food. There are also a few “scrapbook pages” illustrated with cute “photos” of the friends, trinkets and pressed plants, and scrawled commentary. The backgrounds—mostly cabin interiors and woodsy outdoor settings—support the characters well without drawing focus away from them.
The vampires make Maya nervous at first, but there is no real scary stuff in this book. These vampires definitely do not attack humans. There is roughhousing and some very cartoonish violence, like Maya beaning a counselor with a crepe pan, but nobody really gets hurt. A fellow camper seems to have a crush on Maya, but he’s shy and his inability to talk to her is played for laughs. There is no other romantic content, just tween summer camp mischief.
The culinary sequences establish Maya’s passion for cooking, and the vampire summer camp is a fun setting, but the story is really about gaining confidence and learning to be a good friend. Hand it to readers who like silly humor and friendship stories that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Summer Vamp By Violet Chan Karim Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593425220
Publisher age recommendation: 8-12 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
So Ty has been hiding out at home, but that ends when he, Max, and Heather start summer camp. Camp means new friends and cool activities . . . and a looming swim competition that Ty can’t even think about. He’s struggling to rebuild his friendship with Max after avoiding him for so long. Meanwhile, he finds his own body disgusting and has started skipping meals. His friends and well-meaning camp counselors care about him, but they don’t understand what he’s going through. For Ty to get better – and to fix things with Max – he’s going to have to finally let other people in and ask for help.
This book, based on experiences of author Lee Durfey-Lavoie, touches on several serious issues without ever naming or diagnosing anything. Ty suffers from what might be panic attacks, depicted as water rising around him or waves crashing over him. He feels helpless and hopeless, and sometimes does things like go to bed super early to avoid doing activities and being around people. Ty hates his heavier body, often can’t bring himself to eat, and at one point digs his nails into his own stomach hard enough to leave marks that others notice. He also worries what others might think if they discover he is gay.
Ty starts asking for help fairly early, but the sympathetic camp counselors he talks to aren’t sure how to support him. Things get better as he makes new friends and starts to enjoy some new activities, letting him see himself as something other than a once-great, now-failed swimmer. Eventually, he stands up to his own cruel internal voice and finally shares his struggles with the person he has been shutting out for so long: Max.
The cast is diverse, including characters of various races as well as gay and trans characters. They have a variety of passionate interests, from bug catching to tabletop roleplaying games. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings cause Ty and Max to keep hurting each other, and the camp counselors are a little out of their depth with Ty’s problems, but the characters are all kind, supportive, and doing their best.
The art is colorful and active, with a cartoony style. The characters mostly keep the same outfits throughout the book, which is helpful for distinguishing between Heather and Max, siblings who otherwise look similar. The art is simple and clean, without much fine detail except in scenes that require it, like when Ty and his friends are designing and building a canoe.
Some readers may wonder about the fact that therapy is never suggested or mentioned, given the seriousness of Ty’s struggles. Because the book ends while he is still at summer camp, we also never get to find out whether he tells his parents what has been happening with him, or what they do next. Ty’s situation has improved by the end of the book, but one hopes this is only the beginning of his healing.
This is a hopeful book, with a protagonist who is struggling but who takes some good steps, like telling the adults in charge about his problems. The summer camp makes a fun backdrop, with lots of new friends and interesting activities. It may appeal to fans of Upstaged by Robin Easter, another story in which a queer kid goes to summer camp with their crush and has difficulty connecting. Fans of middle grade realistic fiction will enjoy this if they don’t mind some heavier subject matter than typical tween awkwardness.
Sink or Swim By Lee Durfey-Lavoie Art by Veronica Agarwal Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593125519
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Indian American, Italian-American, Character Representation: Gay, Ambiguous Mental Illness, Eating Disorder
Adèle is at an awkward age. Her skin is breaking out, she can’t drive yet, and now she’s… seeing ghosts? It turns out that some of the women in Adèle’s family are mediums, they have the ability to see and speak with ghosts, starting when they get their first periods. (So now Adèle has that going on, too.)
The ghosts in Adèle’s Montreal neighborhood are thrilled to have a new medium in town. Soon, Adèle finds herself chatting with an oddball ghost hacker at the library, learning about the system spirits use to hitch rides through the city, and avoiding a persistent dead gentleman she calls Mustache Ghost, who wants her help.
Eventually, she relents and agrees to let Mustache Ghost make his case. He is part of a club of spirits dedicated to preserving the city’s character, protecting it from shady developers who buy up neighborhoods to tear them down and build condos. As it happens, Adèle’s grandmother is part of a similar club, except that its members are alive. So Adèle is willing to help—but she’ll have to act fast, because a few dangerous ghosts have already decided to take matters into their own hands.
Adèle is a slightly snarky but goodhearted protagonist. Though shocked by the revelation that some women in her family can see and speak with ghosts, she gamely begins to use her abilities and learn more about the spirits all around her. Since she sometimes meets ghosts in public places, there are some humorous moments before she figures out how to speak to people that no one else can see without looking strange. (The answer, pretending to be talking on her phone)
This story presents an imaginative take on ghosts: they hate moving through snow, so they hitch rides in cars to avoid slogging around wintry Montreal on foot. They apply “ghost marks” to cars to indicate where they often go (home, work, etc.), not unlike stops on a subway route. There are different kinds of ghosts, some of whom can affect the physical world more than others… and some of whom are dangerous to other ghosts.
The story also takes an interest in some real-world topics. Adèle’s family and friends throw her a “period party,” where some women discuss how their own families and cultures handled periods when they were growing up. And concern about urban management—especially residential neighborhoods being taken over by expensive rental properties and AirBnBs – is a key element of the plot.
The art is rich with fun details, like the characters’ changing outfits, the stickers on Adèle’s laptop, and the full shelves in her grandmother’s shop. The ghosts are only slightly transparent, but easily identified because they are colors like blue, pink, and green. The characters, both living and dead, are expressive, and some have exaggerated features that make them especially distinctive. (There’s a reason for the nickname “Mustache Ghost.”)
Despite being a book full of ghosts, this story is cozy rather than scary. There is no violence, just a few scenes of very low-key peril and a couple of slightly creepy ghosts who, it turns out, just need a little help from Adèle to harmlessly pass on. There is no sexual content. The characters discuss periods and some period products, which may provide useful information to young readers.
For a girl who can talk to ghosts, Adèle feels relatable and practical. Readers will root for her while also enjoying the cozy winter setting and its quirky snow-hating ghosts. Hand it to fans of contemporary middle grade with a fantasy twist, like Molly Knox Ostertag’s The Girl from the Sea and Raina Telgemeier’s Ghosts.
Taxi Ghost By Sophie Escabasse Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593565971
Okay, first off, I must disclose that I grew up in west central Florida and I grew up going to Disney World. So, author Maddie hits close to the heart for me with this book, aimed at elementary and middle schoolers who are about the age I was when my parents took me and my brother to see The Mouse. (Like Pickles, I was easily scared, too—I didn’t go on Space Mountain until I was over 18 and on Hollywood Tower of Terror until I was over 30. But enough about me…)
Pickles, like in the previous book Wombats! Go Camping, is the childlike enthusiastic Pollyanna who finds everything magical. His dream is to go to the theme park Wizard’s Wharf. Albert is his curmudgeonly best friend. Albert doesn’t believe in magic, wizards, or fairies. Apparently, Albert has also never heard the tenet in our house back in the day: “Don’t “yuck” someone else’s “ooh!” He’s happy that Pickles is happy to visit Wizard’s Wharf, but after a couple hours of non-stop hits to his wallet and a couple of nausea-inducing whirly rides (you can see him turning green on page 22), Albert starts pointing out all the not-so-magical things behind Oz’s curtain. How did these two ever become best friends?
Despite his grouching, he sees his words have made Pickles sad, so he buys them Whimsy Whips and off they go! Then they run into Platters, who is the ride engineer at the park. She offers to show them a new magic ride that’s not open to the public yet! When the three get accidentally separated, do Pickles and Albert know each other well enough to figure out how to be reunited? Will Albert ever believe in magic? Will Pickles ever get to eat anything?
Maddie Frost’s comic timing is, as usual, right on pace. The art is colorful, sharp, and bright, and the panels are laid out in a predictable way that makes the story very enjoyable. Any child that loves Harry Potter, theme parks, or fantasy genre books will love this story.
And apparently, Pickles has never been told that you shouldn’t press the big red button that says, “DO NOT PRESS.”
You really really shouldn’t. (MUAHAHA!)
Wombats! Go to Wizard’s Wharf By Maddie Frost Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593465424
Aliens, dinosaurs, and friendship? This book has it all!
Jeff, an alien, crash-lands on Earth, and meets dinosaurs Carl, Hungry, and Spike. He immediately uses a fancy translator and informs them that he is there to take over the world and would like to be taken to their leader. While the dinosaurs are trying to determine who their leader is, Jeff realizes that he’s landed on a young planet, and he starts complaining about how unintelligent and primitive the creatures of Earth are. Despite Jeff’s bad attitude, they still agree to take him to their leader, who they’ve decided is someone named Trevor.
They take the scenic route to find Trevor, because Carl wants Jeff to truly appreciate the planet he intends to take over. Jeff is uninterested in the beautiful scenery, and treats the dinosaurs rudely. However, the dinosaurs treat each other and Jeff with respect and kindness. When Jeff is in danger, Carl wants to go save him from probable doom, but Hungry questions why they should save someone who’s been mean to them. They leave the decision up to Spike who expresses that he wants to go after Jeff. Later, when Carl is eaten by a salamander. Hungry jumps into action, and Jeff refuses to help him, insisting that he can’t risk his life and the mission. Hungry thinks quickly and successfully saves Carl.
Now Hungry is mad at Jeff and says that he won’t be helping him anymore. Carl tells Jeff that he forgives him and encourages Hungry to do the same. Hungry says he won’t forgive him, but he will keep his word about helping him find Trevor. Eventually, when they find Trevor and he’s not what Jeff expected, Jeff has too much and starts crying and yelling about how stupid everyone on Earth is and how awful it is that he landed there of all places. After calming down, he confesses that he was badly bullied and had hoped conquering a planet would make him popular and get him friends. Another dinosaur character explains to him that, on Earth, to make friends you simply need to be kind, caring, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. One last catastrophe gives Jeff the opportunity to help and show the dinosaur trio that he’s learned.
Jurassic Jeff: Space Invader is written exceptionally well. The storyline is fast-paced, action-packed, and engaging. It has a comfortable balance between drama and humor. All of the main characters have depth and emotional and social growth. I loved watching Jeff work through his conflicting feelings and figuring out his priorities. The author addresses friendship beautifully, displaying the different ways the characters handle and work through issues. I found it incredibly empowering when Carl did not push Hungry to forgive Jeff. Hungry was allowed to say, “No.”
Visually, the pages are filled with motion. The movement is displayed not only with lines showing direction, but also with small background items being positioned in such a way that the art doesn’t seem like a still image. For instance, water splashes in the air; grass drawn slanted, making it seem like wind is blowing; grass drawn between a dinosaur’s mouth and the ground, as if it is falling out of the dinosaur’s mouth. The line art makes everything appear clear and digestible. The colors are saturated, setting a fun tone.
This book will strongly appeal to children aged 6-10 who enjoy comedy, drama, and adventure.
Jurassic Jeff Space Invader, Vol. 1 By Royden Lepp Penguin Random House Graphic, 2023 ISBN: 9780593565391
Publisher Age Rating: 7-10 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
Earth is such a cool planet with much to discover! That’s what the Marshmallow Martians think, and they’re eager to learn all about it.
Squishy, Snug, Woof, and Fuzz receive a mystery box from their computer, G.L.O.W. After having fun guessing what could be in the box, they are excited to open it and meet P.E.E.P, the Polite Extraordinary Earth Portal 1000. This is perfect for a bunch of marshmallows that want to learn more about Earth! Trying to decide what on Earth they want to visit first, they ask G.L.O.W. to search for the best Earth things. Due to low Wi-Fi, the results remain incomplete, leaving “Show and __ell”. The Martians guess that the results were supposed to say “Show and Smell”; and they start planning a trip to an Earth amusement park, a location with many smelly smells. At the amusement park, the Martians find stinky shoes, onions, burps, and skunks. They jar the smells from each using their “high-tech smell suckers”. Back on their planet, Moop, the Marshmallow Martians put on a show for their friends, presenting the Earth smells. The story ends with the Martians thanking P.E.E.P. for the adventure; and they immediately start planning for their next trip.
Marshmallow Martians: Show and Smell is cute, funny, and interesting. It is silly, as well as occasionally educational. The Martians learn that you have to peel an onion to access the smell. They also learn where burps come from, and subsequently create a “bubbly drink” stand to get the humans to burp. The interactions between all of the characters display good manners, even while discussing things that are considered gross. I think this combination can appeal to young children, and at the same time, encourage quality social skills. I like the message that good manners and gross subject matter are not mutually exclusive.
Throughout the book, the reader gets to see the step-by-step thought-processes of the characters. This detailed order of events is perfect for young children learning to consider every step required to accomplish a task. At the end of the book, the characters want to go on another adventure to explore Earth. This can get the reader excited about reading the next books in the series and possibly want to go out and explore Earth in real life.
The visual art includes bright, fun colors. The scenes are simple, most containing only a sky, ground, and a few other items. Additionally, the background colors are not as saturated as the characters, keeping the characters in focus. Rounded versus jagged speech bubbles clearly express different voice tones. In my head, I heard a robotic voice when I saw G.L.O.W.’s jagged speech bubble. The Marshmallow Martians have big eyes, which are adorable and make them look young, like the intended audience. Children aged 5-8 years old who enjoy giggling will love this book.
Marshmallow Martians: Show and Smell By Deanna Kent Art by Neil Hooson Penguin Random House Graphic, 2023 ISBN: 9780593566077
Publisher Age Rating: 5-8 NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)
Random House Graphix in October 2025, pulls a deep, comforting, swoon-like sigh from the reader, at least this reader. This is a cup of cocoa of a graphic novel. A warm, joint popping hug of a graphic novel. A fully broken-in hoodie of a graphic novel. It’s the best kind of sweet, romantic, comfort read.
Mika Song’s repertoire includes both picture book illustration and the Norma and Belly graphic novel series. She returns to the world of tasty food in her newest graphic novel, Night Chef.
Santiago—Santi to his friends—is both excited and nervous to spend the summer with his beloved Abuela Emma. Excited, because he loves his grandmother (and her Colombian cooking), and her small town sounds like an interesting change from his NYC home. Nervous, because a big goal for this visit is to practice his Spanish, and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep up.
her YA novels into graphics with the promise of more to come. This graphic is the first in the Protector of the Small series of Pierce’s tales which follows Keladry (Kel) as she becomes the first girl after the rise of the Lioness Lady Knight Alanna to enter knight training. Despite girls now being allowed to train, Kel immediately faces opposition not only from other students who vandalize her room and tamper with her training weapons, but from instructors as well.
Twelve-year-old Maya knows a lot about cooking, but not so much about making friends. She has just finished a lonely school year and now her dad’s girlfriend Charlotte is moving in, making Maya worry that she’ll get less of her dad’s time and attention. At least Charlotte is nice. In fact, she’s so nice that she is paying for Maya to go to culinary camp this summer. Finally, things are looking up!
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
of the women in Adèle’s family are mediums, they have the ability to see and speak with ghosts, starting when they get their first periods. (So now Adèle has that going on, too.)
Okay, first off, I must disclose that I grew up in west central Florida and I grew up going to Disney World. So, author Maddie hits close to the heart for me with this book, aimed at elementary and middle schoolers who are about the age I was when my parents took me and my brother to see The Mouse. (Like Pickles, I was easily scared, too—I didn’t go on Space Mountain until I was over 18 and on Hollywood Tower of Terror until I was over 30. But enough about me…)
Aliens, dinosaurs, and friendship? This book has it all!
Earth is such a cool planet with much to discover! That’s what the Marshmallow Martians think, and they’re eager to learn all about it. 
