Fun and Games and Surprise! (The Adventures of Penguin and Panda) by Brenda Maier, illustrated by Fanni Mézes. Marble Press, 2024. 9781958325070 & 9781958325056
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5
Format: Paperback graphic novel
Genre: Animal fiction
What did you like about the book? Here’s another oil and vinegar friendship creatively and humorously presented as a graphic novel easy reader. Penguin, with her pigtails and cropped pink sweater, is the free spirit while Panda prefers taking things slowly and sticking to the familiar. The cute stories contain just enough tension to be interesting but resolve through talk and kindness without ever descending into treacle. Kids will identify with many of these situations: “borrowing” (and breaking) a friend’s bike, letting someone else win a game, or feeling left out. The stories are told through a mix of talk bubbles and frequent wordless images, with all text appearing in a clear all-caps font that looks hand drawn. Mézes’s adorable illustrations resemble watercolor and make sophisticated and creative use of panels, close-ups, and wide shots. This variety and the detailed drawings had just enough visual jokes and familiar objects to keep me surprised and engaged. When banter started to flow, the illustrator’s color-coded talk bubbles helped keep things straight: pink for Penguin and blue for Panda. Back matter included tips on how to draw the two friends and some fun facts about both animals.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No, I loved these charming readers and would like to see more in the series! One drawback – they have only been issued as paperbacks, which might make them short-lived in a library collection.
To whom would you recommend this book? Fans of easy readers featuring other odd couples, such as Elephant and Piggie or Frog and Toad will like meeting these two friends. The books are not wordy, but some of the vocabulary will be a bit of a stretch for early decoders (examples: cheesepuff, jellyfish, nonsense, personally) so I would recommend these to kids who have mastered the basics and are ready for a bit of a stretch.
Who should buy this book? Elementary schools and public libraries
Where would you shelve it? Easy readers
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA
Date of review: June 4, 2024
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