Publisher: TOON Books
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Price: $12.95
Creator: Liniers
Format: 32 pgs., Full-Color, 6"x9", Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-9431-4520-1
Age Rating: Grades 1-2
ICv2 Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
This is another fine entry-level graphic novel from TOON. The story is simple, and one that many children can relate to. It’s about what a favorite stuffed animal does in its spare time, while its human friend is asleep. Stuffies lead rich lives, and this is a cute story about one such. As an added bonus, TOON is issuing a Spanish language edition of the book, and it belongs in library collections where Spanish graphic novels for children are in demand.
The story is based on the artist’s own daughter, who named a new doll "Planet," but the story probably didn’t happen in her world. It might have happened in Planet’s, though, as he and the family’s dog and a resident mouse have their own adventures without the interference of any humans, grownup or otherwise.
As what TOON considers a Level 2 book, there are no more than 4 panels to a page, with simple vocabulary and only a few hundred words in the entire book. That is similar to the way Dr. Seuss created his classics for early readers, with a formulaic simplicity guiding the limits to the story.
A few children will have trouble with the cookie = moon comparison, because the moon just isn’t drawn in a way to enhance the resemblance. Otherwise the story is solid and interesting, and the target audience [roughly 6 years of age] will enjoy it. That target range is pretty narrow, though, so kids may grow out of the book quickly.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
