Balloon Toons: Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors
This graphic novel takes beginning readers through three very short and humorous stories about a raccoon and a moose who explore the fine art of fishing, try to puzzle out mysterious paw prints in the woods, and stay dry in a canoe. These anthropomorphic buddies have cartoony builds of similar size and speak in simple and accessible words that are printed with clarity in generously sized speech balloons. Rick is a worrier, while Rack is more confident and (usually) more skilled at whichever pastime they undertake, allowing the intended audience to see themselves, very likely, in one or the other character. This entry in the new Balloon Toons series (with a hefty build similar to the successful TOON Books line) puts the comics medium to good use: tracking the visual elements of the story will help emerging readers decode the text with ease. The full-color palette is simple, and the large panels will make access even easier for inexperienced comics readers. Grades 1-3. --Francisca Goldsmith