Dog & Hat and the Lunar Eclipse Picnic : Book No. 2, by Darin Shuler, (May 2023, Chronicle Books), $15.99, ISBN: 9781797206899
Ages 7-10
This surrealistic comic series stars a dog, a sentient hat, and their best friend, an ant. In this second series installment, Ant dreams about her mother, who wants her to visit her cousins on the moon. Dog, who was already planning a lunar eclipse picnic, decides to move their festivities to the moon, in order to accompany Ant. Hat, the practical one in the group, says it’s impossible, but Dog quickly disabuses them of that notion, saying they just need to “harness a little moon magic”. Over the course of the story, organized into eight chapters, the trio travel to the moon and visit Ant’s cousins, taking part in dinosaur races and moon crumb-eating contests. Hat, more comfortable with rules and routine, is initially uneasy with the frenetic pace and chaotic fun, but even he manages to relax and enjoy the freedom and play. Wildly colorful illustrations are surreal and eye-catching, including winding staircases to the moon and a whale swimming on a dream lake. Messages of friendship and positive thinking run throughout, powering the group as they take on seemingly impossible things. A fun read.
Garvey’s Choice : The Graphic Novel, by Nikki Grimes/Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, (June 2023, Wordsong), $22.99, ISBN: 9781662660023
Ages 9-12
The graphic adaptation of Nikki Grimes’s 2021 novel gives visual life to her beloved character, Garvey, while keeping the quiet, powerful verse of the original story. Garvey, a brown-skinned boy, would rather play chess or get lost in his books than play football with his father, who says hurtful things about his weight and his inability to play sports. He meets Manny, a boy with albinism, in class and the two become fast friends. Garvey confides his feelings about his father in Manny, and Manny tells Garvey that he wants to be a chef, but his father thinks it’s “girly”. Together, Garvey – bullied for his weight – and Manny are able to rise above their bullies; Garvey also finds the ability to connect with his father not through sports but through music. Taylor’s artwork taps into the humanity found in Grimes’s verse, beautifully translating it to the pages of the book; readers can see into Garvey’s imagination and explore his inner dialogue through Taylor’s artwork. Much of Grimes’s tanka poetry remains in place through the book, with an explanation of tanka in the back matter. If you haven’t put this book in your graphic novel collections yet, buy a few copies.
Garvey’s Choice: The Graphic Novel has starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, The Horn Book, Kirkus, Booklist, and We Need Diverse Books.
Mom Read It 