When two new books in this fun graphic novel series for younger readers were recently released Wise Quackers and Bats What Friends Are For), I rushed out to add them to our collection!
Ollie is an owl who wears glasses and Bea is a bunny who is self-conscious about her big feet. But when they meet each other and become friends, they find that their differences no longer seem to matter.
Together Ollie and Bea find their inner superhero, learn that looking silly doesn't matter when you're with friends, discover that there's always room for one more friend, and solve the mystery of the missing super duck!
My kids really loved the clever use of wordplay and puns in the dialogue, which adds levels of humour to suit younger through to slightly older readers (including adults!)
The illustrations are so engaging, full of expression and movement. What I love about graphic novels such as these ones is the way young readers are encouraged to infer how a character is feeling or what they are thinking from what is going on in the illustrations - posture, facial expressions, use of colour, and even the placement of words on the page and the text font used giving hints as to what is going on beyond the words themselves.
Most of all I adored the themes of friendship, teamwork, and embracing our own and each other's differences.
These books are perfect for your newly independent reader, but can also be enjoyed by kids of any age due to the clever humour and wordplay, and child relatable themes.
Highly recommended.
Published by Allen & Unwin