Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea! by Ben Clanton (review)

Geez, Narwhal and Jellyfish are adorable. There’s no other word as appropriate for this duo, who quickly get past having never seen anything like each other and move on to being best friends. After all, they both like waffles and fun, so a tight bond is inevitable—even though each is pretty sure the other is imaginary. This trim graphic novel offers three stories and some bonus material (fun facts about narwhals and jellyfish and a narwhal song), all of which skew young enough that even early readers will coast through with little trouble. Jellyfish is sort of the straight . . . fish to Narwhal’s more freewheeling style, but they’re both pretty loopy. The high point of humor is the final story, wherein Jellyfish sets out to read Narwhal’s favorite book, only to discover it is blank; the concept, conveyed with a blank double-page spread, is both amusing and thought-provoking. Cool, creamy blues play nicely with cheerful yellow, evoking both sunny delight and the oceanic depths from which these two sprang. There’s a lot conveyed with very few lines, as Jellyfish’s face in particular shows incredible range, from fear to exasperation to exuberant joy (meanwhile, Narwhal is apparently in a state of perpetual bliss). The odd-couple pairing is familiar ground in children’s lit, but it works so well here, and with such agreeable illustrations, that any lack of originality is easily forgiven; readers will likely clamor for the next outing.