Bizard the Bear Wizard by Chrissie Krebs (review)

Bear is just minding his own business, getting a snack from the fridge, when he hears the wind howling outside his cave and goes to check it out. That turns out to be an unfortunate choice, as he’s promptly whacked with an errant wand (lost by a wizard in the wind), which then remains firmly attached to his head. It’s not a great look, but there’s a bright side in his sudden ability to grant wishes: he wishes for the wind to stop, and it does. He wishes for a tasty hamburger for his friend Owl, and one appears; he wishes for his friend Squirrel to be a ninja, and Squirrel is immediately decked out in ninja gear. The other forest inhabitants have a slew of wishes as well, and an increasingly exhausted Bear grants them daily. As much as he tires of fulfilling other animals’ requests, however, he realizes that the forest is in a whole heap of danger after Wolf tricks him into wishing that Wolf has the wand. This delightfully absurd graphic novel is buoyed by its similarly absurd cast: Bear might be a stick in the mud, but his pals are a lovable bunch of weirdos, from ninja-obsessed Squirrel to clever, rule-breaking Fox. Exaggerated, cartoony figures with wide, expressive eyes populate the forest, and the simple paneling keeps the story focused. The book ends on a note of generosity paired with a helping of pepperoni pizza, a conclusion not particularly magical but still wish-fulfilling for young pizza lovers.