Ollie & Moon: Aloha! by Diane Kredensor (review)

In this opening title in a new graphic-novel-styled reader series, Ollie and Moon are cool cats (they're literally cats) and best buds, despite their differences. When they decide to play a game of "Dare," they both rise to the silly challenges (Ollie has to swap clothes with his pet snail, while Moon has to wear a dozen leis around her neck). When Ollie dares Moon to go bodysurfing, however, timid Moon employs every delaying tactic she can, until Ollie realizes his friend's dilemma and decides to take the plunge with her rather than win the game. That's a fairly predictable and programmatic conclusion, and the story rambles somewhat on its way there. The Hawaiian setting adds some fresh character, though, and the playful and sometimes absurd touches make for enjoyable comedy. The illustrations are an interesting blend: the zippily cartooned figures are posed against and amid photographic backgrounds depicting the majestic Hawaiian landscape and seascape. The compositions are somewhat unfocused, however, with the speech bubbles and text boxes weighing overheavy on the eye, while finer details, like the wonderfully absurd Stanley the Snail, get overshadowed. The Tiny Toon books (like French's Barry's Best Buddy, BCCB 5/13) do a more polished job of introducing kids to reading via graphic novels, but it's good to see a classic reading series expand to a more graphic format, with the extra bonus of an island getaway.