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Young Readers

Familiar Sources

Okay, there’s no getting around it: The new Guardians of Horsa graphic novel series feels like My Little Pony meets Pixar’s Elemental. But see what you think: “Welcome to the realm of Horsa, a world of magic, wild horses, and danger. The four elemental herds of Horsa live in uncertain peace, which is to say: stay out of each other’s way and all will be fine. But when signs of a mysterious prophecy about a yearling with untold magical powers appear, four young horses from each herd are called to action. Now these elemental enemies must work together to solve the prophecy, find the yearling, and restore balance to Horsa.” Multiple volumes are available now in trade paperback, written by Roan Black and illustrated by the Glass House Graphics team.

image c. 2024 Little Simon

It’s a Dream Job

One of those projects that’s not really furry per se, but it sure seems to have a lot of non-human characters in it! Hotel REM is a new full-color all-ages graphic novel, written by Zack Keller, with art by Gabriele Bagnoli and Valerio Alloro. “Rembrandt Somner is the happy-go-lucky new owner of Hotel REM, a place for all the fantastic people and creatures in our dreams to hang out when we wake up. Channeling his endless enthusiasm, Rem attempts to balance his unwieldy coworkers and wild guests in order to run a successful business that makes his parents proud. However, a demanding celebrity guest threatens to be the rude awakening that ruins everything!” The preview is up over at Dark Horse Comics.

image c. 2024 Dark Horse Comics

It’s Scaaaaaary In There!

People are saying some good things about Skull Cat and the Curious Castle, the debut graphic novel by Norman Shurtliff. “Even though the castle is an eerie place, full of dark secrets, Scully the cat is excited to start his new job and prove himself to be a great gardener. But wait a minute… what happened to all his co-workers? Were they devoured by bloodthirsty vampires? Spooked by a love-struck ghost? Pranked by a comic-reading goblin? Enchanted by a sleepy sorcerer? Will Scully have to become the hero and uncover the truth behind Le Dark Chateau? He never signed up for this!!” You can see what happens to him now, full-color, in trade paperback from Top Shelf Productions.

image c. 2024 Top Shelf Productions

Cats, Reptiles — and You!

Here we have a series for young folks that’s a comic, an activity book — and a game! The series is called Kittens & Dragons, and the first book is called The Choukra, written by Jarvin and illustrated by Ju. “In Kittens and Dragons young readers will assist Mo, the King’s youngest kitten as he hunts for a dragon named Choukra and proves his bravery! Sneak through the woods, into dark caves, past the King’s guard while solving puzzles as you go in search of adventure and the Choukra along with Mo!” Available now from Van Ryder Games.

image c. 2024 Van Ryder Games

But He Won’t Do THAT

And so we came across another graphic novel series for young folks, with the interesting title of Weenie, featuring Frank & Beans. The first book is called Mad About Meatloaf, written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Alexandra Bye. “Weenie loves his human, Bob. He loves his guinea pig friend, Beans, and his cat friend, Frank. He loves naps, adventures and sharing. In fact, Weenie loves pretty much everything (except the mail carrier). But the thing Weenie loves and desires more than anything else in the world is meatloaf. And he’ll do anything to get it. Join Weenie, Frank, and Beans on a laugh-out-loud meatloaf adventure, complete with a trench coat disguise, a wild meatloaf trap, and even a hungry wolf.” All that and more from Penguin Random House.

image c. 2024 Penguin Random House

One Son of Adam

A legend of furry-themed fantasy comics for young readers returned last year for a special celebration. Pakkin’s Land #1, The 25th Anniversary Edition — written and illustrated by Gary Shipman — came to us from Blood Moon Comics. “In October 1996 the first issue of Pakkins’ Land was published by Caliber Comics. This began the series on a journey that would span a quarter of a century and would go on to gain the accolades of the comic book industry. To commemorate 25 year we are offering a full color issue #1 with a new wraparound cover featuring Paul and his friend. A series of strange events brings our hero, Paul, to a fantastic world called Pakkins’ Land. There he meets a mysterious giant Eagle of light who gives Paul a feather as a token of friendship. At the touch of the feather Paul feels something magical, and as the Eagle mysteriously vanishes, Paul realizes that he is lost in this new world. Soon Paul is befriended by a pair of talking animals, who set off together to find the lost King Aryah, and to try to return Paul to his home.” Find it at your local comic store!

image c. 2024 Blood Moon Comics

Not the Early Bird

And rounding out the year with another title for young readers this time from Scout Comics: Mortimer the Lazy Bird, written by Brendan Deneen and illustrated by Marco Antonio Cortez. “This is the story of a bird, Mortimer, and a very talkative worm, Lucius, two strangers who are supposed to be enemies, but end up becoming best friends! Their adventures won’t be easy, though they will be fun!” Talk about playing with your food. [Happy 2024, everyone! Thanks for spending 2023 here with us — ye ed-otter.]

image c. 2023 Scout Comics

Don’t You Monkey With The Monkey

Another graphic novel series for young, beginning readers. We came across the Bobo and Pup-Pup series, written by Vikram Madan and illustrated by Nicola Slater. It features two young animals with very different personalities who are still best friends. The first book in the series is called We Love Bubbles. “Did you ever have a friend who likes doing something that you find completely annoying? Well, Bobo and Pup-Pup both love bubbles. Bubbles are the absolute best–on that they can agree! While Pup-Pup loves blowing them, Bobo loves popping them…way too much for Pup-Pup’s taste. It’s getting frustrating! Pup-Pup has a clever idea to stop Bobo from popping them. But, then Bobo gets carried away…literally!” Three more books in the series so far, and more on their way as well.

image c. 2023 Random House

Oys Will Be Oys

So is having a weird furry friend a wonderful thing, or more of an awkward thing? That’s the big question posed by Monster Bar Mitzvah, the new graphic novel written by Josh Anderson and illustrated by Dustin Evans. “In this unusual graphic novel for younger readers, Eli is feeling left out of the family’s preparations for his older brother’s bar mitzvah. He wants to help but can’t seem to do anything right. Then he meets the monster under his bed, and things begin to change . . . but not always for the better. Will Eli be able to get the monster under control in time for the big event, or will there just be more and more chaos? ” Find out now, in hardcover from Behrman House.

image c. 2023 Behrman House