GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEWS: Hilo, book 3/The Great Pet Escape


ABOUT THE BOOK

HILO s BA-ACK in this funny "New York Times "bestselling full-color middle-grade graphic novel series that Bone creator Jeff Smith calls delightful and Big Nate author Lincoln Peirce says Every kid will love!

Hilo may look like an ordinary kid, but he s DEFINITELY not! When we last saw Hilo, DJ, and Gina, Gina had been sucked into a mysterious portal to who knows where! But friends don t let friends disappear into NOWHERE! It s up to D.J. and Hilo to follow her. Will there be danger? YES! Will there be amazing surprises? OF COURSE! Will Gina end up being the one to save them? DEFINITELY! With the help of Polly, the magical warrior cat, the friends will have to battle bad guys and face disgusting food, an angry mom, powerful magic, and more! Will they survive . . . and make it back to Earth before the portal closes again?! Find out in the third Hilo adventure!"

REVIEW

Judd Winick has truly created a delightful superhero story with his HiLo series.  After hearing him speak at a conference I can easily see where these stories come from, the man is a natural storyteller.  In this third volume of what promises to be a six book series (per the author), HiLo and D.J. have to find a way to follow Gina into a portal.  The story opens with them facing off with the U.S. Army.  At first I thought that HiLo would be forced to destroy the tanks and everything, but he comes up with a much more effective, not to mention, less damaging, method of disarming the the military establishment (and no I'm not going to tell you what it is, go find the book if you want to know ;)).  Once they find a portal, HiLo and D.J. find themselves on an unknown planet with no idea how to find Gina, especially once HiLo collapses.  Thankfully they get rescued by a familiar face and taken to a safe place.  Along the way, HiLo continues to struggle to remember how he went from being a villain to being a hero.  And of course there is a tribe of machine/weapon wielding warriors that have to be defeated as well.  With a great mix of humor and action, Winick has created a winning series for both young and old.  Highly recommended.


ABOUT THE BOOK

The class pets at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School want OUT . . .

and GW (short for George Washington), the deceptively cute hamster in the second-grade classroom, is just the guy to lead the way. But when he finally escapes and goes to find his former partners in crime, Barry and Biter, he finds that they actually LIKE being class pets. Impossible!

Just as GW gets Barry and Biter to agree to leave with him, a mouse named Harriet and her many Mouse Minions get in their way. What follows is class-pet chaos!

REVIEW

G.W., a hamster, is determined to escape from his 'prison'.  With an overly elaborate invention he stages his 'great escape'.  But he can't leave without his pals, Barry (bunny) and Biter (guinea pig).  But unfortunately for G.W., the class pet for a group of second graders, both Barry and Biter are rather content with 'imprisonment'.  Biter in fact is so content she has changed her name to Sunflower and practices meditation.  G.W. is horrified.  As he tries to convince Biter to come along on his escape, Harriet, a mouse from the fourth grade classroom show up and imprisons them for real.  But G.W. and his friends are the type to be pushed around and they step up to prevent a coming lunchtime disaster.  Jamieson has created a fun early graphic novel for younger readers.  The illustrations are expressive and bright and the characters are delightfully entertaining.  I look forward to reading upcoming volumes.

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