alittlebutalot's reviews
69 reviews

Goldilocks and the Three Vampires: A Graphic Novel by C.S. Jennings, Laurie S. Sutton

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

FINISHED: this Far Out Fairytale series is great fun! In this instalment, Goldilocks isn’t just a regular girl; she’s an adventurer exploring crypts and the bears are vampires! This was great - interesting, funny and a brilliant twist on the original! 

Arctic Star by Tom Palmer

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

 Tom Palmer is one of those authors who just GETS it. He hits the nail on the head again. This is an incredible book: a story of bravery, friendship and Naval arctic travel. This made me cry twice. The friendship between the boys, the sense of duty and the very real emotions of being a soldier. Just exceptional. I can not get enough of his WW2 fiction so if we could have more that'd be great! 

Red Riding Hood, Superhero: A Graphic Novel by Otis Frampton

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a glorious reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood. Grandma is president of the USA, Red is a superhero and the wolf was actually a man. One should never try to outsmart THIS young girl because you WILL lose. I’d LOVE more from Superhero Red. This was loads of fun and I just think this series is brilliant! I know my kids will love these! 

Ninja-Rella: A Graphic Novel by Joey Comeau, Jaymes Reed, Omar Lozano

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I think this might be my fave so far in the series! This tells the Cinderella story but with added awesome sword-fighting-ninja-ness! Cinderella doesn’t want to MARRY the prince; she wants to be his bodyguard! Not a shoe, but a sword! I loved how she was a badass ninja and that was her strength - it’s great to see! The artwork in this was great. I really enjoyed this one! 

Rapunzel vs. Frankenstein: A Graphic Novel by Omar Lozano, Martin Powell

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This graphic novel series is loads of fun! Fuse the story of Rapunzel’s incredible story with Dr Frankenstein’s ‘magic’ and you’ve got this! When one of his experiments goes wrong, Dr Frankenstein ends up bringing Rapunzel’s hair to life! This was good fun! I really like how there’s elements of the original stories, but they’re flipped on their heads to make something original and interesting! 

Private Eye Princess and the Emerald Pea: A Graphic Novel by Fernando Cano, Martin Powell

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.0

Oooh, I enjoyed this! The Princess and the Pea spun on its head and made into an incredible detective style graphic novel. I’d love to get my hands on more in this series! Love these pages at the back on visual prompts too! Just great! 

The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was brilliant! Book 2 follows on just as book 1 ends. This features some pretty epic battles, strange characters, wisdom-filled trees, a fight to keep power from taking over and the power of working as a team. This is gorgeously illustrated! Really love Leon and I hope he sticks about! I need to get my hands on book 3 now! 

Rainbow Grey by Laura Ellen Anderson

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

5.0

I started this this morning and honestly, I couldn’t put it down. This was a proper delight from start to finish. A young girl who lives in a world filled with magic has none of her own, until she finds a mysterious crystal! What follows changes her life forever! This was proper lush and it made me laugh! The illustrations throughout brought me such joy. I just adore Rainbow and her crew!! There’s some amazing messages in this about the power of hope and the importance of family and friends too! I can’t wait for the next book... the final line made me GASP! 
Perfect for fans of Amelia Fang! And would be spot on in Y4+ classrooms! 

The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

WHAT? I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2022 FOR THE NEXT ONE?? I am outraged. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this! Gorgeous magic, gorgeous characters and just the most lush idea. I loved Cordelia and her defiance, yet that conscience she had. Her friends were just wonderful too. There’s a gorgeous charm about this that’s just wonderful. I was SHOCKED by some of the twists and turns. I thoroughly want the next book NOW!!

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

FINISHED: this is all kinds of great! I gobbled through a whole load of this early this morning and I’ve just finished! Vampires, mythology and attractive Americans? Who needs more than that! This is full of brilliant characters, a wondrous story and man, do I wanna visit New Orleans now... although maybe without the vampires! I loved the twists and turns and the BEYTRAYAL. Properly enjoyed this!