Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/15/2016 Cheerful Narwhal likes to make friends with other sea creatures, eat waffles, and have parties. Most young readers will know that narwhals don’t really eat waffles, but that’s okay. Narwhal makes friends with Jelly, a jellyfish, and in other stories they form their own pod with Shark, Turtle, Blowfish, and Octopus. Elsewhere, Narwhal and Jelly share “the best book ever,” in which they “read” the blank pages by creating their own fun stories with their imaginations. Teachers could use that part of the book as a class lesson, asking students to “think about one of your favoritest things in the world.” Clanton also provides readers with facts about real narwhals and jellyfish. He uses very simple panel arrangements, soft colors, a doodle-like drawing style, and just enough detail to identify the different characters, so new readers can easily follow along with the story. With easy-to-read panels, a cheery story, and even a few jokes for grown-ups to appreciate, this comical graphic novel will be a crowd-pleaser. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2016 Gr 1–3—Readers new to graphic novels will be richly rewarded with this series opener about a delightfully quirky duo. Earnest and down-to-earth Jelly the jellyfish is the perfect foil for endearingly airheaded Narwhal. Divided into three tales, the book is light on plot but brimming with a fantastically kid-friendly sense of the absurd, from the friends' first reaction upon meeting each other ("You don't look like any fish I've ever seen, but you do look kind of jelly-ish." "Look…things like you don't exist. I mean what is up with that horn?") to the tale that Narwhal and Jelly spin in their metafictional turn, which has a waffle, a strawberry, and a sea monkey doing battle with a giant robot. The art has a childlike quality, and though Narwhal and Jelly are rendered with simple, thick-lined scrawls, the illustrations are expressive and energetic. Clanton includes just a few panels per page and breaks up some of the action with full-page spreads, resulting in a wonderfully accessible option for kids making their first forays into sequential art. A song ("I am a narwhal/a happy little narwhal!") and a brief section with facts on jellyfish and narwhals are fun additions (kids will be impressed to learn that the narwhal's tooth can be up to ten feet long and that the marine mammal can live 90 years). VERDICT An utterly enchanting start to a series that's bound to be popular among young readers. Readers moving on from Mo Willems's "Elephant and Piggie" books and Bob Shea's "Ballet Cat" series will adore this undersea odd couple.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.