I'm Ogre It (I Like to Read Comics)

This graphic novel for beginning readers offers a fun and visually compelling argument for resisting the siren song of screen time. While rustling through a pile of toys thrown out by her video-game obsessed brother, Ollie, Izzie finds herself face to face with an immense ogre named Tim, who has taken up residence in an unnoticed, possibly imaginary cave in her backyard. Izzie takes this opportunity to enlist his help in setting up a video game-like quest throughout her house, incorporating Ollie's cast-offs and casting Izzie as the big boss. Ebbeler's skill with detailed settings and unusual angles makes the siblings' home a perfect place for flights of fancy—packing new angles and undiscovered corners of their home into each image—and the book feels much denser than its brisk 40 pages. Izzie and Ollie are brown-skinned. VERDICT A fast-paced, creativity-sparking, richly illustrated adventure, this early reader graphic novel is an inspiring read.—Emilia Packard