By Frank Cammuso & Jay Lynch (Toon Books/Raw Junior)
ISBN: 978-0-9799238-2-1 (HC) 978-1-935179-27-6 (PB/Digital edition)
If you give them a chance and the right material, kids love to read. Happily, these days there’s a grand renaissance of books for the next generation to cut their milk-teeth on, and thanks to the dedication of folk like David Fickling Books (and their wonderful comic The Phoenix) in Britain and Toon Books/Raw Junior in the USA, almost enough avenues for youngsters to grow up reading comics too. This one comes courtesy of award-winning political cartoonist Frank Cammuso (also the creator of, Salem Hyde, Edison, Beaker, Knights of the Lunch Table, Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective) who joined here with legendary industry giant Jay Lynch (Mad, Bijou Funnies, Phoebe and the Pigeon People, Nard ‘n’ Pat, Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids) to relate a boisterous and visually flamboyant yarn of foolish enthusiasm…
Otto was a ginger cat and utterly obsessed. He always said – long and loud and often – that orange is ‘My Favorite Colour’. He proclaimed it in verse and through dance and even had a song about the best hue in the world. That’s why his Aunt Sally Lee sent him an old dusty lamp she found in a store. It was pretty dusty and banged up, but beneath the grime, it gleamed orange…
Otto gave the old relic a thorough dusting and was amazed to see a gigantic blue genie offering him one wish. Otto had no doubts what it should be…
Opening the door he found the entire world painted in shades of the greatest colour of all. He couldn’t wait for winter when he could make orange snowmen! Sadly, he soon started seeing the downside and learned to ‘Be Careful What You Wish For!’ Roads were more dangerous, people were hard to recognise and even Otto couldn’t stomach orange lamb chops with orange mashed potatoes and orange spinach!
Knowing he had to turn things back, Otto tried to find the lamp but it was difficult to do when all his toys and games were orange too…
However, even when he finally locates the magic artefact there’s still another problem: only one go per owner and the genie says that changing the world back counts as ‘A New Wish’ and is far from happy to start making changes now…
Aimed at the five-&-over age-range, this splendidly child-sized (152 x 126 mm) tome is a gloriously evocative, sleekly exciting kid-friendly caper, produced in 32-page, full-colour landscape format and the kind of illustrated extravaganza kids of all ages will adore – and probably fight over. At least there’s a sequel to placate multi-kid cat-loving households…
Toon Books/Raw Junior was founded by Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly to provide high-quality comics stories to entice pre-schoolers and beginning readers into a life-long relationship with graphic narrative and traditional reading.
With a select pantheon of creators they have produced many brilliant books sub-divided into First Comic for brand new readers (Level 1), (Easy-to-Read for Emerging Readers Level 2) and Chapter Books for Advanced Beginners (Level 3).
The company supports publications with on-line tools at TOON-BOOKS.com, offering interactive audio-versions read by the authors – in a multitude of languages – and a “cartoon maker” facility which allows readers to become writers of their own adventures.
I haven’t seen or reviewed – anything of theirs since 2019, but maybe I should…
© 2008 RAW Junior, LLC. All rights reserved.
Today in 1842 Canadian cartoonist, journalist/lawyer and creator of the satirical weekly Le Canard Hector Berthelot was born, backed up in 1895 by the astounding Milt Gross (Count Screwloose of Tooloose) and in 1921 the utterly yet mildly magnificent John (Captain Pugwash, Harris Tweed, Sir Prancelot, Mary Mungo and Midge) Ryan. Making the scene in 1932 was car dude and Rat Fink creator Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, with Simon Bisley showing up in 1962 and Skottie Young in 1978.
We lost Charles (Crime Does Not Pay, The Little Wise Guys, Airboy, Steel Sterling, Crimebuster) Biro in 1972 and Barney Google guy Fred Lasswell in 2001, but can commiserate over the fact that Knockout weekly began today in 1939 and clocked up 24 years of publication whilst Alex Raymond debuted private eye strip Rip Kirby right about now in 1946.