Let’s Go! [I Like to Read: Comics]
by Michael Emberley; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Holiday    40 pp.
1/23    9780823446520    $14.99
e-book ed.  9780823455096    $8.99

Emberley’s crew of critters (I Did It!, rev. 9/22) returns for another exciting early-reader comic. This fast-paced story begins before its title page with a caped reptile launching a paper airplane. The plane’s circuitous flight crosses two pages and multiple panels and ends at our friendly monster, toy elephant, masked raccoon, shimmery robot, and tiny penguin. It’s a party invitation, inspiring the friends to immediately take off for the bash with a collective “LET’S GO!” A series of setbacks (from fatigue to snow to large bodies of water) impedes the crew’s progress; however, cooperation and creative problem-solving prevail. The creatures use scraps of paper torn from the very pages of the book they are in to create skis, boats, and more and continue their journey. Emberley’s cartooning is complex and compelling, while the dialogue-only text is intentionally repetitive and charismatic. Energetic pencil illustrations convey a strong sense of animation between fluctuating panel configurations and page layouts. The digital coloring is expressive, shifting between modeled realism and completely flat blocks of color—signaling shifts in tone, time, and/or setting. Imaginative, playful, and deceptively unassuming, this comic for early readers serves as a respectful (and exceedingly entertaining) introduction to the comics format.

From the January/February 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.