ON THE SAPPHIRE'S TRAIL

This graphic novel is something of a personality test.

On the last page of the story, monsters in togas are performing an opera while bandits play the oboe. Some readers will find this odd. Other readers will wonder why every book doesn’t have a giant who sings Offenbach. Those readers are the target audience. They’ll be pleased that the story also includes a journey into the giant’s belly, which is filled with furniture, cleaning supplies, and the occasional fez. Anyone looking for a straightforward adventure story will find one. There’s a perfectly logical mystery involving a missing jewel. But the digressions are much more entertaining than the plot, including a recipe for cookies and—most notably—the endlessly inventive drawings of monsters. It’s rare to see the same type of creature twice. There are fish with antennae and dust bunnies with tails, and there’s Mr. Snarf, an elegantly dressed gentleman with a green, glowing head. (Serious fans of children’s literature will also be glad that the bandits resemble Tomi Ungerer’s Three Robbers.)

Adventure lovers will like the surprising plot twists; fans of opera and cookies will appreciate the many times the story is derailed; everyone will be pleased that there’s a happy ending—even for the bandits.