BITSY & BOOZLE TELL A STORY!

The basics of narrative structure, imparted through a humorous fantasy plot.

Bitsy, a pink-hued cyclops in medieval-style garb, is a storyteller by family profession. The youngest member of the Point-of-View sisters, she tells stories about others in the third person. The other person at the center of this particular tale is Boozle, a light-skinned, diminutive wizard tasked with ascending Story Mountain. Along the way, he encounters Mayor Dilemma, who begs him to save her town from the dastardly Gruffin of Clawmax Peak. She instructs Boozle to employ her grandchildren, Tension and Suspense, to locate the creature; he also makes use of montages, time-skips, and other tricks of the trade. Once Boozle’s quest is through, he must meet up with Mayor Denouement in the town of Falling Action. You get the picture—the text is relentlessly, unapologetically educative. But there’s a soupçon of mystery as to the Gruffin’s motives, and Mayor Dilemma’s intentions seem slightly suspicious. Readers will be eager to unravel the plot’s true nature. Bitsy explicates Boozle’s odyssey with zest, and Boozle’s speech bubbles, filled with snarky nonverbal pictograms, perfectly telegraph his irritation at being Bitsy’s puppet player. The tabletop role-playing game vibe, coupled with the narrative concepts being put into practice, together make this a great fit for young writers, gamers, and creators. The bright, bouncy, expressive cartoons give the story even broader appeal. Characters vary in skin tone.

Delightful, deliberate, and engaging.