Dino-Mike and Jellaby Review

Last Updated on May 15, 2022 by ellen

Dino-Mike is written and illustrated by Franco. It’s an adorable chapter book that has many illustrations throughout its black and white pages.  The storyline follows Dino-Mike as he hunts down a T. Rex. Dino-Mike’s father is a famous paleontologist and his son travels with him as he digs in the ground trying to find ancient remains. Little Mike finds a mysterious friend in the woods while he is doing his own exploring. Follow Dino-Mike and his friend as they learn about how and why a T. Rex might be roaming the earth once more! Books were provided for review, but the story is my own.

Dino-Mike and Jellaby Review

This fun chapter book is adorable! It’s a fabulous format. I love that it includes illustrations throughout the novel to keep the young minds interested. The storyline is exciting and intriguing which should help keep easily distracted minds coming back for more. There are also other Dino-Mike stories out there for them to devour as well! As an avid reader I love when I can continue enjoying the same characters over and over with new challenges and stories. I think this is a great series for kids to enjoy and at $5.95 in the U.S. you can’t go wrong!

Jellaby is a youth targeted graphic novel written by Kean Soo. Soo did all of the illustration work on Jellaby himself and the result is very intriguing. The novel is in pink and purple instead of black and white which I found refreshing. According to the Q&A in the back of the book the novel was originally published online where color pages were not any more expensive than black and white. When the book moved to a print publication the publisher enjoyed the color scheme and decided to keep it! I really enjoy the change of style and thought the novel itself was intriguing and had a good overall message.

Portia Bennett is 10 years old and when she finds herself alone and lonely in a new place she finds the answer to her problems! A huge purple monster. She and Jellaby set off on a grand adventure as she tries to help him find his way back home again. Jellaby has won the Joe Shuster Award for Best Comic for Kids and I can see why. It’s a great graphic novel and an easy way to get young readers motivated to do something other than playing video games and watching TV. It’s an intriguing medium that doesn’t require as much direct reading as a normal novel and may appeal to kids who don’t prefer reading.

In either case, both Jellaby and Dino-Mike bring an interesting format to the table for young readers. Illustrations and the graphic novel format are great for getting little minds out of their electronic media and into something a bit different. Either of these books would be great for any child who is interested in whimsical subject matter.