Review: The King of Kazoo by Norm Feuti

The King of Kazoo by Norm Feuti

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Publication Date: July 26th, 2016
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Point of View: /
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Graphic Novels

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BLURB:

Scatterbrained Cornelius, King of Kazoo, and his resourceful daughter, Bing, explore a mysterious cave at the top of Mount Kazoo. There they discover a famous alchemist named Quaf is planning a dangerous and forbidden experiment. Now Cornelius, Bing, and the brilliant royal inventor Torq must go all out to stop Quaf before his crazy undertaking threatens the entire kingdom.

Ah, graphic novels. My go-to books for bus rides. (Usually) short, (usually) fast-paced and (usually) charming, they’re the best way to spend an hour and a half using public transportation.

THE KING OF KAZOO is simply lovely. The characters are adorable in their own unique ways, the world-building is captivating enough (I adored the Gonks!) and the humour is pleasant.

The story itself is the only element that needed real improvement. It was fine. Nothing about it bothered me, as this is a fun book for children/tweens, but it did lack substance, especially since this is a standalone graphic novel.

What’s up with that? The world-building shows signs of potential for expansion, so why are there no sequels planned for the future? I’d love to see more of these characters as well. And the magic! Where does it even come from? No much background on anything.

The illustrations are original. I like Norm Feuti’s style. It’s not fully different from anything you may have seen in graphic novels, but I could easily recognize another book by this author, if you put it in front of me, without seeing his name anywhere on the cover, let’s say.

So, I mean it, the story is really the only thing that needed improvement. It’s a huge element, which is unfortunate because I could have given this a higher rating otherwise, but let’s not forget that everything else is enjoyable. Worth your time!

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