Maya Makes a Mess (Toon Books Set 2)

Rutu Modan's graphic novel, "Exit Wounds, "won the Eisner Award in 2008 and has been translated into twelve languages. She has received many awards for illustrating other authors' books. This is the first children's book she has written as well as drawn.

Maya’s table manners are just terrible, so when she’s invited to dine with the queen, there is due cause for concern. When the offerings at the banquet run to such child-unfriendly choices as snail salad, ham jelly, and spinach juice, the frank and confident Maya asks to be provided with pasta and ketchup instead. The queen, rather than being offended, finds Maya’s approach to mealtime charming and, corgi at her side, takes bad dining manners to the outer limits before declaring that all will eat Maya’s way—but only on holidays. Modan’s beautifully expressive clear-line cartoons work well in a story for children, and the story itself has just the right twists for new readers to enjoy and maybe even hazard a chance of predicting. In addition to mealtime scenes, we travel with Maya by airplane to visit the queen, and the number of visual riffs on British ceremony and high etiquette gives much for the reader to explore, along with the accessible text. Another winner from TOON. Preschool-Grade 2. --Francisca Goldsmith