CBR15Passport country (Illustrator from Germany)
I must have lived a sheltered life. Or my mother was one of those people who knew she would have to clean up the mess if she gave me and my sister slime. Oh, I had some silly putty, but it just was not the same. Afterall, are they writing books on how to make silly putty? Or books about silly putty coming to life? Nope. But Karina Garcia and Kevin Panetta are writing Slime Shop (due August 2023) a fantasy fiction graphic novel that is so fantastical it must be real.
Okay, so a bit of hyperbole there, but Garcia is a person who knows their slime and has their own how-to books, YouTube channel (etc.) about slime. And they have collaborated with Panetta and Niki Smith (doing some fun and funky illustrations) about a couple of slimy friends and their human counterparts. The story is part humor, part science, part fantasy, a few dashes of dangerous deeds, and even a bit of mystery. The slimes are a unit, or community, with a leader and her followers/friends (or the other slimes). The tone really reminded me of The Trolls (Poppy and Justin Timberlake, I mean Branch) dynamic. The main slime (as one of the humans of the side story) must learn that she is not always right, that others have ideas which can help, and one does not have to be alone, there are people willing to risk life and slime to help you.
The overall to the book is it is a modern toned story, with modern characters, and themes that fit today’s needs. It is cute, though, while aimed at the eight and up range for tone, the story is a smidgen older with some of the fantasy elements, such as one of the slimes is dirty (literally) and is biting other slimes to make zombie followers. But it is funny. And there is a modern family dynamic.
