New Shoes

The reader is asked to confront surprisingly sophisticated topics, and the result is a book as charming as it is unexpected.--New York Times

Varon (Odd Duck) introduces a rain forest setting most likely new to readers (Guyana, an afterword explains) in a story that brims with creativity and affection.--Publishers Weekly, starred review

The dialogue effortlessly adds humor to the informational snippets in the text; a moment when a jaguar, wild hog, and howler monkey chuckle over their entries in Francis' guidebook is hilarious. A quick, informative, and overall good-hearted graphic tale that will have readers pausing to take in the colorful artistic details.--Kirkus

This simple yet fun tale will help newly independent readers make the transition to full-blown graphic novels, stoke curiosity about the jungle ecosystem, and teach about teamwork, respect, and kindness.--School Library Journal

Readers of Robot Dreams (BCCB 11/07) or Chicken & Cat (BCCB 3/06) will settle right in to the chipper domesticated menagerie that comprises Varon's graphic novel casts.--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This silly and entertaining early-reader graphic novel, in six chapters, is filled with informational matter about the animals of the South American jungles...Expect giggles from the newly independent readers at whom this delightfully odd graphic novel is aimed. --Horn Book