The Bawk-ness Monster (Cryptid Kids #1)

In this riotous graphic novel series opener by collaborators Riess and Goetter (Dungeon Critters), middle schooler Penny asks her best friends Luc and K to help her tie up loose ends as she prepares to move away from her hometown. Penny claims that, years ago, she was saved from drowning in Lake Bockamixon by a half-sea-serpent, half-chicken creature she calls Bessie the Bawk-ness Monster, and she aims to return to the lake to thank the gigantic cryptid. After Penny persuades her mother to take the trio camping at the lake, the tweens encounter Bessie, only to be captured alongside her by submarine-driving, notorious monster-hunter Alvida Scales. Now stuck in Alvida’s secret lair at the bottom of the lake, Penny and her friends must not only save themselves, but also Bessie and a menagerie of other caged critters. Psychedelically saturated full-color illustrations, which overflow with brisk movement and monster-hunting shenanigans, depict plentiful visual gags, including giggle-worthy cryptids such as Bigtaur, a bigfoot-centaur mashup, and Yeticorn, a yeti-unicorn hybrid. The evil scientist antics and madcap premise still leave room for emotionally charged moments that offset the escapade’s inherent silliness. Ages 8–12. (June)