SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

December 13, 2016 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: ‘Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea’

December 13, 2016 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   1 comments

narwhalNarwhal: Unicorn of the Sea
By Ben Clanton
Tundra; $7.99

Narwhal the narwhal and Jelly the jellyfish might seem like unlikely friends, but the pair have a few things in common. First and foremost, they share a love of waffles, which one might think would be a true rarity given the watery, unfriendly-to-waffles habitats of narwhals and jellyfish. Secondly, neither of them has ever seen anything like the other upon their first meeting.

Jelly thinks Narwhal, the so-called unicorn of the sea, just isn’t a terribly believable animal, and questions Narwhal’s very existence. Narwhal, in turn, has never seen a fish like Jelly, but admits there is some resemblance to jelly. The pair have a somewhat confused meet and greet in the first of the three stories contained in this first book of Ben Clanton’s new series (note the “A Narwhal and Jelly Book” tag on the cover), but naturally they become fast friends.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

In the second story, Narwhal sets off to create an awesome pod of awesomeness, recruiting various sea creatures to join his pod, each of them being given an honorary, narwhal-like horn upon joining. In the third, Narwhal shares the best book in the world with Jelly; it turns out to be a blank one, which they have to fill with their own imaginations.

Breaking up the three mini-stories are a few pages that include facts about the sea creatures and the lyrics to a narwhal song.

Clanton’s extremely simple, extremely cute character designs make this a perfect book for the youngest of children, and anyone who appreciates such lo-fi, highly adorable artwork. You can practically see the path Clanton’s hand must take when drawing his title character, an elongated, upside down teardrop whose tail and body all seem drawn in a single, continuous series of swoops. Jelly’s an even more simple design, essentially just a very emotive half-circle with six lines for tentacles and an emoji-basic face.

The dynamic between the two characters is somewhat reminiscent of Mo Willems’ happy-go-lucky Piggie and slightly more down-to-earth and careful Gerald, and in fact Clanton’s line-work is further suggestive of Willems’ art.

Unlike the books in Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series, however, this is a true comic book in terms of its narrative format, albeit an extremely simple one, with few panels per page (and plenty of full-page splashes). Its essential comics-ness calls to mind the work of the other writer/artist who seems to have either been an influence on Clanton, or to at least be working in a very similar vein: James Kochalka.

Most specifically, Kochalka’s Johnny Boo series of graphic novels for kids. Those have the same character dynamic between their leads Johnny Boo and Squiggle that Narwhal and Jelly have, and there’s even some visual equivalence, with the title character being physically bigger and the sidekick a tiny presence. Clanton’s comics here, like Kochalka’s Johnny Boo ones, have a sense of high silliness about them, although Narwhal is at this point far less anarchic; Johnny Boo sometimes reads like it was written by little kids, whereas Narwhal is clearly written for little kids.

Given how great Willems and Kochalka are as both storytellers and artists/cartoonists, that Narwhal might remind a reader of either, let alone both, is a pretty great sign that Clanton is on to something here.

Filed under: Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Ben ClantonNarwhal and JellyNarwhal: Unicorn of the Sea

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

September 2023

My Girlfriend's Child, vols. 1 and 2 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

August 2023

Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

August 2023

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

August 2023

Team Trash: A Time Traveler's Guide to Sustainability | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

August 2023

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

A JUST ONE FLAKE Preorder Secret

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, ill. Boulet

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Exclusive: New Sibling Adventure Story from Papercutz | News and Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Newbery Possibilities on the National Book Award Longlist

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford, Jeffery Boston Weatherford (Illustrator)

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Peter Brown Visits The Yarn to talk about The Wild Robot Protects

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

12 Graphic Novel Series Updates for Young Readers

Nonfiction Graphic Novels Spotlight Microhistories and Overlooked Historical Figures

10 Sports Manga for Hardcore Fans and Newcomers Alike | Mondo Manga

Exclusive Excerpt of "The Baby-Sitters Club" Graphic Novel 'Jessi's Secret Language'

Marvel, Scholastic To Launch New Line of Graphic Novels for Young Readers

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ifeoluwapo Mafikuyomi says

    July 11, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    I think that you should more that are free to kids around just saying
    it might stupide but isn’t because kids around don’t have money to buy books

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023