Review: ‘The Cardboard Kingdom’

“Give a kid a cardboard box….” You’ll often hear parents quip that their child was more interested in the box rather than the new toy. And I know when my groceries are delivered in cardboard boxes, my kids beg me to keep it around. It becomes a house, a bus, and anything their imagination allows. Chad Sell and his many collaborators use this concept to create a rich story about a group of neighborhood kids that allows their imagination and ours to soar.

The Cardboard Kingdom
By Chad Sell. Jay Fuller, David Demeo, Katie Schenkel, Manuel Betancourt, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Cloud Jacobs, Michael Cole, Barbara Perez Marquez.
Random House Kids Books
Grades 3 and up

I admit, my old, feeble mind had to go back and re-read parts of this book to “get it.” I know kids won’t have to. This is a book that totally encompasses a child’s mind as if the authors and artists have the Peter Pan syndrome.

The book is composed of short vignettes, each focusing on a different character but ultimately bringing together a whole neighborhood of kids who play the summer away, rich in their imagination. There is the boy who likes to dress up as the evil sorceress (and his mom who says it’s okay if it’s more than dress-up). The kid who desperately wants to fit in and find a friend but can’t find the right combination. Or the child who uses dress-up to help protect his mom from his estranged father. The book ends with the beginning of school, but on a hopeful note that the stories will continue.

This is a lovely book with bold artwork—with hints of a Saturday Morning Cartoon—and yet with so much more depth. The rich colors, the nuanced expressions on the various characters’ faces, and the minimal text will have readers flipping back and forth to search for more details that they will surely find. This book is a solid read.

Filed under: All Ages, Graphic Novels, Reviews