Both of the little book bunnies love reading books by Rick Riordan, and both enjoy graphic novels. So Caramel jumped on the opportunity to read and review the graphic novel version of Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, published in 2022 as part of the “Rick Riordan Presents” series. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about this neat book.
Sprinkles: Okay, Caramel, can you tell us a bit about this book?
Caramel: Yes. The book is about a kid named Tristan Strong. Tristan’s best friend Eddie dies in a bus accident, so Tristan goes to Alabama to stay with his grandparents for a bit.
S: Okay, so what happens in Alabama?
C: In the middle of the night, a baby named Gum Baby comes into his room and steals Eddie’s journal. That was the last thing Tristan had of Eddie, so he does not want to lose it. So he pursues Gum Baby and punches something called a Bottle Tree, and so opens up a hole into another world.
S: So is that how he “punches a hole in the sky” as the title says?
C: Yes, because he punches a hole in the sky of this other world.
S: Hmm, that is really interesting! Tell me more about this other world.
C: All the African folk tales are real and they exist on that other world.
S: So it is a world of African mythologies.
C: Yes, African and African American.
S: I see. So Tristan goes into this world and …
C: So he tries to mend the world he kind of broke, but he also meets a lot of interesting characters. There is Anansi the storyteller and Nyame, the sky god. And there are folk tale heroes, like John Henry and Brer Rabbit.
S: Some children might have read or heard about these characters before, but I think you met them only in this book, right?
C: Yes.
S: So was it a book full of strange characters you did not recognize? Or did the author and the illustrator introduce them to you effectively?
C: Yes! I think they both did an amazing job. I think I got a really good sense of them just by reading this book. Of course if I knew about them beforehand, maybe the book would be even more fun. But it was great fun all the same.
S: So I think fun would be one of your words to describe the book then?
C: Yes. I really like how it ends too. It ends with a bang, I liked it, but also they left a door open for a followup. And I think there are two more books about Tristan.
S: Yes, I saw that too. But I am not sure those are in graphic novel form. Would you like to read them?
C: Sure, I would.
S: Okay, then Caramel. Tell me how you would describe the book in three to five words.
C: Fun, funny, and action-packed.
S: I can see it! I flipped through the pages. The pictures are very dynamic and there seems to be a lot of action.
C: Yes!
S: Okay, then, let us wrap up this review so we can figure out how you can move on to the next book in the series. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
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