Graham Annable

Coraline's parents never listen, but she is lucky enough to find a door that lead to another world with an "other mother" and "other father" who give her everything she could possibly want. . . but there's a catch!
The painstaking detail of this movie is truly staggering. everything is perfect down to the tiny stitches in Coraline's sweater. The stop-motion is seamless, so it's easy to believe you're watching real actors.
The movie is wonderful. It's dark, and would probably scare the bejesus show more out of small children, but older ones will appreciate the story. Gaiman has always been well known for mixing the fantastic with the mundane, and this is a perfect example. This is a great addition to any collection, especially as it can be used as a gateway back to books. A child who loves this movie will appreciate the graphic novel as well. show less

Siblings Emily and Davis are reluctant to share "eerie" stories in front of their classmates and eager teacher. Alvin shares a "historical drama" called "The Village That Vanished..." Janine's story is called "The Face in the Forest." Bernie's story is called "The Ghastly Ghost Chase." Finally, Emily tells her eerie story, set in outer space, called "The Infinite Loop of Lunacy." And lastly, Davis tells a story titled "The Door to Demons..." Each story draws on traditional tropes of ghost show more stories, haunted house stories, and other lore; there are ghosts, skeletons, sea people, space worms ("The Infinite Loop of Lunacy" is like a mini Doctor Who episode), and a hidden portal. When Davis finishes his story, their teacher - whos head is now on upside down - criticizes, "That won't do....You can't tell the truth. Not in here." The students band together against the teacher, revealing suddenly that their school is just as full of horror as the tales they were telling. show less

I still don't really understand the fascination with sloths; they're interesting creatures, but why not hyenas? Or bongos? Anyways, sloths are IN right now and this simple graphic novel will be enjoyed by sloth fans and others.

Peter, a stay-at-home gray sloth and Ernesto, an adventurous beige sloth, are best friends. But when Ernesto decides to take a trip and see the rest of the sky, Peter is worried and upset. Ernesto doesn't stop to think about his friend at first; he is busy exploring show more the wonderful world outside his tree. He sees many amazing new pieces of sky, makes new friends, and even travels across the ocean. Meanwhile, Peter slowly overcomes his fears to set off in search of his friend. He runs into the same obstacles as Ernesto, and at first feels he simply can't face them. However, his friendship makes him brave and, in his own fashion, he faces all obstacles to find his friend.

In the end, both Peter and Ernesto have learned something about themselves and about the world around them. Although they covered much of the same ground, their very different perspectives gave them an opportunity to see things in a different way. Annable's art is a good match for the simple but thoughtful text. The colors are mostly greens and earth tones, with simple lines and mild humor in the sketched large eyes. The text is minimal, but a great deal of story is told in the sloths' mobile faces.

While not factually accurate (sloths are actually excellent swimmers) this is nevertheless an amusing tale of exploring the world and following your dreams. The text is simple enough to hold beginning chapter readers but there is enough depth to the story and art to capture the interest of older children as well.

Verdict: This quiet story is amusing and makes an excellent addition to the beginning chapter graphic novel genre. While I'm not as wildly enthusiastic about it as some reviewers, it will certainly find an audience and planned sequels are sure to be popular.

ISBN: 9781626725614; Published 2018 by First Second; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Hilarious sloth adventures from two very different friends. Peter the cautious, Ernesto the curious -- I love how they both have adventures, even though the adventures differ a lot, and they both ahve a gift for making friends, even though they make them in different ways. Minimal text, great picture storytelling. Lots of fun.