(2) YA Santat, Caldecott winner for The Adventures of Beekle, shares his own adventures in this graphic memoir that focuses on a trip to Europe the summer before high school. He dispenses with his fraught middle-school years in two emotionally charged opening scenes: a humiliating speech and a disastrous party. The heart of the story is the life-changing three-week school trip, which his parents see as an opportunity: "We never got to do this when we were kids. You should feel lucky!" But for thirteen-year-old Dan, being invisible is his best coping strategy, and the trip forces him reluctantly out of his comfort zone. The visual narrative sticks to Dan's perspective, and his growth is treated with empathy and humor. This is Santat at his best: his signature palette emphasizing muted greens, browns, and nighttime shades; a variety of vertical and horizontal panels (many with no words or only sound effects and speech bubbles); and the spare text supporting the lively visuals. That summer may have been his first chance to see the cultural treasures of Europe, but for Dan it was other firsts that made indelible impressions--first Fanta (and first beer); first girlfriend; and, thus, first broken heart. Readers see Europe's landmarks, but they're background to the book's human dramas. Back matter includes an author's note and a "Recreating Old Memories" section.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) 4-6 In this fast-paced graphic novel, the story shifts quickly from the prologue's dramatic underwater disaster to a goofy sci-fi buddy comedy set five years later. A motley crew of ocean creatures, led by a hermit crab named Sodapop, turns an old-school diving suit into a three-kids-in-a-trench-coat-style way for them to leave the ocean and find Aqualand, a place they read about in the journal of the marine biologist who'd died in the book's first pages. But instead of the safe haven for ocean animals they expected, they find a theme park run by a greedy investor, as well as the grief-stricken daughter and brother of the deceased scientist. While the plot gets a bit convoluted, ­Santat handles both the goofy physical comedy and the family's grief deftly. The exceptional art is what makes those disparate elements work together, with muted green and deep blue tones creating a palette against which both the slapstick and the characters' expressive facial expressions pop. The Aquanaut itself switches between looking hilariously unwieldy and absolutely otherworldly, and Santat finds both humor and pathos in the strange gaze of its faceless helmet.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) K-3 Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series. In this metafictional easy reader, pachyderm Harold suggests to his porcine friend Hog that they pretend to be Gerald and Piggie. He pops an over-snout pig nose on Hog while he tries to act like Gerald--the joke being that exuberant Harold is as un-Gerald-like as they come, and that skeptical Hog is nothing like Piggie. Amidst the riotousness are welcome messages about appearances, behavior, relationships, and expectations.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(1) K-3 The king's men manage to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but he's now afraid of heights. When his paper-airplane bird gets stuck atop the wall he fell from, Humpty climbs it and--over the course of several thrilling page turns--reveals his true, triumphant self. Bold horizontal, vertical, and diagonal compositions dominate most spreads, reinforcing the wall's extraordinary height and, therefore, the challenge that Humpty must scale.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(2) K-3 Using panels, text bubbles, and vibrant splashes of color in his mixed-media illustrations, Santat sets a family on the road to Grandma's birthday party. But this isn't any old road-trip story. Illustrations guide readers to turn the book upside-down, and the settings grow increasingly outlandish. While the text occasionally veers toward adult-centeredness, the visuals are so inventive that young readers won't mind.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2016

(3) K-3 Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series. This spinoff series' first entries feature lively speech-balloon conversations with energetic illustrations to match. In Keller's quirky book, seven blades of grass and one dandelion discover they're growing but in different ways. Santat delivers a raucous math lesson, as four animal friends attempt to share three cookies. Willems frames each story with a brief, humorous exchange between enthusiastic readers Elephant and Piggie. Review covers the following Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! titles: We Are Growing! and The Cookie Fiasco.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Imaginary friend Beekle waits and waits for a child to think him into existence. When it doesn't happen, Beekle sails off to the real world--a city full of boring adults--to find her. Santat's bright digital illustrations capture the vivid land of imagination, the drab adult world, and the giggle-inducing expressions on marshmallow-like Beekle's pudgy white face.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson

(2) 4-6 With veteran superhero Captain Amazing holding auditions for a new sidekick, his pets--a dog, hamster, and chameleon--hope to win the role. They train seriously but get into trouble fighting crime. Meanwhile, Captain Amazing's nemesis has stolen a belt that jeopardizes the entire city. Santat's genre-mash-up graphic novel features appealing, cartoonish art with bold geometric shapes and bright primary colors.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011