Otter Space! (Pip and Pals #1)

A swimming mishap gives way to interstellar adventure in this playful graphic novel series launch from de Oliveira (Penguin in Charge). During a beach excursion with her BFF TJ the tern, Pip the otter surfaces from a dive to discover that her sleek brown fur has turned green. TJ—having been reading a comic about verdant aliens—concludes that if Pip’s color shift was caused neither by something she ate nor by molting, then Pip must be from “otter space.” According to TJ, his reasoning is sound: “You don’t eat fish.... Swimming is tricky for you.... And... you’re GREEN!” Joined by friends Gulley, a tinkering seagull, and Herman the crab, who sports a can for a shell and offers comic relief, the crew embarks on a quest to find Pip’s home planet. Along the way, they cobble together a spaceship made of junk, identical-colored dashboard buttons trigger a crash-landing, and the group’s members learn the impact of being themselves. Brightly saturated, black-outlined cartoons and simple, uncluttered settings make for easy-to-follow comics panels, while layers of humor—including two pages of back-matter jokes—reward repeat readings. Goofy and full of heart, this buddy adventure is an appropriate comic for developing readers. Ages 6–9. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Aevitas Creative Management. (July)