Feinman’s amusing art is intentionally lumpy, brightly colored, and busy but centered on closeup perspectives of the characters, a good match for the plot’s blend of light-heartedness and intensity. A side plot in which Leni meets a cuddly pig-unicorn toy is a quiet delight in the midst of the chaos, and a character index to clarifying each main player’s role proves useful.

The food advice demonizes fat, sugar, and salt while promoting gluten-free, healthy cuisine, though the junk food here seems like more fun, and the salt shaker’s declaration of its physiological value comes across as a weirdly rational villain’s monologue. The caring aspirational human adults and the body humor feel more appropriate to the aesthetic of younger readers, though the busy pages, number of characters, and plot complexity seat this in the middle-grade reading level. Kids who are attracted to a goofy, high-energy art style and good-natured visceral body humor will find this set of adventures hilarious; parents interested in informally promoting a healthy eating message may want to help this make its way to the reading pile.

Takeaway: A goofy, upbeat graphic novel for kids about healthy eating.

Great for fans of: Jonathan Garnier’s Timo the Adventurer, Sally Lee.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A