Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds

Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

HarperAlley (HarperCollins Canada)

978-0-06-298222-3 

64 pp.

Ages 5-9

October 2020

 

Elise Gravel has endeared herself to young readers with her Disgusting Critters series but her new series, Arlo & Pips, undoubtedly will draw in more children particularly those early readers intrigued by graphic novels. With a pair of new feathered friends to teach through sharing, and Elise Gravel's trademark humour and artwork, Arlo & Pips will swoop onto bookshelves everywhere.

From Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel

Arlo is a crow and Pips is a little yellow bird. When they meet, Arlo seems to think he is the grandest of birds. In fact, he claims the crow is the "king of the feathered world," hence the crown he places on his head. But little Pips is both curious and diplomatic, asking questions of the crow, rather than shaming him for his bravado. (Though, even after his little feathers get a  tad ruffled upon hearing Arlo sing, all Pips says is "You have an unusual voice.")

From Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel

After the first story–the book is set up with three connected stories–which introduces Arlo and Pips and focuses on establishing some background about crows, like their ability to mimic sounds and to count because of their bigger brains, Elise Gravel has Pips take the newcomer Arlo on two trips, one to the big city and another to the beach.  In the city, Arlo is introduced to the noisy and littering humans before he enjoys some fries and uses his impressive acting to thwart a looting by another crow. In addition, readers will learn of crows' eating preferences and their predilection for shiny objects, of which Arlo has a remarkable collection.

From Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel

 

At the beach, after tricking some awk-ing gulls and displaying his fine memory, Arlo becomes fixated on a shiny fork which he uses to pry open a shell before gifting it to Pips. The little yellow bird is most appreciative though Pips does make a point of telling Arlo, "You know, you really brag too much."

 

From Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds by Elise Gravel

I think Elise Gravel is going to have a long and multi-volume relationship with Arlo and Pips as she blends a perfect combination of information, graphics and humour into her storytelling. Though Elise Gravel periodically notes key features of crows (red stars in the text are linked to a footnote with related details), it's the dialogue between the two unlikely friends that truly drives the story. The play of bravado and sarcasm with mutual respect helps teach and entertain. Moreover, as the digitally-rendered illustrations consistently place the emphasis on the main characters, Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds is all about the birds. But with Elise Gravel at the drawing board or rather her computer, learning is fun and funny, and I look forward to more learning with Arlo and Pips in their second book, Join the Crow Crowd!