Happy Narwhalidays (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #5)

September 21, 2020
His tusk-tooth and scarf both sporting red and white stripes, holiday-loving Narwhal is “feeling festive” in the fifth installment of the graphic novel series starring two earnest aquatic pals. Despite Narwhal’s holiday enthusiasm, jellyfish Jelly has no interest in “the freezing season” and longs for warmer waters (“Humph-bug,” he grumps). Narwhal cheers up Jelly (“a bit”) with a bowl of warm waffle pudding, and a present with his name on it also boosts his spirits. But Jelly worries that he has nothing for Narwhal, who he assumes is the gift giver. Through spare mixed-media pictures and an energetic, wordplay-steeped narrative in six short sections, Clanton sorts out Jelly’s conundrum and introduces a special holiday visitor, the Merry Mermicorn, a mermaid-unicorn hybrid who, Narwhal says, is “completely mer-aculous!” “Cool facts” about marine life are sprinkled throughout this buoyant tale. Ages 6–9.

September 1, 2020
The holidays have come for Narwhal and his friends. In this fifth installment of the Narwhal and Jelly series, the eponymous pals are looking forward to cold waters, songs, and the arrival of the Merry Mermicorn, a "part mermaid and part unicorn and completely mer-aculous" being who "spreads sheer cheer and pure awesomeness wherever she goes!" Narwhal and Jelly exchange gifts and enjoy undersea snows, all the while dropping their trademark facts about ocean life (this time taking a slant toward all things chilly). This slim volume houses six different vignettes, among them "The Perfect Present," in which Jelly agonizes over finding Narwhal the right gift, and "The Mean Green Jelly Bean," a story the friends write and illustrate about an unappealing sentient jelly bean who is flavored like "pickle-scum snail-slime puree." Clanton's art is instantly recognizable, with its simply wrought characters and cool blue palette punctuated with splashes of contrasting color. Full of "sheer cheer" itself and with an emphasis on kindness and friendship, this volume doesn't miss a beat alongside its predecessors. Although it's never explicitly stated, most young readers will discern that Narwhal's holiday is a thinly veiled riff on Christmas traditions, with its central visiting figure who's akin to Santa, Narwhal's peppermint-stick-striped horn, and carols like "Jingle Shells" and "We Fish You a Merry Mermicorn." A holiday treat for fans. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)

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