CYBILS GRAPHIC NOVEL NOMINEE: Snow and Sorcery by Chad Sell, et. al.
As a member of the 2025 Cybils Graphic Novel panel I will be reading many great graphic novels in the next couple of months, so I will be posting quite a few reviews for those books. These are my opinions only and do not represent the views of the group.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The kids of the Cardboard Kingdom go on a new adventure! This time, they are in search of new friends—but what they discover is a lot more like enemies ...
It’s winter break in the Cardboard Kingdom, and kids from the town across the park want to play together! But according to the evil Sorceress, not just anyone can join the kingdom… So it’s not long before the two communities spiral into battle.
Will the Sorceress realize the error of her ways before all hope is lost? Will friendship still manage to win the day?
The Cardboard Snow and Sorcery was created, organized, and drawn by Chad Sell with writing from seven others Jay Fuller-Ng, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Barbara Perez Marquez, and Jasmine Walls.
REVIEW
Blending reality with imaginative play, Snow and Sorcery, takes readers into the lives of a group of children who call themselves the Cardboard Kingdom. The characters from the first two books in the series appear here in short vignettes held together by their imaginative play. Six smaller groups made up of family and/or friends are highlighted by group at the beginning of the book. It would have been helpful to have their names listed as well. The number of characters in the book made it difficult to keep track of all their names sometimes. Nonetheless, the story of the conflict that arises when three kids from across the bridge in Parkside arrive and see the Cardboard Kingdom together having fun in their various costumes is appealing and holds the different sections of the book together. The three kids come back later in costumes of their own that mimic some of the already existing ones which leads to tension. The actions of a mysterious figure cause the conflict to become so bad it may erupt into all out 'war'. Each chapter is written by one of the several contributors with all the art created by Chad Sell. In addition to the conflict between the Parkside kids and the Cardboard Kingdom, each of the children involved also has their own struggles including one who moves back in with his mom, one who doesn't feel she can be herself around her grandmother, and the prince who feels the need to lead but doesn't know how. The illustrations are appealing and bound to draw many readers. The struggles and interpersonal relationships between the characters will be very relatable for young readers. The characters come from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a variety of personalities and interests. Recommended.
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