Good-Bye, Chunky Rice

• This stunning book-length debut is a quiet picture novella of a small turtle, Chunky Rice, leaving his home and his mouse friend, Dandel. A Dr. Seussian cast of colorful characters and lush cartoon-y brushwork shape this into a charming, profound tale of loneliness, loss, and undying friendship.

YA-Chunky Rice is an anthropomorphic turtle who follows his urge to move on, leaving behind lovesick Dandele, a bug-eyed mouse, and a dreamy longshoreman. Chunky books passage on a barely seaworthy craft piloted by a shady skipper. Conjoined twins Ruth and Livonia are also on board. Back on shore, Dandele sends bottled missives out to sea and the longshoreman's injured pet bird, Merle, heals and regains flight. Thompson presents this bittersweet and engaging story in black-and-white panels that flow and tip into one another, giving the story motion that is reminiscent of the ocean against Chunky's boat and at Dandele's feet. The narrative intersperses past and present so that each character's motives become clear. Solid storytelling is expanded by the images, resulting in a fully realized literary work. The sea captain's posturing is fittingly retrograde and the twins are, by turns, self-exploitive and just plain folks. Chunky, Dandele, the longshoreman, and Merle, however, are unremitting winners. This book will be popular with both inveterate comics readers and those new to graphic literature.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

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