Adele in Sand Land by Claude Ponti

June 27, 2017
goodreadswithronna
Action & Adventure, Activity Book, Ages 3 and up, Children's Book Reviews, Dolls, Early Readers & Early Readers Series, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Juvenile Fiction

ADELE IN SAND LAND
Written and illustrated by Claude Ponti
(Toon Books; $12.95, Ages 3 and up)

Adele in Sand Land by Claude Ponti is an ideal read for summer, especially for children eager to read on their own. Toon Books excels at its mission to provide easy-to-read comics in hardcover format with highly accessible content for children starting with Level 1 (First Comics for Brand New Readers) all the way through to Level 3 (Chapter-Book Comics For Advanced Beginners). This particular book, rated Level 1, will appeal to children as young as age 3 while geared for a reading level of K-1.

Originally published in French in 1988, this delightful story with its Alice in Wonderland-like fantastical plot line features a buoyant main character named Adele and her stuffed doll, Stuffy. Adele in Sand Land takes youngsters on an imaginative adventure spanning 48 colorful pages along with Adele and her charismatic cohorts Stuffy, Sandy and Masked Chicken. The action begins at her neighborhood sandbox, then inside a Sand Dragon, up to the top of the world, onto a dessert island (yes, that’s not a typo) with many other wondrous stops in-between, all before returning to the sandbox where Adele’s imagination first took flight.

Ponti wastes no time in introducing readers to a bevy of whimsical characters in the frames of the comics as the sandbox and everything around it begins to magically transform into a zany parallel universe where trees morph into birds, sand toys are caged inside a dragon and a rescued furball creature helps save the day. If you think that sounds inventive, there’s more! Ponti’s entertaining illustrations invite youngsters to explore every single image in every panel on every page because he’s managed to put such fun into every picture. Whether looking at people with “books and pots and pans to cover their heads,” a hot-dog tree or an enormous nosed Snack Man, readers won’t want to skip over a millimeter of artwork because you simply don’t know what unexpected treats you’ll find.

Prepare for numerous re-readings of this creative tale to experience the joyous journey that is Adele in Sand Land.