Named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018.
“. . . utterly unputdownable. Based on Abouet’s childhood memories of growing up in the port town of Abidjan . . . the rapid-fire, action-packed tales are wild and antic. The colors are electric—purples, oranges, turquoises and bright yellows.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“An unforgettable, boundary-busting, falling-over-funny collection.”
—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[…] the collection reads like Dennis the Menace meets Pearls Before Swine, set in West Africa—and may appeal to fans of both. […] This volume fills a gap in children’s comics featuring African characters and settings. Highly recommended for middle grade graphic novel collections.”
—School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Sapin’s richly colored artwork complements Abouet’s tales, which bring to life universal aspects of childhood, illustrating the silliness, resourcefulness, and mishaps that are experienced all over the world.”
—Publishers Weekly
“While aspects of daily life in Côte d’Ivoire will be unfamiliar to many, Akissi’s antics will ring true to kids across the board.”
—Booklist
“The autobiographical element from Abouet is also crucial in that it offers a genuine quality to the stories, and having lived the life allows them to forgo any sentimentality. Instead Abouet imbues the stories with a sense of adventure that should speak loudly to so many American children reading it, possibly facing a cloistered, overbooked day-to-day existence. Akissi’s life must be a dream come true.”
—John Seven, The Beat
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