OLIVIA WOLF AND THE TRIP THROUGH TIME

A young werewolf and her pals find themselves on yet another adventure—heading back in time to ancient Egypt.

Olivia and her friends, who reside in Monstrocity, a city populated by both humans and paranormal creatures, are excited for their school’s science fair. Mario the mummy shows up late and looking ill. After he faints, he’s brought to Dr. Jekyll, the school physician, who diagnoses him with Nile fever. No cure exists in modern times; he’ll have to travel back to the days of the pharaohs and gaze into the magical eye of a statue of the sun god Ra. Luckily, Vane, a brown-skinned “mad scientist,” has fashioned a time machine out of a tube slide for her science fair entry. So the friends journey back to ancient Egypt. The companions’ other science projects come in handy—literally. In one scene, Greta (a green-skinned Bride of Frankenstein–esque creature) uses a contraption comprised of several hands, designed to help with speed-reading, to plug the Sphinx’s ears. Translated from Spanish, this latest installment in the graphic novel series features illustrations with saturated colors and lots of action that keep the energy level high. Readers interested in ancient Egypt will appreciate a brief glimpse of Mario’s pyramid home back in Monstrocity as well as the dramatic antics of the ancient gods the kids meet on their trip back in time.

Friendship and innovative thinking win the day in this dynamic tale.