OH, WHAT A SHOW!

Two anthropomorphic cupcakes participate in a talent show.

In their third outing—following A Fun Day at Fun Park (2021) and A Cool Day at the Pool (2022)—Sprinkles and Swirls take the bus from their bakery to a talent show at the park. Swirls signs up right away, but Sprinkles insists they don’t have a talent. Swirls encourages Sprinkles to try a few things—the two of them even help build the stage—but Sprinkles repeats that they don’t have a talent. Swirls advises, “You have talent. Just follow your heart.” Sprinkles agrees to help Swirls practice dancing and then signs up to be their dance partner. The first spread is a helpful guide on reading a graphic novel, in which Sprinkles and Swirls explain speech and thought bubbles and how panels flow. There are only one or two panels per page, and the language is simple, with short sentences and no contractions. Cutesy and high-energy and featuring simple illustrations with bright colors and lots of stars and hearts in the background, this story of one friend encouraging another is more sugar than substance, though it’s just the thing for those new to the format. Sprinkles’ body is brown, with darker brown hair/frosting resembling Afro puffs; Swirls’ body is pinkish-tan, with brighter pink hair/frosting with a cherry on top.

Fun, easy fare to help graphic-novel readers build their skills en route to more exciting fare.