Book Review: The Very First Amazing Adventure of Griswold & Christophe by Christian Bjone

The Very First Amazing Adventure of Griswold & Christophe by Christian Bjone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An entertaining retelling of the fairytale of Prince Gilgamesh.

The Very First Amazing Adventure of Griswold and Christophe by author-illustrator Christian Bjone introduces a new audience of children to the ancient Babylonian myth of Prince Gilgamesh. This fairytale retelling is whimsical and unique as it features a giant teddy bear and a toy soldier as the main characters.

After a disrupted toy parade leaves Griswold the Teddy Bear and Christophe the Toy Soldier completely alone, they naturally join together as friends for company and support. Hearing about the trouble at the Queen’s Castle, Christophe decides they must travel there to free the inhabitants from the Evil Ogre. Their journey commences, and they meet powerful and strange creatures along the way. They complete challenges to win the magic weapons they’ll need to defeat their foe.

The story unfolds through short paragraphs, colorful illustrations, and maps. Much of the narrative, while lyrical and vivid, may fly over the heads of struggling or reluctant readers and will require adult interpretation. I enjoyed Christophe’s focus on their ultimate mission and smiled over his reaction to Red Fox and his various kindnesses throughout the story. I laughed about Griswold’s constant and appealing interest in food and eating rather than almost anything else. The result of Christophe’s kindness and bravery came as a twist, as did the surprising cliffhanger ending, which is to be continued in a follow-up retelling of the story of Ulysses and his journey home from the Trojan War.

I recommend THE VERY FIRST AMAZING ADVENTURE OF GRISWOLD AND CHRISTOPHE for older, more advanced middle-grade readers and teens and for reading aloud to younger children.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.

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