Joey Fly Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Neil Numberman

Release Date: Available Now from Henry Holt & Co.

Source: School Library

Synopsis:

Have you ever had one of those moments? You know—you’re trying to find a stolen diamond pencil box for your beautiful butterfly customer, your mosquito witness won’t give you any information, and your clumsy scorpion assistant has just tampered with your only bit of evidence?

Joey Fly has those moments a lot. In fact, he’s probably having one right now. But that won’t stop him from solving the mystery in Creepy Crawly Crime, his fantastic first graphic novel!

I'm in a very graphic novelly kind of mood right now thanks to Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, so when I saw this on my library shelves, I just had to take it home and read it. First of all, the whole premise is just adorable. I love the idea of the bug city. It's great to get a bug's-eye view of life in a big city.

Secondly, I love the whole noir aspect of it. It was like watching a great old film....well, if that film were populated by bugs. The story is so much fun and makes you think of all those great detective novels. The mystery is good, too. I'm always on the lookout for kids and ya mysteries, and this is a wonderful addition to any collection.

The illustrations, by Neil Numberman, are outstanding. The color scheme is all very noiry blue, interspersed with scenes in other colors to indicate a new character or a flashback sequence. It's very well done and the color changes are great to indicate to kids that we are hearing things from a different point of view.

All in all, this is another fantastic graphic novel that would fit in perfectly with anyone's collection. Or it's a great way to start a graphic novel collection. I think this one is nominated for a Cybils award and I can totally see why. Can't wait for more from Joey Fly and the Bug City.