The Fire-Breathing Duckling by Frank Cammuso. TOON, 2025. 9781662665332. (Easy-To-Read Comics Level Two)
Cammuso (Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective, Otto’s Orange Day, Knights of the Lunch Table) has fun with an ugly duckling story about a “duckling” who is clearly not a duck. The animals are all cheerful and full of personality; the stand-out is the little blue bird, who helps the title character figure out what kind of duck he is .
All The Hulk Feels by Dan Santat. Abrams Fanfare, 2025. 9781419776137.
When scientist Bruce Banner gets angry, he turns into the Hulk. Hulk thinks Banner is mad for the wrong reasons. And Hulk wishes he could feel something other than anger. Santat’s drawings of the Hulk and a few Marvel villains are incredibly fun, as is the fact that this is an epistolary picture book — the text is mostly notes between Hulk and Banner.
Giant Baby! by Liz Rozenberg, illustrated by Eva Byrn. Marble Press, 2025. “9781958325247.
After his parents put him to bed, Ezra grows into a giant baby and heads out into the night. He towers over buildings! He uses real cars as toys! Will he make it back home before his parents find out he’s gone? I love Byrn’s drawings, particularly the cows at the end.