'Animal Jack 1: The Heart of the Forest' by Kid Toussaint with art by Miss Prickly is a graphic novel about a young boy who can change in to any animal.

Jack is a kid who doesn't speak, but he can turn himself into any animal. When the kids around him start disappearing, Jack's morphing may come in handy to find them.

This is not a bad read for younger readers and the art is really good. There is an ecological message that fits nice with the story and Jack is a fun character.

A protagonist who doesn't speak is certainly a challenge. There are two ways to handle it: give him a very expressive face and body or give him a sidekick that essentially narrates events. This book takes the latter approach. This is probably easier for a young audience to understand but tends to make the panels a bit cluttered. The art is actually pretty expressive already so we could probably do with a bit less dialogue. The message is a bit heavy handed.

Jack is a kid who can turn into any animal and no one else in town is surprised by this... or by the forest spirits who appear in this otherwise normal version of the world. I felt lost through most of this without a reason why Jack had these powers and no one cared. Even though the story was meant for children the storytelling was hackneyed and jittery. Often not making sense other than browbeating the reader with an environmental message. The art was quite good.

A comic I thought would be really cheesy and childish, but actually won me over, and quickly, with some great design and some really clever beats. Jack is a child who is friends with all the animals – because he can turn into every one, POOFing in a cloud of purple smoke from an elephant to a Tasmanian devil to a fly as and when he feels like it. He can even communicate his feelings this way, which is good as he never seems to speak. He lives on the edge of a forest that's being denuded of all its trees, but those aren't the only things disappearing – slowly but surely all his school mates are vanishing, and it isn't the flu bug that the parents are quick to accuse…

There is stuff here about the problems of the modern phone-obsessed adult in talking to their child, there is definitely an eco message, and of course the all-enveloping mystery, but there is also much more. I really liked the clever wordplay from the opening montage of the walk to school – the words and the animal transformations totally work together as a graphic narrative (especially considering this is a translated piece). I think questions must remain about the lad's bug companion, who does all his vocalising for him – and drops a few factoids about the relevant animals when Jack becomes them – but the nature of this bizarre entity aside, this is definitely a welcome change to the usual garishly-presented and inane comics for this age bracket.

The theme of Animal Jack (such as it was) jumped around from page to page. Was it about friendship, nature, the adventures of an inexplicably magical boy who, without warning, suddenly had a friendly bug to speak for him
(and which he later ate)? It was all of these and none.

My thanks to Europe Comics for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Animal Jack 1. The Heart of the Forest’ in exchange for an honest review. It was written by Kid Toussaint and art by Missy Prickly. It was translated from the French by Montana Kane.

Jack is a typical school boy except for the fact that he never speaks, is followed everywhere by a flying bug (who does speak) and can turn into any animal he wants. His classmates, teachers and parents seem to take all this in stride, even taking him for granted.

When the children of the town go missing Jack enters the forest in order to use his gift to find them.

This was so wonderful and I adored it. My heart was touched by Jack’s story. The artwork was lovely and the story enchanting. The ecological message about the importance of trees and the forest was well presented for a young readership. I loved the inclusion of dryads.

One that I will be recommending to my friends with children as well as those who enjoy whimsical tales.

I am really hoping that Volume 2 will be coming soon.

Adorable, fun and original. Nice storyline, not too jumpy or slow. Also love the animal facts, too cute!

I've never read a children's book with a comic style story telling but my son and I loved this! He loved the imagery and the ability to use different voices for each character and point out each animal. My son is also a Jack and loved the story that he could relate to. We loved this book and cannot wait to own a physical copy to read at bedtime. Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for this advanced copy.

Loved it! Specially that at the end you still don't know what exactly Jack is, and that he didn't magically started to have a voice. It is a bit of a dream come true, but since it's a children's story, it can't end up bad, so I will accept that as part of the age group thing.
I will certainly advise people I know to read it.
It's just a bit of a pitty that it's only digital. I'm quite sure I might be able to sell some in the store I work at.

My kid loved this! Was an interesting topic and liked the layout/ style. Kept everyone engaged throughout. Post will be up on blog soon

A well illustrated book that kept a roomful of children entertained for an afternoon. We read together then they assumed the identities of Jack and his friends, some animal, some human. Then we read it again and they switched. Over all, we built some very good memories and found a good book for them all to enjoy. Any book that encourages a child's imagination the way this one did is a good one.

This graphic novel has a really interesting main character. Unfortunately, the story is juvenile and the resolution to the main conflict is facile and extremely unrealistic. The book also somewhat excuses and justifies the kidnapping of children, which is more than a little creepy.

Jack is a kid who can transform into any animal he wants. He doesn't speak, but his part in the story is narrated by this little bug creature who's his constant companion. I don't know why Jack doesn't speak, and it kind of brings up more questions. (He's not autistic or anything like that, and it's not that he can't speak--because he does at one point in the story. He appears to have a form of mutism, and its cause is never addressed. If a child is choosing not to speak, that's kind of a red flag!)

The basic story is that the kids in town start disappearing. Eventually, Jack's the only one left in his class. He goes in search of the other kids and eventually finds them living in a forested utopia in the woods, having all been kidnapped by a djinn. Then we find out that the mayor is trying to build a road and some parking lots and wants to destroy the forest to do it. The mayor is over-the-top unbelievable. "This forest is useless!" he screams while waving his arms and dancing around.

It's at this point that the forest creatures explain why they took the kids (basically, as ransom for the forest) and Jack gives a speech that turns everyone into raging environmentalists. The forest is saved, the mayor turns the forest into a park, and all the animals live happily ever after.

But then Jack and his friend see some random red eyes in the sky, and it's "to be continued..." Part of the problem with this--and it's something I felt while reading the whole book--is that it feels like I should know what this is all about. From the very beginning, it feels like you've been dropped into the middle of a story that's been running for a while. We don't know why Jack can do what he does, or why nobody thinks anything of his weird talent, and we don't know much about the preexisting relationships. Is Malek really Jack's friend? What's the deal with Gladys? Are they more than friends (even after he pees on his own tail in front of her)?

The illustrations are cute and the variety of animals that Jack turns into is impressive, but the story is so weak in this one that it kind of ruined my enjoyment. For very young kids, it might be okay. But for anyone a little bit older, the resolution is just too easy and unrealistic and probably won't ring true.