"Explorer: The Mystery Boxes" (Explorer #1) by Kazu Kibuishi

Rating: ★★★★★

When it comes to Kazu Kibuishi I have to read everything that he has written because I absolutely love his storytelling and his illustrations. I remember I bought Amulet when it first came out through my school and I had no clue about the book and yet I fell in love with the story. I did not know it was a series at the time and sold it years ago which I regret now but that is a whole different topic. I have always wanted to read this graphic novel but somehow something would get in my way from getting this book into my hands until now.

This library had this book recently and it was on my request list for a very long time but luckily this week it finally arrived and I was able to check it out. I did not know at the time that this was a collection of short stories but I figured that wasn't going to be problem because Kazu Kibuishi produces only the best especially Emily Carroll and countless others. 

Surprisingly I would say 90% of the writers and illustrators in these short stories I have never heard of their name or any works they have published and thanks to Kazu Kibuishi I desperately want to research their works and consume it asap. The illustrations on every story was phenomenal between the design and the use of colors and I will admit that Jason Caffoe illustrations is extremely similar to Kazu Kibuishi so I can definitely see them working together soon.

I believe what made me hooked into this graphic novel is how most of the stories incorporated elements of Supernatural, Sci-Fi, Horror and made it spooky for kids which I was not expecting and since tomorrow is Halloween this book felt perfectly for the occasion. I am not going to give any details about individuals stories because I believe some were spectacular than others but in the end they mashed up so well that it felt like I was reading this one big story with different characters and adventures.

Whatzit by Johane Matte brought out the inner devious kid that I am and made the character Deet completely relatable and the ending was absolutely perfect and I would have done the same exact thing. The Soldier's Daughter by Stuart Livingston left me confused about the messenger of the story and I wished that Spring Cleaning by Dave Roman & Raina Telgemeier could have been way longer and provide more details about the mysterious magical box and its past history.

If you are looking for a cute, sweet and short book to stuff your halloween cravings then I highly recommend this book and may it bring joy to you as much as it has done for me. Happy Halloween everyone!