Me reí mucho, me entretuve mucho, disfruté mucho con esta historieta y todos sus absurdos. Me quedé con muchas ganas de seguir leyendo. ( )

This is book 1 in a new series, but I felt as though I were coming to the series on book 2 or 3. The main characters' relationships to each other and what led to them being in the hot air balloon in the first place aren't explained much or well. Two of the characters are siblings, but it's not the two you would assume are related, based on their appearances in the illustrations. I'm somewhat curious to find out all the answers, but I doubt I'll read any more of the series.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley. After I initially read & reviewed the book (above), I also received a paperback ARC from the publisher at ALA Midwinter 2016.

Update, Jan. '16: Now that I've met the illustrator, I'm a bit more inclined to read the rest of the series than I initially was in November, but my overall impression of the series hasn't changed. ( )

Cute adventure story based on an online game - it has a few laughs and lots of action. Will definitely find an audience. ( )

This is the first book in a new series called Poptropica. In this graphic novel, Mystery Of The Map, three children, Mya, Oliver and Jorge, are dropped off on a mysterious island that seems to be years in the past. They find dodo birds, sabre-toothed tigers and a viking ship. While running from the sabre-tooth, they find a type of fort inhabited by vikings. Meanwhile, the balloon operator is sneaking around looking for a map. How are they going to get off this island? Can they get back to the present? The kids end up being captured by the vikings until they get a chance to escape. The novel ends with the three of them escaping on the viking ship with the map. What is next in this series?

I have always loved graphic novels, especially if they get kids to read. This one is perfect for young readers who love a sense of adventure. I especially love the idea of history being introduced in this way. Hopefully this will tweak the interest in specific topics that children will search out other books and sources to read. This is a book that should be in school and public libraries. Teachers would love to have these books in their class libraries as well. I recommend this book to middle grade students.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Three kids are on a hot-air balloon tour...which suddenly gets a lot more exciting than they expected! Suddenly, their guide is flying them straight into a storm and the next thing they know they're on an island. But it's not just an ordinary island - there are a lot of strange things, not even counting the dodos. Like the Vikings. Lots and lots of Vikings. It will take all their skills (and a lot of snarky humor) to escape the various villains and get started on the adventure of a lifetime!

Poptropica is a kid-friendly gaming website where kids explore different islands and play games, hunt treasure, and follow various stories. You can play it for free and also purchase a membership that opens up additional islands and other perks. It's considered safe as the kids interact only through scripts and are unable to exchange personal information.

The online world is expanding into graphic novels which introduce three characters, Mya, Jorge, and Oliver, stranded in the islands of Poptropica. This first title sets up some information for the story - the islands, the map, the villains. It's funny and intriguing, even if you don't know any of the back story of Poptropica, and includes some diversity - despite the cover image, Oliver is not the central character, all three share roughly equal time.

Verdict: Brisk action, tidbits of historical information, cartoon-style illustrations, and a tie-in to a popular game - this has everything it needs to fly off the shelves.

ISBN: 9781419720673; Published 2016 by Amulet/Abrams; Borrowed from another library in my consortium