Paranorthern and The Chaos Bunny of A-Hop-Calypse, a new release from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books’ Children’s Book Group takes us on an adventure in the supernatural town of North Haven.

Toronto Writer Stephanie Cooke (Oh My Gods, Oh My Gods II, Wayward Sisters: A Monstrous Anthology, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, etc) gives us the story of young Abby, who’s a witch. Her friends, a wolf-girl, a ghost, and a pumpkinhead are a diverse bunch of kids with kind hearts. But when Abby, helping out at her mother’s coffee shop, comes to the rescue of someone being bullied, she accidentally kicks off the invasion of bunnies. And not ordinary bunnies, as this is no ordinary story. No, these are chaos bunnies, who arrive by the hopping handful! What a fall break, and wow, does Abby need a lucky magic break in order to restore order to the chaos!

It’s made for middle school fun, from the delightful line drawings by Luso-Brazilian Mari Costa (Peritale, Life of Melody and The Well by the House on the Hill, etc) to the naturally flowing dialogue that is easy to follow and to engage in. The characters are each given their ‘moment in the spotlight’, as wacky situations force the young friends to work together. There are some well-handled learning experiences, plenty of off-the-cuff-banter, and a sense that this story may indeed be detailed and involved, but it is going somewhere.

Costa’s figures have great motion and emotion, and the colouring (flatting by Rebecca McConnell) gets spooky or ‘autumn gold’ whenever the situation warrants.

It’s a nicely packaged story that is bound to appeal to the age group.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Paranorthern and The Chaos Bunny of A-Hop-Calypse GN, $24.99 for 240 pages hardcover, Middle School age-appropriate

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!