Oddly Normal

Book: Oddly Normal, Volume 1
Author/Illustrator: Otis Frampton
Audience: Grades 4-8
In a Nutshell: green-haired half-witch accidentally makes her parents disappear

Her first problem is her name: Oddly Normal. Her mother is a witch from the alternate world of Fignation, and her father is the most normal guy you could possibly imagine. Her green hair & pointy ears don't win her any friends at school, and she resents her blissfully unaware parents for raising her as a freak in the real world without realizing what an outcast she is. When her birthday wish is that her parents would just not be there, she is shocked the next morning to discover that they- and the house- are actually gone without a trace. Her aunt takes her to live in Fignation w/ the fictional, mythical and imaginary creatures. She meets some nice misfit friends, but most of the folks at her new school seem to have it out for her, starting with the English teacher. Turns out the story goes back to before she was born, to when her mother was young.

This graphic novel goes on my list of fun, clever all-ages comics that have enough humor and meat to them to appeal to teens as well as grade-schoolers. The highlight of that semi-theoretical list is Bone- that kind of graphic novel. This is the first of four parts, all available out there in Book-buying-and-borrowing Land.