Louie and Bear in the Land of Anything Goes is a hardbound graphic novel created for kids 8-12. The graphics are vividly colorful, with all sorts of interesting creatures to discover.

Louie and his pet hamster, Scooty, get sucked through a hole in his neighbor's yard that just happens to end up on a strange purple planet, where Louie finds himself transformed into a wrestler and Scooty into a giant bear. Almost immediately, they are chased by a terrifying monster and barely escape with the help of a chicken-headed boy called Cluck. They learn that there are dozens of other kids being held prisoner by a terrifying bully named Hairy Larry and that Louie has been prophesied as their savior. Personally he just wants to find a way home and can't understand why he should help out a bunch of kids whom he has never met before.

Scooty, on the other hand, has begun embracing his outer bear persona and decides that he should no longer be called Scooty but Bear. He does have one worry, even though he's never had one in his life; he has a sudden craving for a burrito and he's growing extremely hungry, yet not a single burrito can he find.

One of the interesting things they find along the way is that, whatever you were thinking about before you got pulled into the Land of Anything Goes, that is what you become when you get there.

When Scooty/Bear gets nabbed, Louie puts aside his indifference and takes up his mantle of savior to rescue not only Bear but all the other children wrongfully imprisoned. With the help of a few colorful characters, Louie storms the castle and confronts Hairy Larry head on. How things turn out, now that I'll leave for you to find out.

The story is full of imagination and adventure and takes us on a journey of self-discovery and friendship. Brady Smith did a wonderful job with both the story and the graphics and he makes this a very engaging graphic novel for YA's to enjoy. I look forward to delving into his next installment and can't wait to share this book with my eight-year-old grandson. I know he's going to get a big kick out of it! ~~ Dee Astell

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