Colossal, Eric. Rutabaga the Adventure Chef (#1)March 31st 2015 by Amulet Books
Public library copy.
Rutabaga, who lives in a Anglo-Germanic medievalish world, travels around in search of adventure and exotic ingredients. There are few problems that arise which his concoctions can't fix, whether it's fighting dragons or getting the king's new pet to eat. There are lots of adventures to be had, including tagging along with a group of scary looking soldiers from Fnard who want to avenge their mother's death. Traveling with a kitchen on his back and a ready "Let's get cooking" on his lips, Rutabaga travels the realm and feeds his friends while saving the world.
Strengths: Elementary school students whose parents have let them play Runescape or (heaven forbid) watch The Lord of the Rings movies will like this graphic novel of medieval adventure. It's quirky, and the illustrations are in a style oddly reminiscent of Speed Racer. I can see Pokemon fans liking this one, too.
Weaknesses: I don't know how well this would go over in middle school. My Lord of the Rings fans are really, really serious kind of people, and my goofy graphic novel lovers don't care much for medieval fantasy.
What I really think: This was just... weird. I suppose dragon obsessed elementary school students would like this, and wouldn't necessarily be looking for actually recipes. A bit of a gross factor in most of Rutabaga's cooking, although there are modified recipes in the back.
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