Babymouse Our Hero; Babymouse Queen of the World

HarperCollins launches its assault on the graphic novel market in Britain with a new departure: Babymouse, a cartoon character with appeal to pre-pubescent girls. <!--break-->In these American import titles, Babymouse suffers some of the usual angst of school life (States side anyway), in feeling not part of the in-crowd and having to face up to the rigours of dodge ball. She endures and triumphs by drawing on the wells of inner strength and true friendship, and by enjoying a full fantasy life, in which she imagines herself as the heroine of a variety of cinematic pastiches, from pioneer western to prison drama. The books are a chunky paperback size, mainly in bold black and white, but with significant touches of pink. The fantasy sequences are really pink, and a pink heart surrounds each page number; but the totally twee is kept at bay by the down to earth humour of the sister (author) and brother (illustrator) team and their appreciation of some of the real anxieties of school life. Could this be the female Captain Underpants? Perhaps. I can’t help hoping that Babymouse’s boyfriend, who’s a weasel, discovers his true nature soon. CB