Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever! by Stephen McCranie - ADVISABLE

McCranie, Stephen.  Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever!  Philomel Books (Penguin) 2011.  $9.99. GRAPHIC NOVEL.  Language: G; Sexual Content: G; Violence: G.  Mal has a problem.  He is a kid genius who has invented gadgets like jet packs and time machines, but he really wants to just be a normal kid.  He doesn't want to be a dork because Megan doesn't like dorks, and he wants Megan to like him.  But before he can do anything, Mal needs to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up so he can write his essay.  Chad, his talking dog tries to help him, and they both end up in places they never thought they would be.    I liked this book.  It's only the second graphic novel I ever read, and it is second one I've reviewed for this site.  While this one was not quite as good as that other one, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And when it was over, my five year old son wanted to make sure that I'd give this a good review (he really liked it).  I think this book belongs on the shelf because it is quite enjoyable.  EL(K-3), EL - ADVISABLE.  Brent Smith, Reading Teacher