The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza by James Kochalka, 110 pp, RL 1.5

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The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza is the newest graphic novel for kids from the multi-talented James Kochalka. I reviewed Kolchalka's Dragon Puncher a couple of years ago when my youngest son was on the verge of being reading to move up from leveled readers but not ready for chapter books. We filled the gap, and had a really great time, reading graphic novels, most of which were TOON BOOKS. Kochalka's Dragon Puncher books were a great visit to the land of Absurdia. With The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza, Kochalka is back in fine form. And, what I love most about is books is that, just when it seems like the story is about to go off the deep end, Kochalka has a way of reigning it back in and wrapping things up quite nicely.



The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza will have a lot of familiar elements for young readers, starting with Super Backpack, a talking, battery charged backpack ready for adventure. The Glorkian Warrior, however, is more interested in his two feet...


When the phone rings, the Glorkian Warrior answers it and is surprised to hear someone ordering a pizza, with the strange topping of "pepperoni," no less. He determines that it is HIS DESTINY to deliver this pizza, because the destiny of a Glorkian Warrior is to help those in need! Fortunately, Glork's HYPER FRIDGE contains one and only one item: an almost whole pizza topped with clams and peanut butter. Glork races out the door to the Glorkian Super car, excited to make his delivery and fulfill his destiny. He promptly crashes, emerging from the wreckage with the steering wheel in hand, which he then adds to the pizza as a topping.

This does not thwart Glork, though. He continues on, encountering danger at every turn, from a giant Gonk that wants his pizza to a spaceship that wants the pizza. The pizza itself is laser-blasted and explosion baked along the way, with new toppings of tears and the "spicy spaceship ash" of an exploded foe added for "extra flavor," as Glork says. Along the way, Glork punches himself in the face over and over when he thinks he has lost the pizza and is adopted by an alien hatchling that insists on roosting on his head. When they reach their destination, the impenetrable fortress of the Magic Robot, things don't go so well. Happily, a well-timed joke, yet another explosion and disruption in space and time that makes for a hilarious ending. Kochalka has also created a game, available for iPads and iPhones, TRIALS OF GLORK! You can see the demo below. Reminds me a bit of the old school Atari game Space Invaders I used to play as a kid...






Source: Review Copy

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