Beatrice (Bea) lives with her grandfather in the land of Irpa. She helps her grandad make his potions
that he sells in their shop called the Salty Pig’s Tonics and Tinctures. Her grandad is well known for his medicines and is known far and wide as the Pig Wizard.
These days Gramps is a little forgetful, actually a lot so, tying string to his fingers as reminders and keeping a wall full of reminder notes.
Bea sets off one morning to gather supplies for Grandad from the nearby forest. She loves being surrounded by nature. Things don’t quite go to plan however, and she slips from a tree……. straight into the arms of a stranger.
This stranger called Cad claims to be a Galdurian, but everyone knows they are long gone from Irpa. He is keen to find the famous Pig Wizard to help him track down more of his race, and is pleasantly surprised to learn who Bea is. They set off back to Salty Pig’s Tonics and Tinctures.
Gramps is nowhere to be seen, leaving only a note to say he’s forgotten to check The Seal of the Restless Sleeper. Bea has never heard of it, and is worried about her grandfather’s state of mind. She, Cad and her cat Nimm set off to look for The Pig Wizard.
Rain, mud, small creatures, a triple-eyed witch, giant crabs and Cad’s endless happy-go-lucky she’ll-be-right attitude lead them into a quest to find a statue of a king, a stone bridge and a cursed temple.
Bea’s not so sure about this and they face even worse problems than before. She must fight her fears and keep going if they are ever going to find Gramps.
Little do they know, something evil is rising, and the entire land of Irpa is under threat.
This is Book 1 in a new graphic novel series. From the cover to the last page, each page is luscious with full colour illustrations of the character’s quest across the North Rim of the fantasy world of Irpa.
The Girl & the Galdurian made me gasp, cringe and laugh out loud. The contrast between goofy but fearless Cad, and over-thinking worrier Bea is entertaining and endearing as they become closer in their travels. Nimm (the cat) is funny too, in a way that only cats can be.
Listed on the following Children’s Literature picks:
Kirkus Best Books of 2020, Fall 2020 Indie Next List, Junior Library Guild Selection, 2021 Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List Selection
Absolutely loved it!
Author / Illustrator -Tim Probert
Age – 8+
Catch a glimpse of Tim Probert’s amazing illustration style here
Teachers – Check out Page 4 of this Reading Guide for a fun class graphic novel teaching guide.
Want to draw your own comics?
Look here to see the process of producing this amazing cover art.
(Scroll down page when in)
See the next in this exciting series (Click on the Cover)
(2021, HarperAlley, Graphic Novel, Quest, Fantasy, Monsters, Animals, Cat, Grandparent, Evil forces, Light against Dark, Humour, Funny, Courage, Action, Adventure, Series)