The purpose of junior fiction and junior graphic novels is to really get kids hooked into reading, and Gustav and Henri has all the required ingredients: a lot of fun, three different bite-sized adventures, and a bold, appealing hybrid graphic-novel design with plenty of entertaining little trimmings on the page.

The book’s first adventure takes readers to space, with friends Gustav and Henri travelling to the moon in a pig-shaped ship in search of a lost shuttlecock. The second adventure is a time-travel story: who hasn’t dreamed of accessing a time machine to help return an overdue library book? The third, final and perhaps most chaotic adventure is a festive mystery: Pig Day is the opposite of Christmas, and a missing, likely stolen, cake is jeopardising the celebrations!

The first in a series, Gustav and Henri will excite readers and make them look forward to more reading. Did I mention there are also riddles, activities and a recipe for victory nachos? Reading rules! For ages 6+.

Kim Gruschow is from Readings St Kilda