The Racc Pack

The Racc Pack #1

by Stephanie Cooke, Whitney Gardner (Illustrator)

Live life in the trash lane with this first entry in a hilarious middle grade graphic novel series about a family of sneaky raccoons from graphic novel superstars Stephanie Cooke and Whitney Gardner!

Meet the Bin family, a trio of raccoons in the risky business of dumpster diving for all their needs. With Dusty’s brains, ReRe’s muscle, and Scraps’s gadgets (please don’t tell him he’s almost definitely an opossum), the Binses are determined to leave no garbage bin unturned in their pursuit of the tastiest, most delicious trash they can find.

When the family discovers a new upscale grocery store that’s throwing away their perfectly good food at the end of each day, the Binses hatch a heist so daring it’ll have them rolling in garbage all winter long. But a critter-despising CEO, Jeff Beans, and the high-tech defense system he’s installed means liberating that trash is going to take all the skills the Racc Pack have…and maybe some help from a cat burglar with a mysterious past.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Animals, Comics, Fantasy, Childrens, Canada

184 pages, ebook

First published January 23, 2024

About the author

Stephanie is a writer based out of Toronto, Canada. Some of her graphic novels include ParaNorthern, Oh My Gods, and The Racc Pack. She's additionally worked on titles such as My Little Pony, Cat Ninja, Archie Comics, and more. She’s an avid reader, gamer, movie watcher, and pun connoisseur. She can often be found curled up with her snuggly cat…that she happens to be very allergic to.

Her debut young adult graphic novel, Pillow Talk, is out now. Find out more about her at stephaniecooke.ca.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this took me so long to read, but it was absolutely and completely hilarious.

The Racc Pack follows 2 raccoons and a possum that thinks he's a raccoon and their adventures in attempting to steal trash from a local restaurant. The trash has a plethora of food which the racoons can use for the winter. What starts off as a seemingly easy job becomes something of a high tech espionage whirlwind of fun. The pacing of this was great, the characters were fun, and the story literally provided me with laugh out loud moments. Stephanie Cooke did an amazing job with the artwork giving each one of the animals anthropomorphic features. I'm not sure if this is a stand alone, but I wouldn't mind getting more of these characters in the future.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Raccoon siblings make an elaborate plan to steal a dumpster full of food waste behind an upscale grocery store.

It's almost charming, but it just made me realize I'd rather be watching We Bare Bears. ("Ice Bear bought these legally.")

I became aware of this from a list of 10 Exciting New Graphic Novels From 2024 (So Far). Hopefully the other books on the list work better for me.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun book!

I loved every member of this raccoon family, the story was well-described, the illustrations are colorful and the action is packed!

I can’t wait for my daughter to read it!

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for the advance copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a hilarious new middle-grade graphic novel, look no further than Volume 1 of The Racc Pack #gifted @simonkids #simonkidscrew. This whimsical tale introduces readers to the Bin family, a trio of raccoons on a daring dumpster-diving adventure for all their needs. With Dusty's brains, ReRe's muscle, and Scraps's gadgetry (despite suspicions of being an opossum), the Bins are on a mission to explore every garbage bin in their pursuit of the tastiest, most delicious trash they can find.

The story takes an exciting turn when the family discovers an upscale grocery store discarding perfectly good food at the end of each day. Determined to make the most of this golden opportunity, the Bins hatch a heist so daring it promises to keep them rolling in garbage all winter long. However, their plans face challenges from a critter-despising CEO named Jeff Beans and the high-tech defense system he's installed. Liberating that trash will require all the skills the Racc Pack possesses, and perhaps even some unexpected help from a mysterious cat burglar with a hidden past.

The Racc Pack not only delivers an entertaining and humorous storyline but also explores the dynamics that make a family. From Dusty's cleverness to ReRe's strength and Scraps's quirky gadgetry, each character contributes to the family's unique charm. The graphic novel is filled with delightful illustrations that capture the essence of the characters and their escapades.

This middle-grade graphic novel keeps young minds engaged from cover to cover, offering a perfect blend of adventure, humor, and heart.

[Julio Anta · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I had SO MUCH FUN with this book! It's super cute and handles the social topics surrounding food waste so well. I can't recommend Racc Pack enough!

[Paige (pagebypaigebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Here comes the Bins family to steal your heart and trash!”

I'd like to thank Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I've also posted this review on Instagram and my blog.

Instagram Post

Blog Post

This was so much fun! The humour in this book was great and definitely left me smiling. I'm Canadian and love that this was set in Toronto. There were so many cute jokes like how a coffee shop was named Tom Mortons instead of Tim Hortons 😂. Dusty, ReRe, and Scraps were each interesting in their own way and I loved how they each used their strengths to help with the heist. The other side characters were also very fun and I enjoyed how we got to see more of the animal community come together in the end. The illustrations were detailed and expressive and were a lot of fun to look at. The ending left an opening for a second volume which I'd love to read. I think this would be a great read for middle grade audiences who are trying to get more into reading, but I also think older readers would enjoy it as well! Plus who doesn't love raccoons? (And maybe an opossum 🤫)

[Tara Sypien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read aloud with my son that we both enjoyed. It's what you get if Over the Hedge and Bolt had a baby.

[Lauren | Wordsbetweenlines · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I like it because there is a worker and its name is my dad’s name. And because he puts a glove on his head. I liked how the Raccoons eat garbage and how they made friends with a cat. I like it because the white raccoon falls into a garbage can.”

We heard MANY giggles from my eight year old while he read this one. It was the perfect read for him.

[KD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly. Fun. Simple. Just what I needed this last week. Plus, raccoons!!

[Wendelle]

This is the comic book I have been waiting for, it is an ode to the life of Toronto's clever, mischievous, curious, trash-loving mascots, the raccoons. In this graphic novel they overcome the challenges of the new design of the lock of the compost bin, and also plot to infiltrate a food area.

[Brittney Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family read aloud that has my 5 year old requesting the next book… sorry girl this is an early copy of the first, we need to wait a bit…

🦝🐈‍⬛🗑️

This book reached the core audience as well as mine. We enjoyed hanging with the Racc Pack…possibly an opossum and the star of the show for me JB! I love that this book is centered around food waste, which is a topic that is recognized by all ages in our house and I’m so glad it highlighted what I preach.

So excited to see what Cooke and Gardner create next they are a true dynamic duo and have fans over here in the PNW!

Thank you Simon Kids 📖

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...

[Deke Moulton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a lot of things worked for me with this one. First of all, it was really bizarre that these two raccoons and a possum live in a house (who are they paying rent to? Did they buy it? Is there like an animal neighborhood somewhere in the human city of Toronto that animals are OK living in? They have bedrooms and they have furniture… Where did they get any of that stuff? ) and wear human clothes, yet otherwise are treated like real life raccoons and possums…

It’s just always bizarre to me in worlds where animals can talk, have culture, wear clothes, etc. that they are still treated like every day Animals. Do any of the humans wonder why raccoons live in a house? Or why all of these animals wear clothes?

Even the cat character, who is a pet, wears a tracksuit. And in a strange way that I feel like shouldn’t be so unsettling, but it was for me, is that the characters bodies behave in a human way when they sit, kneel, stand…. Like it is like having a miniature 1 foot tall human being wearing a tracksuit in a house being treated like a pet and there was just some really uncanny Valley stuff going on in my head.

But I think the biggest issue I had was that there was I felt like a very big missed opportunity to talk about food waste that never really materialized. In the beginning, the raccoon family finds a overflowing dumpster full of “weird looking food” that the store throws away because it will prevent people from buying produce to see a weirdly shaped vegetable sitting next to it.”

Instead of there being a larger conversation about food, waste (seeing that that would be at odds with the protagonists wanting full dumpsters of food) just randomly at the end of the book there is a newspaper headline saying that the wasteful practices of the random store has come to light. And that’s it. As humans we want to see issues of food waste being addressed, but the Animal protagonists of the book don’t want to see food waste addressed, so it just really came off in a very strange way that did not feel satisfying.

Also, really peeved that the “evil store owner“ is portrayed as being evil because the previous store owners just left the cat behind, and wrote a note saying please take care of our cat and apparently it is evil to take that cat to the shelter. Sorry but demanding that a stranger take care of your pet for you Like isn’t evil? Just expecting random people to take care of an animal just because you ask nicely in a letter? Like do we not realize that we can’t demand strangers take on responsibilities they didn’t ask for? And that someone having a boundary that they are not gonna take care of an animal they didn’t ask to take care of isn’t the epitome of evil? Like, we can all love animals and still not demand that just because we want someone to do something for us we can’t force them to do it without them consenting? Like that was so bizarre to me.

And on a further note, it just felt like the animals were meant to be standings for the ostracized people in society, but the conversations the human characters had about them were just kind of bizarre. Apparently people don’t want raccoons in their trash because we all hate raccoons and want them expelled from society… Instead of concerns of having animals overly dependent upon human garbage for their sole sustenance?? or posing legitimately valid threats to human safety, I mean, there’s a reason why you can’t feed bears at national parks anymore… To say nothing of rabies. but again, I’m pretty sure the raccoons are meant to be standings for other people in society, however, trying to align every issue people have with raccoons with real life human communities just makes a lot of the conversation pieces fall flat.

And why does the possum character keep thinking that he is a raccoon?

And like full disclosure, I used to be part of the dumpster diving scene, and while on a superficial glance, it seems very much like a valid subculture that has turned its back on society it is truly 100% dependent upon the excesses of capitalism. You literally cannot live out of a dumpster unless you support a system that fully encourages wasteful habits, like throwing out weird fruit. And this story seems to want to be against capitalism, but subtly has to rely upon gross negligence and waste in order for its protagonists to be happy. And subtle encouragement of wasteful culture is just not where I’m gonna be at.

[Paige V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review from my little sister (11yo):

Dusty, ReRe, and Scraps are a group of raccoons known as the Racc Pack. They survive by searching for food in the dumpsters every night. However, the townspeople don't appreciate their scavenging and are finding ways to keep them out of their garbage. One day, the Racc Pack discovers a dumpster with enough food to last them through the winter, but the store owner in front of the dumpster is doing everything possible to keep the raccoons away. The Racc Pack enlists the help of their friend JB to use their creativity to get to the dumpster and find food for the winter.

I must say it out loud - I am head-over-heels in love with RACCOONS! They're just the cutest, funniest, and most adorable creatures ever, second only to cats, of course. And guess what? My parents call me Raccoon because I've got these super cool raccoon PJs that I can't get enough of, even if they do smell a little funky sometimes.

Anyway, I recently read this fantastic book called "The Racc Pack," which has everything a raccoon-lover could ever dream of. There's a cat called JB (yes, a cat!), and her story is heart-wrenching. The raccoons in the book are so unique and work together in such a great way that it's hard not to fall in love with them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves raccoons and wants to read about teamwork. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down!

Happy Reading, Laly ❤️ 📚

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scavenging for food every night is wearing on the raccoons. When they find a dumpster filled....overflowing with discarded food they want it but don't know how to move a huge dumpster. Luckily, JB shows up. This cat has ideas and a grudge against the owner of the dumpster, Jeff Beans. As Beans adds more and more security to keep the racc pack out JB works on finding a way in. JB thinks of a sneaky way to get into Beans' house nosing around looking for clues to help beat the security. Meanwhile Scraps is building something to distract Beans. Working together is the only way to get the food they need but can they beat Jeff Beans? I was rooting for them.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heists, heart, and lots of humour--The Racc Pack series is the perfect recommendation for kids who love books like "The Bad Guys" and "InvestiGators". It's a bit tamer and sweeter than the aforementioned series, but "the Racc Pack" is still very fun. I enjoyed the possum who insists that he is a raccoon whose tail fur just hasn't grown in yet. Any minute now!

It wasn't quite a five star read for me, but I think it could definitely be a five star read for kids who enjoy silly graphic novel adventures. Plus, it's Canadian! 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Stephanie Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE RACC PACK is a project that both Whitney and myself approached with lots of love and enthusiasm. Both for the heist genre as well as majestic trash creatures...creatures who are simply just doing their best. I hope that you love the Bins Family as much as we loved bringing them to life.

I promise to not be on this page, following reviews and what not—this is a safe space for y'all—but again, I hope this brings you some joy and hopefully some laughs! <3

[Samantha Puc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This colorful romp of a heist seems straightforward on the surface, but it digs into food waste, "ugly" food, the plight of bodega cats and neighborhood strays, the importance of found family, and more. It's absolutely absurd and incredibly sharp. I loved reading this and I think Cooke and Gardner are the perfect creative duo to tackle the nuance of this story without losing sight of their core audience.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was cute! Screened reading it to see if my 7 year old daughter would like it. I think she would. We took a trip to Toronto last summer and I think she would get a kick out of the storyline and the setting. Drawings are cute and the story is pretty easy to follow. A raccoon heist, what more could you ask for?

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unconventional raccoon family plots a heist with a mysterious new friend that could ensure them a scavenge-free winter--if they don't get caught.

A fun light read with some mild commentary about guys waste (and also maybe gentrification?) The chosen family dynamic and the heist narrative reminds me a little of The Bad Guys and would probably appeal to the same crowd.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (I liked it)

This was cute. It made me feel kind of bad for raccoons and other wild animals who try to get into trash bins. I really thought more was going to be said about the wasted food.

I think it's a decent book and I would consider purchasing for my school library but I would not include it on the BES list.

[Neil Wick · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, it was good, but nothing fantastic. On the other hand, the target reader for this graphic novel is ages 7 to 10. Two raccoons and a possum who thinks he's a raccoon get together with an unexpected ally in a plot to steal a dumpster full of perfectly good food that has been thrown away. The lessons about food waste and the familiar Toronto landscape made this worth reading.

[Mat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Racc Pac has an overflowing dumpster's worth of things to love about it! Cooke and Gardner's storytelling sensibilities are a perfect match. So many laughs, so much heart, and at its core, a really fun heist! Plus, there's a massively important message about food waste. I highly recommend it!

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute funny and easy to read. A great intro to graphic novels for the early reader. A way to open topics with children about food waste, and a fun way to look at the critters who would love to have this feast.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly comic series with a loose environmental message. The heist-y plot and kid friendly jokes makes this an appealing option for younger middle grade readers looking for something quick and plot heavy.

[Kaelyn H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

Such a fun enjoyable read. I absolutely adore Whitney's illustrations throughout this read! She always creates the cutest characters and the most silly villains. I also love that this is just an entertaining heist book that all ages can enjoy!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute grade school graphic novel. Only took me about 15 minutes to page though the story so it’s written at a good level for the right age kid. 8 or so I’d think give or take depending on the kid.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and super cute! Loved the joke of Jeff Beans

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

spotted this new at work and snatched it up because i'll read most anything featuring a possum (sorry, a sparsely furred raccoon....). a very entertaining middle grade read and pretty funny, as well

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! 10/10 no notes

[HaileyAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trio of raccoons (Scraps is definitely not a possum) plot a heist to take down a mean business owner who wastes too much food.
What more could you want in a book?