Balloon Toons: Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors

Balloon Toons

by Ethan Long

With simple text and cartoon artwork, Balloon Toons are the the perfect way to engage and encourage new readers. Award-winning and up-and-coming cartoonists lend their inimitable and illustrative talents to entertaining stories kids will enjoy again and again.

Best-selling author/illustrator Ethan Long makes his Balloon Toons debut with the story of Rick & Rack, twofriends who embark on three hilarious (mis)adventures in the great outdoors.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 2010

About the author

Ethan Long is a popular, award-winning and internationally recognized children's book author and illustrator with over 70 children's books, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and an Emmy-nominated television series to his credit. Just about all of his awake time is spent writing stories, drawing pictures and spending time with his family. Since graduating from Ringling College of Art and Design in 1991, Ethan has never stopped evolving, challenging his creative approach with each new project while constantly honing his instantly identifiable style. Born and raised in Central Pennsylvania, his childhood memories serve as inspiration for many of his drawings and stories. He currently lives with his wife and three children in beautiful Orlando, Florida, USA and flip flops seamlessly between being a world famous children's book author and a stay-at-home dad.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this - reminded me of the old cartoons I use to watch on Saturday as a child!

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is designed with engaging cartoon art and simple words to attract and encourage new readers. Rick the Raccoon is your typical young kid who’s just not quite sure about the Great Outdoors. Fishing? It's boring. Hiking? It takes too much energy. But his friend Rack the Deer is determined to show him all the great things he loves: fishing, canoeing, and hiking. These friends remind me of classic pairs like Frog and Toad or George and Martha, bickering a bit but ultimately encouraging each other to try something new. The cartoon format will appeal to young kids, with bright colors, simple text in speech bubbles and silly humor.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining collection of short stories featuring two animal characters, Rick, a raccoon and Rack, a deer.

The narrative consists entirely of dialogue between the two friends and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish.

We discovered this book during a recent visit to our local library and our girls wanted to read it. They've really gotten into reading graphic novels this summer and we all like the format, especially for an independent read (I'm not a big fan of reading them aloud.)

The book is a very fast read and I would recommend it for beginning and reluctant readers. We all enjoyed the story and will look for more books like this at our local library.

[Laura (Amys) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick, a raccoon, and Rack, a deer, go one three short outdoor adventures. Rack seems extremely motivated to get out and do some adventurous things in the outdoors such as; fishing, canoeing and hiking. Rick doesn't seem as enthused and seems to always find something to complain about. They have funny little endings to each story that is sure to give young readers a chuckle.
This simple text would wonderful artwork is a perfect way to get new and young readers engaged in reading. It would also be an incredible story to introduce the writing trait, ideas. It's easy to follow along, provides three great stories that have straightforward ideas to bounce off of, and they are all smoothly aligned with one outdoor theme. This is such a cute book that I would love to use in a K-2 classroom.

[Brianna Lanier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about two best friends who go on three different adventures in the great outdoors.
Very cute and funny. The two unlikely friends keep you laughing.
An activity I would do: I would have the students think of a time when they had an adventure in the great outdoors. I would then have them choose how they want to create a replica.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

super cute, written in cartoon style rick and rack share funny adventures in the great outdoors. my kids love it.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and funny picture book about two friends, a moose and raccoon. Rick tries to persuade Rack to try new outdoor fun activities and Rack is a bit reluctant.

[Ashley Travers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous comic strip styled book to learn about some basic outdoor type activities.

[Stephen Twelker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great choice for young ones learning to read and tell stories. Our kiddio had us acting out the exploits of Rick and Rack for several months. Simple, innocent fun with two good friends.

[Meghan Nels · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect graphic novel for beginner readers. I now want to purchase all 15 Balloon Toons graphic novels for my library.

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

my 5 year old loved it and laughed out loud

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonne surprise !

[Brooke Beeson-King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect first graphic novels! This one was funny even to an adult.

[Matthew S. Zielinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

James loved having Lauren read this book to him.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rick the raccoon and Rack the deer are friends who have misadventures outdoors in this book! They try fishing and canoeing with not a lot of luck!

This is old school cartooning, and I loved it! My four year old son loved it too! I read it aloud and we’d discuss the frames.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rick and Rack are two friends of the same ilk as Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear and Boo Boo or Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie. Rick plays worried straight man to Rack's comedic harebrained schemes, resulting in a very cartoonish relationship, and scenarios that are humorous on a very child-like (perhaps even childish) level. Some of the punchlines are definitely groan-worthy, and I found myself expecting a laugh track at the end of the each of the book's segments. This is another great offering for new readers, and a great way to get them hooked on graphic novels early.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe kids will find this funny, but I found it awful. The book is made up of three different stories, all about Rick and Rack in the outdoors. But they're sort of weird. They don't follow a totally standard, cliched plot, but I think maybe they should. The characters sort of bumble along and you don't understand what the point of the story is, and then there's sort of a punch line, but it's weird and doesn't really feel like a punchline.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reader graphic novel - less vocab than Garfield but about the same humor level.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short cartoon stories about the adventures of two friends: a deer and a raccoon. The two friends try their hand at fishing, hiking, and canoeing. Simple and funny, great for beginning readers

[GRPLTeens Grand Rapids Public Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was pretty short but it was pretty funny when Rack told Rick not to stand in the canoe and he did anyways.

[Debby Baumgartner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Story of two friends, Raccoon and Deer, who have adventures in the woods. Told in graphic novel style for beginning readers.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was funny"--Sofia

[Ellie Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this book because although it lacks a typical picture book theme or message, it is a excellent way to introduce children to comics. The book is organized in three comic strips and children have a chance to learn how to read each one. I know when I was an elementary student, I had difficulty figuring out how the text bubbles are meant to be read. Not only does this story introduce children to comics, the illustrations are simple enough so that they could easily be duplicated by young artists. I believe this story would be a nice introduction on how to draw comic strips.