Mystery of the Map (Poptropica Series #1)

by Jack Chabert, Kory Merritt (Illustrator), Jeff Kinney (From an Idea by)

Overview

A New York Times bestseller based on a concept by Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, Mystery of the Map is the first book in Poptropica, a graphic novel adventure series by Jack Chabert and Kory Merritt.

Oliver, Mya, and Jorge take a ride in a hot-air balloon, only to crash-land on an unknown island filled with extinct animals and a horde of angry Vikings. Welcome to Poptropica, an uncharted group of islands whose existence is hidden from the rest of the world.

As the three friends embark on a perilous search for a way home, they quickly discover the shocking reason they were brought there—something that threatens the very existence of Poptropica and their ability to ever make it off the island!

“Mystery, action, and big laughs . . . this book’s got it all.” —Jeff Kinney

“Bright, animated colors and zippy cartoonlike action make for an easily accessible first offering that provides just enough exposition to hook young readers and keep them seeking out subsequent adventures. A peppily paced adventure yarn sure to delight fans of the franchise, both old and new.” —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419720673
Publisher:	Abrams Fanfare
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Series:	Poptropica , #1
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Jack Chabert is a game designer for Poptropica, the creator and author of Eerie Elementary, and, writing under a different name, the author of more than 25 titles including licensed books for Adventure Time, Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa, and Steven Universe. Chabert lives in New York with his wife.

Kory Merritt is the co-creator of Poptropica comics and the author/illustrator of the weekly comic strip Brockport, the online comic The Lost Side of Suburbia, and The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York. He lives in Spencerport, New York.


Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Awesome Friendly Kid series. He is a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book and has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England, where he and his wife own a bookstore named An Unlikely Story.

Editorial Reviews

"Based on the online role-playing game developed by the ever-popular Jeff Kinney, this new adventure
comic series gets off to a flying start... The lively art mirrors that on the website, featuring bold, colorful panels and characters with giant heads and expressive eyes. Fans of the online game will delight in reading a story about one of Poptropica’s many islands, and newcomers will have no trouble falling into this adventure."

Booklist

"Fans of the game will recognize the pop-eyed humans, the vibrant islands, and the quest-focused storylines, but even readers who have never heard Poptropica will get the fun right away... Both game buffs and newbies will likely find this the perfect amount of exposition and action, and they'll cheerfully await the next big adventure for this clever, unruly trio who face nose-picking Vikings and imminent peril with equal looks of dismay."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Bright, animated colors and zippy cartoonlike action make for an easily accessible first offering that provides just enough exposition to hook young readers and keep them seeking out subsequent adventures. A peppily paced adventure yarn sure to delight fans of the franchise, both old and new."
—Kirkus

"Based on the online role-playing game developed by the ever-popular Jeff Kinney, this new adventure
comic series gets off to a flying start... The lively art mirrors that on the website, featuring bold, colorful panels and characters with giant heads and expressive eyes. Fans of the online game will delight in reading a story about one of Poptropica’s many islands, and newcomers will have no trouble falling into this adventure."—Booklist

"Fans of the game will recognize the pop-eyed humans, the vibrant islands, and the quest-focused storylines, but even readers who have never heard Poptropica will get the fun right away... Both game buffs and newbies will likely find this the perfect amount of exposition and action, and they'll cheerfully await the next big adventure for this clever, unruly trio who face nose-picking Vikings and imminent peril with equal looks of dismay."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

"Based on the online role-playing game developed by the ever-popular Jeff Kinney, this new adventure
comic series gets off to a flying start... The lively art mirrors that on the website, featuring bold, colorful panels and characters with giant heads and expressive eyes. Fans of the online game will delight in reading a story about one of Poptropica’s many islands, and newcomers will have no trouble falling into this adventure."

Booklist

2015-12-08
Based on Poptropica, Jeff Kinney's (of Diary of a Wimpy Kid fame) online role-playing game, this graphic-novel spinoff envisions three friends who find themselves marooned on a mysterious island. One fateful day, Asian Mya, white Oliver, and Latino Jorge find their hot air balloon purposefully steered into a rough patch of weather by its rogue captain, Octavian. The group crash-lands on a strange jungle island, which they quickly learn is populated by odd and often dangerous beings and creatures, such as horn-helmeted Vikings and vicious saber-toothed tigers. The trio discovers that they are in possession of a magical map that follows their commands. However the inhabitants of the island—including the fearsome Viking leader Erik the Red—are hunting them, and Octavian, who was separated from them after the crash, wants his map back. Fans of the online game will immediately recognize the wide-eyed, minimally detailed characters and the lush island scenes of Poptropica, although those without any prior knowledge should be able to jump right in without any alienation. Bright, animated colors and zippy cartoonlike action make for an easily accessible first offering that provides just enough exposition to hook young readers and keep them seeking out subsequent adventures. A peppily paced adventure yarn sure to delight fans of the franchise, both old and new. (Graphic adventure/fantasy. 6-12)

Kirkus Reviews