Zips and Eeloo Make Hummus

by Leila Boukarim

Overview

ALA​ 2024 Best Graphic Novel Award for Easy Readers In this hilarious and colorful graphic novel, readers will learn how to make hummus alongside the two alien friends. They'll clap and cheer as Zips and Eeloo look for a bowl (but get it confused with a bowling ball!), need to go to the grocery store for lemons, and eventually, make some super yummy hummus. This full-color graphic novel also includes a recipe for hummus in the back!
"Simple yet energetic dialogue by Boukarim (Hello Goodbye Little Island) combines with deliciously bright artwork from Lopez (LankyBox: Epic Adventure!), making the events of this goofy early reader graphic novel offering practically bounce off the page. It's a warm and madcap meditation on teamwork, patience, and new experiences told through a comestible escapade starring cartoonish pseudo-siblings finding common ground in their love for chickpea paste."  - Publisher's Weekly
"A mix of simple comedic ingredients with a few twists as garnish makes for a funny, fast read."​ - Kirkus Reviews
"Lopez's expressive, witty artwork is full of comedic, slapstick energy and really complements the characters and the overall story. In addition to the playful, inviting story, Zips and Eeloo actually follow some good directions, and a recipe at the end will give kids a chance to try it on their own. Delicious fun." - Booklist

"With a heaping splash of side-eye, a dash of alien confusion, and a whole lot of garbanzo beans, Boukarim and Lopez have created the perfect recipe for a hilarious adventure that readers are sure to devour!" - Tara J. Hannon, author of Birtle and the Purple Turtles

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524894467
Publisher:	Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	09/26/2025
Sold by:	OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	42 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	1 - 10 Years

About the Author

Leila Boukarim writes books for kids because they are the best kinds of books, and kids are the best kinds of people. She enjoys reading multiple books at once, daydreaming, spending time with friends, and sharing stories and food, preferably at the same time. When she's invited to a party, she always brings hummus and is now known as "the hummus lady," a title she wears with pride. Leila lives in Berlin, Germany with her husband, two kids, and cat/office mate, Dill. You can visit her at www.leilaboukarim.com
Alex Lopez was born in Sabadell, Spain. He started drawing when he was a kid, which inspired a love of creating comics and cartoons. With over fifteen years of working as an illustrator, he is often asked, "What is your secret?" His answer is simple—listening to music and eating chocolate!

Editorial Reviews

2023-11-18
An alien duo comically attempt to make hummus.

Zips is a tentacled, single-eyed orange extraterrestrial, while pal Eeloo is a cute childlike green creature with crab-pincer hands. Together, they host a self-styled cooking show in which they impart culinary wisdom based on their extensive knowledge of human food, garnered over the course of nearly one week on Earth. Overconfident Zips has come to the table ill-prepared. Realizing how interminably long the dried beans must soak leads to frustration. Managing the machinations of the mysterious food processor tests Zips’ dexterity. A missing ingredient requires a risky dash to the grocery store. When the aliens finally complete their concoction, readers will have learned a lot about both of them: Zips’ bombastic attitude belies a general lack of knowledge on all things human, while it turns out that Eeloo’s pincer hands have many useful applications in the kitchen. Their humorous quest mirrors a caregiver and child experimenting in the kitchen, a location where many readers may have experienced failure, persistence, and, hopefully, a final tasty victory. The structure of the comic is rather rigid, with pages generally composed of four panels of dialogue emphasizing the duo’s interplay, but the story is most exciting when they break beyond that, making messes and reacting to challenges with visual gags.

A mix of simple comedic ingredients with a few twists as garnish makes for a funny, fast read. (hummus recipe) (Graphic fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews