This is my first Emily Strange comic to read. I have seen the merchandise at toy stores and online before but I failed to realize it was a comic book series.
In this one Emily wants to win a guitar that belonged to one of her heroes. In order to win she has to play in a band contest with other people. Emily is not someone who works well with others. She finally comes around to working with a band and after a while they start to sound good and actually win the contest.
I think this book is a good lesson for kids. Everyone likes to do things their own way and learning to work as a team is very important. In school you work on projects but in real life you have a job and there are lots of other people that you have to work with. The comic format is easy and enjoyable for children and teens. I love that Emily is a female scientist. We see so much these days about gender stereotypes and this shows that girls can be good at science and math too. I also like that she is goth and not typically girly and pink, because not every female likes pink.
I loved the illustration style. The backgrounds enrich the story and don't distract from the characters. The fact that she is a major cat person is what first drew me to her. Most of the merchandise I see has a goth girl and a black cat both things I love.
Overall I think this is a good read for middle grades students. I can see more advanced upper elementary students also enjoying the series.
Available May 27, 2014.
