Review: The Secret of the Stone Frog By David Nytra

Toon Books forges ahead in comics and innovation for young readers with a fantasy graphic novel by Canadian writer/artist David Nytra that adds girth to the page count and depth to the concept in contrast to the company’s usual output.

Alan and Leah awaken in a mysterious forest where, beckoned by a talking frog statue, they begin a meandering journey back home that takes them through a Wonderland-like landscape that slowly unfolds to just the right level of surrealist nightmare for a little kid.

It’s a world populated by giant bees and bunnies and other strange animals, including some in powdered wigs, and as well as a population of Victorian-styled ocean monsters that add further strangeness.

Nytra’s adventure unfolds in a world that evokes Edward Gorey, with its looming shadows and intricate cross hatching, and hearkens to another time where the lands beyond your own experience were mysterious, imposing and invigorating. Revealing itself as a coming of age tale with a eye distinctly on the idea that childhood is a shared experience, as is the loss of it, Nytra’s book is perfect for intense little kids with a dark streak and the grown-ups who read to them.