Small Volcanoes

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew Graphic Novels #1

by Sarah Kinney, Stefan Petrucha, Stan Goldberg (Illustrations)

When Nancy decides to build a model of a volcano for her science project, best friends George (Georgia) Fayne and a gung-ho Bess Marvin arrive to help. But, the next day, their teacher Mrs. Ramirez opens the door to find all the volcanoes missing. Why are they missing? Is it an actual crime or a prank? And who did it? Nancy Drew, with the help of Bess and George, is on the case!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mystery, Childrens, Graphic Novels Comics

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2012

About the author

Sarah Kinney has written over 150 original Disney comics for Egmont Publishing. She now counts Mickey, Donald, and Goofy among the voices in her head. Sarah recently delighted her daughters by writing the Nancy Drew graphic novel series for Papercutz. Nancy Drew has that special quality Sarah yearns for -- she’s always right! Sarah has just finished scripting the animated feature Blaze of Glory for Santoon Productions.

A self-help junkie, Sarah looks forward to the day when she can write a book telling folks how to live their lives. Sarah lives in the coolest town ever, Amherst, MA - where she plans to stay forever.

Reviews

[One Code 431 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like the art style but the story was okay and the the jokes share between them was great enjoyed it a lot

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery takes a while to get going, but, once it does, it's good. Having legendary Archie cartoonist Stan Goldberg as the main artist is a plus!

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read one of Nancy Drew's graphic novels, but since I am enjoying The Clue Crew books, I decided to read Small Volcanoes. The story was similar to The Clue Crew stories and was enjoyable. While planning their science project, the Clue Crew becomes entangled in a mystery at their school. All of the science projects disappear, and the girls are suspected by their nemesis, Deidre.
The Clue Crew, with their characteristic resourcefulness and determination, manage to balance their science project and their sleuthing. Their collective efforts lead them to uncover the truth behind the 'crime.'
The story was cute and enjoyable, with little bits of sleuthing lessons —what's a fact? Who's a suspect?
Overall, I enjoyed the art, but sometimes, the bubbles for speech should have been a rectangle of narration.
I recommend it to fans of Nancy Drew.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew Graphic Novels series. We've read many of the books in the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew chapter books, so this was a natural transition. Our youngest read it right away and asked for the next one. So far there are only two in the series, so we may have to wait a bit for more.

The graphic novel format is entertaining and the story is short. Because it was a very fast read, I think I actually like it better than the chapter books, which can get awfully tedious. The illustrations are quite different from those by Macky Pamintuan, but they still evoke the characters our girls have come to love.

[Kay Prell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gripping for an adult -- and this is an age 8 Nancy (modern day elementary school setting and amazingly younger than she was in the 1930s with her roadster and boyfriend); again, not gripping, but I did enjoy watching J and A suck in the idea of an elementary school science fair -- and what could go wrong!! Researching the clue crew on goodreads, discovered a lot more titles than King County Library has. Not sure how to distinguish between the older teenage nancy graphic novels and the elementary school ones when going through catalog.

[Kate Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely adorable! Much like Supergirl In The 8th Grade, the new ND & the CC series is perfect to entice slow or difficult readers into engaging with stories that have a graphic component. I'd say the target audience is 4th to 6th grade. Good stuff, well executed, pays homage to the classic Nancy Drew books we all know and love.

[Julesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The graphics from this set of Nancy Drew graphic novels is so much superior than the anime/mange type from the other series by the same authors. I guess I'm still a young kid at heart when it comes to Nancy Drew. Too bad that this series has been discontinued after the 3rd book.

[Jocelyn Bystrom]

I grew up reading Nancy Drew as well as the Hardy Boys series of books, which I really enjoyed. My sister and I also had the Nancy Drew Mystery Game; which we played endlessly.

So recently as I challenged myself to read a wide variety of graphic novels picked up this book by Sarah Kinney.

Nancy Drew - a 'Detective in Training' and student at River Heights Elementary School is the main character.

Might appeal to grade 4-7 students, those who enjoy a good mystery and have a preference for graphic novels rather than the more traditional novel format. I have to say I enjoyed the graphic novel format and this light read, which kept me entertained and curious about how the mystery would unfold.

Curriculum connection - Science Fair projects, Inquiry projects, and specifically Volcanos

[Geordie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know I'm not the target audience, but, I've read other tween mysteries, and was never as disappointed as I was with this. Boring, with contrived suspense that doesn't actually add any excitement. Lame mystery that's solved by stumbling on to the solution. And three main characters who have no distinct characterization at all.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kinda bugs me that the GR-description says Nancy and Friends were building a volcano as their project. They were actually building a model of the Earth using different colored Legos to show the different layers.

[Sinead · Rating 2 out of 5]

read it to my little one she didn't really like it looked at the pictures and that she thought it was boring. Tbh i didn't like it either and i loved Nancy Drew as a kid and i was trying to get my one into them two. no joy :( got two star for the images

[The.Finnneessstt.Tytrice Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and I recommend it to all kids my age or younger!

[Alannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool and fun mysteries in a book

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty low stakes mystery

[TheCultureVulture]

Kind of a lame version of the Clue Crew. Don't think I'll seek out #2 in this series.

[Ricki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent middle grade mystery, but the artwork was uneven and the characters looked too old.

[Tom Varner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This new graphic novel series from publisher Papercutz turns back the clock and modernizes Nancy Drew and her friends by setting them in a modern setting as elementary school students. In this story, Nancy and the Clue Crew (her friends Bess Marvin & George Fayne) want to build a grand science project for the science fair. However, before their project can even be finished, all of the other projects at the school disappear and it's left to Nancy and the Clue Crew to figure out who did it. The illustrations are drawn in a style similar to comics such as "Archie." Graphic novels like this are usually aimed at younger boys. NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #1: SMALL VOLCANOES is aimed at young girls. The story isn't as interesting as the original Nancy Drew books, but it might inspire really young female readers to seek out the original series.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

super cute, good for any girl who is not very interested in reading. I read it with my 7 year old and she liked listening to it and looking at the pictures.

[Linda Trinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok juvenile graphic.

[The Brothers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Asher (7yo) read.