Adele in Sand Land

by Claude Ponti

Where can young readers experience boundless imagination? In the sandbox, of course, as they follow Adele on her discovery of a barefoot king, a cloud of fluffy chicks, and a dessert island (YUM!). With this wild playground adventure, it’s easy to see why star French cartoonist Claude Ponti is one of the world’s most beloved children’s book authors.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Childrens, Picture Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics, Juvenile

48 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 1988

About the author

Claude Ponti is a prolific author, painter, and illustrator, known for his humorous explorations of the nonsense world of dreams. His first picture book, Adele’s Album, was created to amuse his young daughter; he has since authored more than sixty children’s books. On a personal note, Claude says: "I’m left-handed; I prefer cats to dogs (they don’t lick people); and I’m not a vegetarian because I can’t stand the cry of the lettuce or the carrot wrenched from the earth." He also fondly remembers climbing trees as a young boy, looking for the best spot to sit and read a book. Claude Ponti currently divides his time between the French countryside (where there are many birds, such as pheasants) and Paris (where there are pigeons).

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you get if you crossed Yellow Submarine with Alice in Wonderland - this book! One of the most innovative and original books for children I have read in some time...the art is Winsor McCay(ish) and really reminded me of Little Nemo.

[Marissa Elera · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book repels me and actually makes me have a negative visceral reaction. While moments of the text are charming between the confusion, I simply cannot stomach the freakish, warped illustrations. If you like psychedelic stuff in the vein of the Yellow Submarine picture book, maybe you'll like it. I am a fan of many things whimsical and odd, but this is beyond my limits.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was originally published in French in 1988 and many could easily call it a picturebook. However, this time as an entry into Toon Books line of graphic novels it easily makes the cut.Presented in a variety of frames with narration (there are no speech bubbles), Ponti makes unique use of the frames.They start as single frames to a page then on to a two-page spread of single frames showing different parts of the same scene to several vertical frames per page showing action such as found in a filmstrip. It's a cute story and with its nonsensical fantastic world can easily be compared to "Alice in Wonderland".

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how bizarre and nonsensical this book was, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea. That being said, I think there will be quite a few kids who really enjoy the visual of a girl flying in a ship shaped like a man's nose, and that the story progressively gets more and more outrageous. I also think it would be a lot of fun to read to students when teaching about plot.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nightmare fuel.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the f....

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A realistic hectic playground scene becomes a flight of fantasy as bushes become birds, a stuffed doll comes to life and the little girl and her sand pail man get eaten by a sand dragon. More adventures ensue, with menacing adult fairy tale creatures and animated food. Adele makes it back by crawling out of a sand tunnel from Dessert Island back up to the playground to her mama. Detailed cartoons in ink and watercolors show a lot of action and movement, emphasized by the horizontal orientation of the book and the variations in cel size. Ponti's absurdist illustrations have such detail and whimsy that this kids could spend a long time contemplating.

Some of the adult creatures seemed a bit alarmingly menacing to me, though this is my sensibility and may not bother a child. Ponti could have added more diversity into the multitudes at the playground.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy (4.5) loves this book and would give it 5 stars. I love the whimsy but find the story line disjointed (I think this is intentional but it's hard to read) and the illustrations a little creepy, particularly the doll.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of visual puns. I get some of them from the French I know but I'd like to read the original Adele et la pèle (1988)

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

[Dylan Teut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm speechless. Crazy twists. This was like a crazy dream. I think kids will like it though.

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/young-re...

[Natalie Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right up there with Door, Ideas Are All Around, Chloe and the Lion, and In the Half Room. In other words, bizarre as all get-out. Alice in Wonderland's weirder, more entertaining cousin.

[Jessica Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why oh why is this a thing? The illustrations are like a children's book version of "The Garden of Earthly Delights". Inanimate objects freakishly become animate, there's a king that walks on his subjects' heads (which they use books to protect themselves from, and that ain't cool), a weird lamppost made of legs and feet, a flying nose that is trained to bring sweets to its owner...it's just really odd. The imagination aspect of it is endearing, but the illustrations just take it way too far. It's definitely a must-read just so you can stimulate your own imagination as to what kind of drugs Claude Ponti was on when he illustrated this.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playing in a sandbox is always lots of fun, and when Mama takes Adele to the park, she finds out just how much fun it can be after the sand shape she creates with her bucket comes to life and takes her on a sandy adventure. After encountering a king and some adorable furballs, Adele returns to her sandbox with her mother no wiser. In fact, she hasn't even realized where her daughter has been or that she's been gone. Since she's visited an island of desserts, she certainly has no need for any snacks. Not only did I enjoy the imaginative aspect of the story, but I like how the passage of time has been marked by the length of the scarf being knitted by the woman with whom her mother is chatting. Adorable hot dogs hanging from tree limbs and tongues that can be used as a form of sliding transportation--ugh!--add to this one's delights.

[Kari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I like trying to make a comic book for my daughters age group because she loves them I have a hard time with how abstract this book is, and she hasn't asked to read it again so I think she may have felt the same way.

[Geoff Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a book where young readers can experience a story using their boundless imagination. It’s a wild adventure which starts in a park and then goes on an Alice in Wonderland style adventure. Read more about it here https://www.anagregoryteaching.co.uk/...

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventures in sandbox surrealism.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

whimsical

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adele has a very vivid imagination in the sandbox on a visit to the park with her mother, almost nightmarish. But she returns and all is well.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like an acid trip for the primary set.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old time illustrations with an almost hallucinogenic plot, very reminiscent of some of the earliest Disney cartoons. An outing to the sandbox morphs into a 'through the looking glass' adventure.

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is pretty horrifying. Not inviting illustrations or narrative for most children.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weirdass book. If I was a kid it would give me nightmares.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adele goes to the beach with her mother, and ends up in sand land in this whimsical, tale of nonsense and adventure involving over the top scenarios. Silly fun.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl has a surreal adventure in the sandbox at a park.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much detail in the illustrations. Love a random, unhinged, old school vibe graphic novel!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very surrealistic in style and tone, so there is some arts integration potential here, however, the words feel very forced and pedantic for the style, it could have been better wordless to capture that dreamlike feel you can interpret in any way.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beginning reader graphic novel that takes the reader on a magical adventure.

[Amanda]

Oh that's nice, Monty Python made a graphic novel for small children