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Кролли
Потерявшись в лесу во время загородной поездки, маленькая плюшевая медведица Салли отчаянно пытается найти дорогу домой. Во время своих опасных странствий она набредает на местечко под названием Кролльтон, где живут очень странные, ни на кого не похожие, но в общем-то добрые существа. Получив от новых знакомых обещание вывести ее к шоссе, Салли благодарит их за помощь, но тут же узнает, что на самом деле помощь нужна им.
Об авторе. Профессиональная карьера Роберта Гудина очень разнообразна. Он зарабатывает на жизнь, трудясь в сфере анимации. Ему довелось участвовать в создании таких популярных мультфильмов и аниме-сериалов, как "Дакмен", "Дикая семейка Торнберри", "Как говорит Джинджер", а в данный момент он работает над сериалом "Американский папаша"… По вечерам и в выходные дни он предается своей страсти - созданию комиксов. Среди его бесподобных творений в этой сфере есть такие, как "Человек, который любил груди" и "Бинибус Барнабус"… Также он пишет рассказы, публиковавшиеся в антологиях Mome, Project: Romantic и Bile Noire… Иногда он рисует иллюстрации для толстых журналов вроде McSweeney's Quartely Concern и Criterion Collection. Он живет в Лос-Анджелесе со своей женой Джорджиной и воспитывает двух собак - Иджет и Тостера.
Об авторе. Профессиональная карьера Роберта Гудина очень разнообразна. Он зарабатывает на жизнь, трудясь в сфере анимации. Ему довелось участвовать в создании таких популярных мультфильмов и аниме-сериалов, как "Дакмен", "Дикая семейка Торнберри", "Как говорит Джинджер", а в данный момент он работает над сериалом "Американский папаша"… По вечерам и в выходные дни он предается своей страсти - созданию комиксов. Среди его бесподобных творений в этой сфере есть такие, как "Человек, который любил груди" и "Бинибус Барнабус"… Также он пишет рассказы, публиковавшиеся в антологиях Mome, Project: Romantic и Bile Noire… Иногда он рисует иллюстрации для толстых журналов вроде McSweeney's Quartely Concern и Criterion Collection. Он живет в Лос-Анджелесе со своей женой Джорджиной и воспитывает двух собак - Иджет и Тостера.
60 pages, Hardcover
First published April 8, 2015
About the author
Robert Goodin
20 books6 followers By day, Robert Goodin works in the animation industry (American Dad, Rugrats). By night, and on lunch breaks, he’s a comics artist/illustrator whose work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Mome, and Project: Romantic. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Georgene.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
June 18, 2020
thank you to greg for buying me a book!! and such a fun, cute, weird book!!
the illustrations are wonderful:
and i loved the story as well.
sally the bear is owned by a real pill of a child
who throws her out of the car window and into the mud while tantruming
where she is captured by this giant bird!
she escapes using the "hit with stick" method
but then falls into MORE mud and is nearly captured by ANOTHER creature.
but no means no
and if no doesn't work, grab a rock.
sally is prevented from braining that puppy by a bizarre assortment of creatures.
a greaser unicorn named hank
pentapus the … pentapus. who changes colors and has a neat hat
and phineas who is maybe a scarecrow? or is maybe just a guy with a scarecrow hat and a triangle nose. it doesn't really matter.
sally wants to go back home (although why is beyond me), but this little group is having their own problem right now. they promise to help her out after their crisis is averted, and off they go to their home.
and that's where i stop telling you anything about the story, because it needs to be seen by your own two eyes. or one, if you've had an accident.
it's definitely not something i have ever encountered in a graphic novel before, and the solution to the problem cracked me up and was, as miriam notes, trippy.
one thing to note:
no, kid - THIS is how voice your desire for a giraffe without having a tantrum over it, jenny lawson-style
a wonderful present, and a super-fun book. i would love more adventures in this world.
come to my blog!
the illustrations are wonderful:
and i loved the story as well.
sally the bear is owned by a real pill of a child
who throws her out of the car window and into the mud while tantruming
where she is captured by this giant bird!
she escapes using the "hit with stick" method
but then falls into MORE mud and is nearly captured by ANOTHER creature.
but no means no
and if no doesn't work, grab a rock.
sally is prevented from braining that puppy by a bizarre assortment of creatures.
a greaser unicorn named hank
pentapus the … pentapus. who changes colors and has a neat hat
and phineas who is maybe a scarecrow? or is maybe just a guy with a scarecrow hat and a triangle nose. it doesn't really matter.
sally wants to go back home (although why is beyond me), but this little group is having their own problem right now. they promise to help her out after their crisis is averted, and off they go to their home.
and that's where i stop telling you anything about the story, because it needs to be seen by your own two eyes. or one, if you've had an accident.
it's definitely not something i have ever encountered in a graphic novel before, and the solution to the problem cracked me up and was, as miriam notes, trippy.
one thing to note:
no, kid - THIS is how voice your desire for a giraffe without having a tantrum over it, jenny lawson-style
a wonderful present, and a super-fun book. i would love more adventures in this world.
come to my blog!
February 26, 2026
In Robert Goodin's 2015 graphic novel The Kurdles, Sally Bear is discarded by a spoiled rotten brat of a child (with Goodin showing both textually and illustratively and with very little text as much of The Kurdles is actually wordless how the little girl who is Sally's owner wants a new stuffed animal and when her mother refuses and points out that her daughter already has a cute and cuddly stuffed teddy bear, the anonymous, the never named child has a massively nasty hissy fit and deliberately tosses her poor and unfortunate toy out of a car window). But indeed, regarding The Kurdles, although adult I was kind of at first hoping that by the end of the story, Sally would be reunited with the little girl who had abandoned her (oh boy and really), well, my inner child right from square one so to speak was thinking that the stuffed teddy bear being callously and nastily abandoned in the woods by some spoiled rotten little monstrosity should not really want to be reunited with said child. And yes, and wonderfully, Goodin's ending for The Kurdles actually and gloriously shows the opposite, it both with words and images describes Sally Bear realising that she is much better off staying with her new friends in Kurdleton than trying to find her way home to a little girl who clearly does not appreciate her, who callously abandoned her, and that this totally makes my inner child and also after reflection equally adult me hugely and widely smile.
So after Sally is show by Robert Goodin in The Kurdles being cast aside, taken by a bird and finally gnawed at by an ultimately friendly dog, she then finds herself in the woodland retreat of Kurdleton and in the company of three otherworldly creatures, namely a colour changing pentapus (basically a terrestrial octopus with five limbs), a unicorn clad in tee shirt and jeans and a raggedy scarecrow. And being disoriented but also curious regarding a supposed emergency with which they would like Sally Bear's assistance, she decides to accept their hospitality, with the "hairmergency" of The Kurdles weirdly and wonderfully being that Hank (unicorn), Phineas (scarecrow) and Pentapus' domicile in Kurdleton is growing a purple fur, will soon become completely uninhabitable and pitting our characters once arrived in Kurdleton against a problem that gradually becomes increasingly complicated but being delightfully funny at the same time, with me especially adoring how the purple furry house covering starts singing sea chanteys as it becomes more and more animated the more Sally and company try to shorten and to get rid of the purple shag.
Yes, what Goodin narrationally and visually presents in The Kurdles is often pretty bizarre, yet the delightful characterisations he has created also give The Kurdles a wonderful sense of relatability and that the often deadpan and satirical humour is both lovely and also smiles and giggles inducing (so that for example Sally is pragmatic yet also prone to over-reacting and especially when it comes to self-preservation and Hank is deadpan and quite friendly, but also hugely inpatient when under pressure, how Sally Bear, Hank, Pentapus, Phineas and even the sea chantey singing purple house covering are complex, conflicted and ultimately realistic as well as nicely believable, with even the annoyingly bratty girl who tosses her stuffed bear, who tosses Sally out of the car at the beginning of The Kurdlesfeeling realistic and authentic).
And while by themselves Robert Goodin’s watercolours would probably not be totally to my aesthetic tastes, they work really well with his featured text and vice versa, and that for both my inner child and for adult me, what Goodin provides both verbally and illustratively in The Kurdles rates solidly and equally so quite delightfully with five stars.
So after Sally is show by Robert Goodin in The Kurdles being cast aside, taken by a bird and finally gnawed at by an ultimately friendly dog, she then finds herself in the woodland retreat of Kurdleton and in the company of three otherworldly creatures, namely a colour changing pentapus (basically a terrestrial octopus with five limbs), a unicorn clad in tee shirt and jeans and a raggedy scarecrow. And being disoriented but also curious regarding a supposed emergency with which they would like Sally Bear's assistance, she decides to accept their hospitality, with the "hairmergency" of The Kurdles weirdly and wonderfully being that Hank (unicorn), Phineas (scarecrow) and Pentapus' domicile in Kurdleton is growing a purple fur, will soon become completely uninhabitable and pitting our characters once arrived in Kurdleton against a problem that gradually becomes increasingly complicated but being delightfully funny at the same time, with me especially adoring how the purple furry house covering starts singing sea chanteys as it becomes more and more animated the more Sally and company try to shorten and to get rid of the purple shag.
Yes, what Goodin narrationally and visually presents in The Kurdles is often pretty bizarre, yet the delightful characterisations he has created also give The Kurdles a wonderful sense of relatability and that the often deadpan and satirical humour is both lovely and also smiles and giggles inducing (so that for example Sally is pragmatic yet also prone to over-reacting and especially when it comes to self-preservation and Hank is deadpan and quite friendly, but also hugely inpatient when under pressure, how Sally Bear, Hank, Pentapus, Phineas and even the sea chantey singing purple house covering are complex, conflicted and ultimately realistic as well as nicely believable, with even the annoyingly bratty girl who tosses her stuffed bear, who tosses Sally out of the car at the beginning of The Kurdlesfeeling realistic and authentic).
And while by themselves Robert Goodin’s watercolours would probably not be totally to my aesthetic tastes, they work really well with his featured text and vice versa, and that for both my inner child and for adult me, what Goodin provides both verbally and illustratively in The Kurdles rates solidly and equally so quite delightfully with five stars.
November 16, 2016
A rejected teddy bear finds a new home in the forest - which happens to be infested with hair.
Yeah, it's a little kooky. But this charming story is lushly illustrated and accessible. The provenance of the main characters isn't clear, but they quickly found their way into my heart. There is darkness here, but hope too.
Loved the full color illustrations, variance of panels, and large format of this edition. Great endpapers.
The main thing missing is length. We need more stories from this world!
In a time when some of us want to reject human society and run for the woods, this is a welcome story.
Masterful.
Yeah, it's a little kooky. But this charming story is lushly illustrated and accessible. The provenance of the main characters isn't clear, but they quickly found their way into my heart. There is darkness here, but hope too.
Loved the full color illustrations, variance of panels, and large format of this edition. Great endpapers.
The main thing missing is length. We need more stories from this world!
In a time when some of us want to reject human society and run for the woods, this is a welcome story.
Masterful.
February 17, 2023
Good, but odd. No complaints about the oddness of the story/characters, but the pacing - well, not pacing exactly. This felt like a middle book in a series where I was meant to be familiar with this world and its inhabitants already.
August 30, 2020
Precioso dibujo, coloreado con acuarelas por el autor. Una historia muy sencillita que parece un cuento infantil, pero con un no sé qué que contradice esa impresión (el unicornio que parece un rockero sexy, eso debe de ser, jaja). Espero que haya más aventuras de los Kurdles, y mi hijo lo espera aun más.
May 27, 2015
i loved this beautiful comic. an exquisitely told children's story in glorious watercolor on damn fine paper in the hardcover format. i am eagerly awaiting the next volume.
December 30, 2015
Books for kids are a great idea. Comics for kids are probably even better. Highly debatable statements, ahoy. I will say this: while I was a voracious reader as a kid, quality comics were the best thing I could imagine. By fifth grade I was reading War of the Worlds, Dante’s Inferno, and The Odyssey (none of which were assigned reading), but my true love lay in memories of sitting on the floor in bookstores in second grade reading Tintin in Tibet and Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge. I never for one minute imagined that reading comics was some sort of gateway to reading better material. For one, I wasn’t naive. But for another, really I couldn’t imagine something better than the artful blend of text and illustration.[1] Comics are as much perfect for kids as they are for adults. And today, there are so many choices. For every kid, there’s going to be at least one perfect comic out there.
And that variety is one of the things I love. You’ve got the buoyant, adventurous danger of Zita the Spacegirl . There’s the epic and comic longform story of Bone . The whimsy of Hildafolk . The heroing of Leave It to Chance. The excitement for exploration and scientific discovery of Primates . The precious, friendly warmth of Owly . The deaths, murders, and horrors of Tezuka’s Twin Knights. The fanciful investigation of Japanese history in Usagi Yojimbo . Again, something worthwhile for everybody.[2]
The things children’s comics creators will do with their characters are always especially interesting. Generally, there’s some sense that the builders of these fictional realms are emphasizing particular kinds of things because they either think readers will benefit from the focus or because they think readers will find some sort of resonance with the world and characters that appear. In my own children’s book, I feature an unflappable, joyful, immortal girl who knows no sense of danger and encounters terrible terrors (like volcanoes and tsunamis and tigers) as opportunities for play—because I want kids to feel wonder and the magic of living through someone who is blissfully unaware of the trials of real-world living. Robert Goodin, in The Kurdles, aims for something very different by proposing characters who are sometimes sarcastic, sometimes reactive, sometimes clever, sometimes grumpy, and sometimes chill and helpful. And because kids can probably relate to all of that,[3] it works great.
[Stone cold]
Sally is a bear, a stuffed children’s toy. Abandoned on the roadside on a muddy, rainy night. She’s got a right to a cynical view on life. She fends off predators with a stick and nearly bashes a dog in the head with a stone before discovering he’s friendly. She regrets it but is more defensive than effusive in her apology. She’s almost even self-justifying. I loved that—it struck me as believable, even if not laudable. But who looks to literature for laudability? She then wavers between helpful, sarcastic, afraid, philosophical, and compassionate. I at all times felt a kind of verisimilitude in these characters. Even though Sally’s a teddy bear and Hank is a unicorn with stubble and Phineas is a scarecrow (probably) and Pentapus is… something else. These were characters I could believe in because I’ve met them.
[The remorse here is palpable]
Goodin’s illustrations are pretty and his colour choices are great. I don’t know if he paints digitally or with traditional watercolours, but in either case he gets mood and time of day right. Check out this full-pager of some night doings:
There’s this hazy, low-saturation vibe that extends throughout. I’m always a bit envious of artists who can pull that off and make it look good (my own work is all about bright bright colours because that’s where I’m comfortable). Goodin also performs these subtle colour changes (such as with Pentapus) that at first look like mistakes until you realize they’re intentional—and that was a pretty exciting moment for me.
The writing’s nice. A bit deadpan. It’s got that dry sense that will be funny to some but doesn’t destroy the flow for those who aren’t in on the joke. The kind of stuff that astute kids will pick up on and enjoy and the kind that will amuse parents whose kids still want them reading aloud. I don’t know whether your kid will love The Kurdles or not. (That gets back to there being the perfect comic for every kid and every kid being their own thing.) But it’s a good book and I recommend checking it out. It’s pegged at ages 6–9, but my 3- and 6-year-olds were amused by it.
_______
[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad.]
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Footnotes
1) Note: it’s unlikely that I composed my thoughts about comics in quite that sense in fifth grade.
2) The idea that there are great comics out there for every kind of reader is part of the raison d’etre for Good Ok Bad.
3) It’s a pretty fair description of my own children, if we throw in sometimes funny and sometimes sweeter than anything you’ve ever encountered.
November 25, 2016
I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. At one point (I do not remember where I was in the book), I found myself thinking, "Wait, this shouldn't be in the children's area; it should be cataloged for adults." I went so far as to check another library system's catalog to see where they had it. And then I re-read the page I was on and could not figure out why it was so un-childish, but the impression remained.
May 31, 2016
More a book for adults, its weird nostalgia is still compelling. The artwork is quite lovely as well. It will be challenging to know how to market it in any library collection, though.
September 5, 2017
I have no idea what I just read but I'm glad I did.
July 12, 2018
Sweet story about an abandoned Teddy Bear...
April 21, 2019
Art⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Story⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 31, 2021
this was so strange and adorable. an oddly fun story with unique and creative characters, lots of bickering, and a wholesome ending.
December 21, 2025
I don't know how I feel about this. I know Sally Bear has no filter. It's weird and I liked it.
May 29, 2026
Equal parts adorable and hilarious.
Equal parts adorable and hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I’ll read more of these if they exist.
Equal parts adorable and hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud several times. I’ll read more of these if they exist.
December 1, 2015
A little sad and a little heartwarming, "Kurdles" by Robert Goodin, will make you smile and giggle at the weirdest, yet somewhat, common-place conversations Sally the Bear has with her new-found friends. Neglected by her brat of an owner - tossed out of a driving red Toyota Prius, Sally stumbles upon a Unicorn, a Scarecrow, a walking-talking Octopus(?) and their pet dog.
I thoroughly enjoyed this piece, both for its style in writing and drawing. I found myself looking at certain pages over and over (particularly the last page with its single talking bubble).
I don't know whether Goodin plans to continue this as a series or not, but with the way the story ended, I like to think that the characters in this book were so unique that it would be a waste not to go into some future backstory and adventures with this crew more than once.
I thoroughly enjoyed this piece, both for its style in writing and drawing. I found myself looking at certain pages over and over (particularly the last page with its single talking bubble).
I don't know whether Goodin plans to continue this as a series or not, but with the way the story ended, I like to think that the characters in this book were so unique that it would be a waste not to go into some future backstory and adventures with this crew more than once.
January 19, 2016
This was adorably cute! I've always had a love for stories with stuffed animals and toys as main characters. Sally Bear's owner has a fit and throws her out the car window during a storm. Sally has spunk and wanders through the forest getting muddy, fending off an owl mid-flight and about to stone a dog in the grips of his jaw when she meets a forest community of other stuffed toys. Their house has been taken over by a furry disease and a funny story with lovable, quirky characters ensues. Kids are sure to have a good laugh and love this fun group.The colour changing Pentapus was my favourite.
April 9, 2015
So weird and creepy and cute. There's just enough darkness here to keep me entertained, and just enough whimsy for me to feel comfortable sharing this with a child. Recommended for lovers of "kids'" books like Where the Wild Things Are. (Also: Wow, the art!!)
September 8, 2015
PDF - The artwork is terrific, both as illustrations and as graphic storytelling. The story has a certain charm, but lacks for much depth or character growth.
March 10, 2018
A delight! Brings to mind the expert blend of lightheartedness and darker elements that marked the best of Jim Henson's work. Wonderful characters and very creative!
January 8, 2021
A tossed away teddy bear enlists the help of some strange forest creatures to help her get home. But before they can assist, they need her aid in dealing with an emergency of their own.
Goodin's art is detailed and wondrous, bringing the story to incredible life. The little world he's built is amazing and the only negative thing I have to say about it is that I want another story set there right this very second.
Goodin's art is detailed and wondrous, bringing the story to incredible life. The little world he's built is amazing and the only negative thing I have to say about it is that I want another story set there right this very second.
August 29, 2017
This is a great story about home. In a few pages (designed for young readers) we are introduced to loss, friendship, and a new family. I recommend this to everyone because it is a small picture of what building family or home is all about.
September 5, 2017
A goofy tale told straightforwardly. The crazy randomness of setting and character is turned way up and never explained, but the narrative itself is easy to follow. It's an interesting combo for kids and their grown-ups to share.
September 7, 2017
This was a surprisingly charming story that didn't go in the directions that I was expecting it to go. By the end of the book, I was thinking about how much potential there was for these quirky, fantastical characters and how I regretted that there wasn't another book or two about their adventures.
September 7, 2019
I don't even know how to rate or review this. It's a weird little juvenile graphic novel. I'm still not sure what happened, and I read it yesterday. But parts of it were fascinating, and the illustrations were beautiful, so that's something!
February 2, 2021
It was cute. Short.
Some fun world building going on. The hairy house and their little quest to cure it. It’d make a cute kids’ show for sure. If every episode featured a quirky idea like the one here, it’d be pretty sweet!
Some fun world building going on. The hairy house and their little quest to cure it. It’d make a cute kids’ show for sure. If every episode featured a quirky idea like the one here, it’d be pretty sweet!
February 25, 2026
open library
It certainly is a sweet story. Found family vibes for the win. Seems like there should be sequels, but I'm not quite motivated to check. Middle grade and up - I'm guessing, from the author page, that it was actually originally intended for adults.
It certainly is a sweet story. Found family vibes for the win. Seems like there should be sequels, but I'm not quite motivated to check. Middle grade and up - I'm guessing, from the author page, that it was actually originally intended for adults.
November 19, 2019
A charming, fantastical journey full of whimsy and strangeness.
August 21, 2022
الكاتب بدأ القصةمباشرةً بدون تقديم او تعريف عن عالم القصة
شخصيات غريبة مع منطق مايمشي الا في قصة مثل هذي.
مو سيء ابدًا
شخصيات غريبة مع منطق مايمشي الا في قصة مثل هذي.
مو سيء ابدًا
June 9, 2023
My only criticism is that it was too short.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews