Petit Poilu #5

Pierre Bailly and Céline Fraipont's delightful all-ages series serves up a wonderfully silly adventure in this 2009 volume, as the cover shows poor little Petit Poilu — the spiky, wide-eyed hero — skewered on a spit over a bubbling cauldron, tended by two grinning tribal figures in a lush jungle setting. A parrot, a snake, a skull, and a charming scatter of vegetables complete the scene, hinting at the playful peril awaiting our wordless little protagonist among the Bonapéti tribe. Fans of gentle humor and bold, cheerful cartooning will find this fifth volume a thoroughly entertaining addition to the series.