The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell

The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell is a magnificent graphic novel filled with short stories about some kids using a seemingly endless supply of cardboard and their imaginations to create a gigantic cardboard kingdom during their summer vacation. The kingdom is filled with monsters and heroes, such as the Big Banshee, and the Prince who protects the kingdom from threats like the Sorceress and her minions. However, that’s not all, there’s also an inn where weary travelers can stay, but there are no free refills! But everything isn’t quite as fun or happy as it seems in the Cardboard Kingdom.

One of my favorite characters was a boy, Jack, who calls himself, “The Sorceress”, taking rule over the cardboard kingdom and holding the heroes hostage. Jack says that she, the Sorceress, is magical, powerful, and absolutely amazing, just who he wants to be when he grows up.

Another story I liked was about a girl named Sophie who made a costume called “The Big Banshee”. However, at first, this wasn’t going to be the case. After her grandma called her a loudmouth and a hellion, Sophie scrapped all her ideas, refusing to make anything or really do anything at all. But eventually, she realized what she was really doing and came out better than ever, both in her costume and as herself.

Sell’s wonderful illustrations and storytelling isn’t the only thing I loved about the book. The subtext involved in the stories is so much better than I realized when I first read the book when I was in fourth grade (I didn’t realize that there even was any subtext when I was in fourth grade). I never realized that Jack was probably transgender, or how hard of a time Sophie was having with her grandma, I was really just reading the book for fun. And this isn’t solely for Jack and Sophie’s stories. In every short tale, the characters find out about who they are and how to truly express themselves.