Billy, a jaunty goat, pooh-poohs danger and sets out in a boat from his tiny village in search of treasure on Paradise Island. Along the way, brave Billy encounters three islands e filled with gold, guarded by a Cyclops; the second covered in silver, guarded by a hydra; and the third full of bronze, guarded by a giant minotaur. Upon discovering each island, Billy exclaims, "This is garbage. I want treasure!" and handily evades each monster with a witty one-liner and a wink to the reader. But if not precious metals, what, exactly, is on Paradise Island? A landfill, of course, full of enough food (goats eat trash, after all) to feed his whole village. Bradley's big, bubbly cartoon art suits the silly adventure story, which, though slight, serves as a convenient way to introduce common comic-book elements, like speech balloons and motion lines, all of which are explained in a glossary. But the real appeal for novice comic-book readers is the goofy tale of heroic derring-do.

These goofy books introduce graphic novels to new readers. Billy the Goat sets off to explore Paradise Island and vanquishes villains from Greek mythology; Cowboy Jake and his sidekick, Horse, wrangle their annoying herd of monkeys away from bandits. The silly narratives and frame progressions are easy to follow, and the bright art is busy but not overwhelming. Appended activities are engaging. Glos.