A cheerful monster faces off against a diabolical businessman.With one large eye, bright purple arms, a blue head and body, rosy pink feet and cheeks, and an unrelenting smile, Wolfie Monster runs Magik Cheez Pizza along with his brothers, Jackson and Roy. Wolfie and Roy are both goofy and laid-back, while Type A Jackson struggles to manage the business. When successful mega-corporation Happy Leaf moves into their town, its owner, the take-no-prisoners Lord Mudpant, offers to buy out Magik Cheez. Roy and Jackson are eager to sell, but Wolfie is not interested. The fiendish Mudpant plots to make Happy Leaf the only choice in town and will stop at nothing to achieve pizza domination; can a little monster win against a big businessman? Wolfie is silly and bumbling, but his best friend, Bea, has the good sense needed to take on the nefarious Mudpant. With a good amount of pop and fizz, this fun, fast-paced graphic offering will delight readers with its giggle-inducing antics set against a timely backdrop. Most of the main characters are male; female Bea is a sunny, tangerine-colored monster with cheery purple hair and body and is depicted in a complementary palette and similar body shape as the male characters, with none of the stereotypical feminine signifiers such as eyelashes or hair bows.Like pizza, this David-and-Goliath crowd-pleaser is hot and fresh. (Graphic fantasy. 6-10)

With the help of his brothers, Jackson and Roy, Wolfie Monster tests the saying that even bad pizza is still good-even if his pies never turn out well, they may just save the day. The siblings own Magik Cheez Pizza, which barely holds on until successful Lord Mudpant opens up a chain pizza restaurant nearby. Jackson and Roy are ready to sell, but Wolfie refuses to give up the family business to Lord Mudpant, who receives this news like any good villain seeking world domination-badly. Before long, Lord Mudpant and his thugs have turned most of the citizenry into zombies and robots, and it-s up to Wolfie and his bestie Bea to save not just the family restaurant but also the town. Near-insane optimism and constant cheer evoke a bit of SpongeBob, and everything from the idiosyncratic characters (jubilant Wolfie has one eye and bird feathers) to servings of the ridiculous (one needs to put on a puppet show to make a pizza) offer the book the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon. Ages 7-9. (July)