3 out of 5

The start of the Hilda series is promising, the kind of slightly skewed kids lit that doesn’t mind tossing in a PG swear and not over-explaining itself, though at the same time the book lacks any type of introduction which leaves it a little flat.

Hilda, as drawn by Pearson, is a wide-eyed, blue-haired youngster, unafraid of the various Wood Men, foxes, giants, and trolls that seem to populate her world and taking comfort in the relative coziness of a tent during a rainstorm.  She lives with her mum near a place called Trolberg.  She goes out to draw rocks and runs afoul of a troll.  Wonderfully paced and framed panels tell the resultant tale, colored in a pleasingly off-primary palette that gives the book both a warmth as well as a nice off-beat tone.  Hilda is rather matter-of-fact about events, which prevents the creatures she interacts with from ever feeling too threatening – which is a good thing in a kid’s book – and her independence and creativity would have been admirable to me as a youngster.  Unfortunately, the lack of any setup makes us feel like we should already know Hilda, and her pet (fox?) Twig, and her mom, and this pseudo-magical setting, and so it takes the story’s telling for us to get our bearings, which waters down the effect.  But Pearson’s drawings are simple and yet strong and inventive (it’s clear why he has now joined up with Adventure Time), and the softcover republication by Flying Eye – over-sized, with soft but firm cover and page stock and a flexible binding – is pleasant to hold and look at; the book makes you want to read it by virtue of looking fun.  And with this serving as our introduction, I imagine further Hilda tales will be even more rewarding.