This book was the perfect match up as a picture book versus comic book. It’s very reminiscent of the old Disney shorts where the narrator would be telling you about something and the characters would take over. The main character of the story is absolutely positive that they are not in the right story. Their story is not a spaceship, it’s not a knight, a dragon, etc. The author and the main character are trying to find the perfect name of the perfect story and what one is reading about. This is all done with a very clever mix of graphic novel and picture books style with interesting and impactful narration. This is a five-star read. The author has helps kids find what type of stories they like, through a glossary of story types at the end of the book. ( )

Ryan Uytdewilligen has conceived a cute story idea with This Is Not My Story. His main character, a young boy, keeps protesting about the storyline in which the author places him. He objects to flying a spaceship, riding a giant hedgehog, being a cowboy, a knight, and a detective, among other ideas. The author and the boy keep arguing about what the author is attempting to write: "I've never flown a spaceship and I definitely don't believe in aliens." While the concept is fun, and the author devises entertaining scenarios, the book fell a bit flat for me at the end. The boy's solution for a plotline didn't grab me. However, most of the book is enjoyable and introduces children to many fiction genres. David Huyck's illustrations were tremendously detailed, and I loved having the boy climb out of the book page when he didn't like the story. At the end of the book, the author addresses the reader to tell us about different genres of books. It's a good list with simple explanations. This is a pleasing book to teach children about types of books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC of this book. ( )