Basil et Victoria #4

The fourth volume of Edith and Yann's charming Franco-Belgian series brings the young adventurers to a stormy shoreline, where a red-haired girl in a crimson dress clutches a smaller child aloft while two companions brace themselves with staffs against crashing waves — all beneath a brooding, storm-darkened sky watched over by a pair of puffins. Subtitled *Pearl*, this 2006 installment from Les Humanoïdes Associés carries the atmospheric mood and expressive character work that makes the series such a pleasure to follow. If you've been along for the journey, this wind-swept cover alone promises the kind of peril-tinged adventure that keeps young readers (and older ones) turning pages.