Cucumber and company travel to the Melody Kingdom to battle TWO disaster masters. As Cucumber continues to question the quest more information reveals that everything isn’t as simple as it seems.

The Melody Kingdom is full of the humor I’ve come to expect from Cucumber Quest; clever puns and laugh out loud antics make these graphic novels so much fun to read and reread. I’m consistently blown away by the use of color to set up scenes and characterization. In addition, in this volume the color in certain panels (amazingly!) conveys non-visual stimuli.

My kids love Cucumber Quest and I’ve recommended the series to many friends and customers. I hope Gigi D.G. knows that when/if she returns to this series that we are all waiting patiently and happily with the hilarious volumes she’s given us.

I didn't really know how to feel about the first volume of this series. Each volume, though, takes us deeper into the adventure, adding complexity to the characters and plot. It becomes less weird and more engrossing. This volume is a clear turning point. I predict it will get even better.

The first Cucumber Quest by Gigi D.G. book was such a hit in my classroom, when I heard that the next three were coming out quite quickly, I knew I had to get to them, and thanks to Netgalley I was able to read the third one early. Each GN takes the hero through a new kingdom and a new monster. Now I'm just waiting for the next one!

Our heroes are still on their quest to save the land from evil. Their next stop is the Melody Kingdom, a land split in two when two brothers parted ways. Princess Piano is set to give a big concert, but she’s been kidnapped and our heroes have to rescue her and defeat the next big monster to continue on their quest.

I think this series will be much better once it is all out and you can read it in one fell swoop, because I am having trouble keeping characters straight with several months between parts of the story. And I think that’s just because by now there’s over a dozen characters to follow. That isn’t necessarily bad, it just makes it more challenging when you don’t have the previous books right at your fingertips. Their adventures still continue to be wildly imaginative and zany in all the best ways. I can see many just reading this for the artwork alone with all its vibrant cutesy-ness. Definitely lots of appeal for a rather broad age group. I can see middle graders snatching it up for the plot and teens or the artwork (and then they’ll get hooked on the plot too). I know I'll need to find out what happens to our heroes in the next adventure.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Some fantasy battles but it is unclear if anyone was really hurt as a result.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like the adventure in this one was a little all-over-the-place and I had a hard time following some of it - I had to go back and reread some passages. And I feel like it could have had more Cucumber, since it is his adventure afterall, although my love for Nautilus hasn't wavered. As a musician, I did enjoy Melody Kingdom and all the music puns - and the fact that the color of each character matched their instrumental name (Piano and Clarinet were black and white, Cymbal was gold, etc.) Fun!

And, wonderful surprise cameo by my all-time favorite Crabbro "bros call me bro" in the bonus story at the end!

I had trouble getting into this book. It is probably better for younger readers. The story is a bit simple. I did not really enjoy the art that much.

Chapter two has just begun and we have left the Ripple Kingdom for the Melody Kingdom full of music and fun. The story gets a little convoluted as they have to fly over a wall, but they can't, and to pass the wall they are sent on a side quest to stop an evil villain who has been stealing people from the village. It’s all over the place. It’s fun, but not up to the standard of the previous editions. However that will not stop me from reading the next installment

Cucumber Quest is a loooooot of fun. I’ve read the previous two volumes and have written reviews for the delightful fantasy-comedy romp along the way. I couldn’t wait to get to the third book in the series and find out what’s going on with Cucumber and his pals as they try to save the world from total annihilation and all that horrible stuff.

Within this volume, the questers head to the Melody Kingdom to get a signature on their sword. Before they can get the princess to help them, she’s taken away by the Noisemaster and her whole kingdom winds up in danger of being destroyed by a powerful weapon. Meanwhile, Cucumber and co. set off to rescue the princess but instead also end up being kidnaped by a maniac that forces them to be performers in his masterpiece play. With time running out as they’re sidetracked, it’s unclear whether or not they’ll get away and be able to save the day!

There’s a lot of delightful content to enjoy within the story here. The first two volumes have set up such a fun premise that takes us from kingdom to kingdom as our heroes try to vanquish the evil that threatens them once and for all. All stories have ongoing themes and such but The Melody Kingdom does a great job of bringing the real-world relatable issue of bullying to the forefront amongst the overall silliness. It tries to show us that ultimately nobody likes a bully— you have to be yourself and hope that others will like you for who you truly are.

Despite some of those niceties, The Melody Kingdom is my least favourite of the three volumes so far. I felt like it was a little less whimsical and i sort of felt like I was a little bit lost in the last act of the story.

Don’t get me wrong though— I’m still really enjoying the overall Cucumber Quest journey and i think The Melody Kingdom is still a lot of fun to read. I love the art so gosh darn much too and the little sort of snarky “real talk” panels going on for some of the characters in between larger bits of the story. I just felt that again, this is one of the weaker Cucumber Quest tales so far.

I’m hoping for the best with the volumes to follow after this because I absolutely have to know how all of this wraps up… which still seems like it’s a while away. I think this book mentioned that there were five more kingdoms to visit so it seems likely that there are 5-6 books left to hit the shelves before Cucumber Quest comes to a close.

Verdict:
Read it! If you’re already enjoying the series, The Melody Kingdom is essential to continue your journey with Cucumber. If you’re just getting started, this is a series that you definitely need to start from the beginning in order to really appreciate this story for what it is.

A bright, fun, well thought out graphic novel for juniors.