This is a really pretty book. Great art and fun story. I would definitely recommend for friends and family

An absolutely stunning story told with grace and in a fantasy realm, but applicable to everyone. After reading the first few pages, I was captivated by the beautiful artwork and I couldn't help but wish to be a little girl in a treehouse with a fox. In a story about growing up, this definitely brings back that feeling of the innocence and strength childhood provides (if you're privileged of course).

The progression of the story parallels real life. It's seamless, yet sudden and something that feels timeless ends with the blink of an eye.

I would read this for the artwork alone, but the story is hauntingly true and a delight in itself. It really captures how growing up can just feel like the rest of the world changed and not necessarily yourself.

A quick, emotional, and beautiful read for anyone who has a couple of minutes to spare.

I was expecting to really enjoy this book based on the blurb and cover. Yet, unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
The story is very disjointed and I found it impossible to follow. Many scenes felt out of place and were left unexplained. Big chunks of the actual story felt as if they were missing meaning that the story was left with no plot at all.
I feel that I wouldn't call this book a bildungsroman as I didn't really see much character development. <spoiler>Pistouvi changes physically and leaves his friend but his departure is left mostly unexplained. The birds are said to be evil but this is never shown to the reader. If fact, if they are so evil, then why do the main characters want to play with them or provoke them? It just didn't make sense. </spoiler>
I think that the art is beautiful and had so much potential. I wouldn't really recommend this book because I just felt that there wasn't a story to talk about. I wish that there had been because I really wanted to enjoy this book.

Let’s start off by talking about the artwork in this graphic novel!! It’s stunning.

BUT, that was about all I can find worth talking about in this story. I felt like there was no plot and most of the time I didn’t understand what was happening.

The 2 stars is purely for the artwork.

This book was received as an ARC from Diamond Book Distributors - Magnetic Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely loved this book and the story behind it. I am a fan of children with spirit animals and I haven't seen a child have a fox as their companion and the adventures they have throughout the book are so exciting. The bird invasion was so creatively written and drawn, It reminded me of the pig invasion of Angry Birds but this time, it is a fox and a girl and I knew it would be a good graphic novel to follow along and recommend to our young community who absolutely adore graphic novels.

We will consider adding this title to our YGraphic novel collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

My initial feeling is that I like this book, but I can't really describe why.

It's a strange book. There is animal friendship, magical beings, and a fantastical setting. The story makes the reader question the ambiguity of good and bad between the characters. It also addresses the nature of childhood fears like nightmares, irrational discomforts, and creature horror. Pistouvi is the titular fox, but this is not really his story. It's about a girl who learning that the world around her is not necessarily changing, but she is --she can't keep on being reckless and feckless.

The wind and the tractor are seemingly stand-ins for parents in an allegorical tale about growing out of childhood with growing pains. This book was initially marketed as horror and it is really easy to see that in the ominous chapter set-ups, eerie magic, and the birds.

Wow I’m so lost, I don’t think I understood this story. This graphic novel is a fable about the inevitable transition from childhood freedom to adult responsibility. However, I didn’t understand the different metaphors and subtle messages. I can feel that every character had a symbolic value but I didn’t understand which one. This might be due to the fact that I didn’t read the summary beforehand and hence, was expecting a story and not a fable. After a good night of sleep and some thinking, I think I can say I understand the fable a bit better though I’m still confused. The drawings were nice to look at and very cute, especially the small bugs. I enjoyed the character of the wind a lot. I don’t think I would recommend this one to everyone, just to people who enjoy fable and vague stories.

2.5/5

I saw this graphic novel two years ago and now that I've finally read it... I'm a little disappointed.
In this "fantasy" world, Pistouvi is a little anthromorphic fox who live with a human girl - Jeanne - in a tree house. They spend their days playing, making food, and "fighting" birds. It seems there aren't adults here, except fot the beautiful Wind and the loud angry Giant who plows the fields where they live.
Could we talk about BIRDS? This is a world where if you listen to birds, you’ll turn into one. I didn't realize it until I had a second reading. Pistouvi is scared of birds, scared of understand them and change into a bird himself. But I think they are not the enemies. They live their lives without bothering anyone.

Pistouvi is a story about the experience of growing up, the fear of abandoning childhood and discover a new "world": adolescence. There are some "dark" vibes... like a rock on your heart and a kind of anxiety for Pistouvi and Jeanne throughout the story.

All seems a dream. The art style is great, dynamic and evocative.

My rating: 3/5

Synopsis:
Jeanne, a little girl, lives in a treehouse with a mischievous fox name Pistouvi. They live in a magical world where they do not seem to be any adults, except for a wind goddess-like woman (mother figure) and a giant who plows the field (father figure). This giant appears to be mean and angry, but that is only a façade, he is very gentle on the inside. Together, Jeanne and Pistouvi play, redecorate their house, and take “field trips”. Their favourite activity has to do with the birds they encounter, and from whom Pistouvi seem especially afraid. They both try to scare the birds and run from them. It is a charming story of how the friendship between the two develops as Jeanne starts to grow up, but Pistouvi (who represents her inner child/adolescent) does not.

Opinion:
The cover, although gorgeous, does give the impression that this is more of a children’s book that it actually is. I found this book endearing a very interesting, it deals with important topics such as the transition between child and adult. The girl living on her own with an unconventional animal definitely gives Pipi Longstocking vibes.
The atmosphere surrounding the characters, although charming, is not deeply explored, and can get confusing at times, as if part of the story did not get explained properly.
As for the illustrations, they are beautiful, the best part of the novel by far. It creates a magical atmosphere, and a beautiful world you will not want to abandon, but the opposite, it left me wanting to learn more about it.

I wish I could give this adorable yet heartbreaking graphic novel a full five stars but unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down for me for a few obvious reasons which would be apparent for those who've read it.
The book is set in this magical fantasy world with the main characters being Pistouvi, a fox-like creature, and Jeanne, the little girl who cares for him. The only adults are the benevolent yet mysterious motherly figure Wind and the loud angry Giant who plows the fields where they live and who also has a secret soft side. Jeanne and Pistouvi live in an elaborate treehouse alone and away from the birds, who in this world pose a threat to Pistouvi because if Pistouvi ever understood what the birds were saying he would turn into one himself.
The book contains little vignettes of Pistouvi and Jeanne's lives, which I wish were more fleshed out because honestly, this entire novel feels unfinished. The reader is given no sense of the rules of this topsy turvy whimsical world and no clear beginning or end to each of the chapters.
The art is unbelievably lovely. It's really well done and easy to read. It may have been improved with a spot of color in my opinion.
I also get the metaphors of childhood, and parents, and the experience of growing up throughout the book and it's very obvious we are meant to see Pistouvi as a personification of Jeanne's own adolescence.
If you loved reading the 'Wayward Children' series this would be right up your alley with its whimsical yet dark undertones. I would've definitely appreciated it more if the story was more cohesive and made me understand the characters better.

My 3 stars are all illustration related. I couldn’t really get into the actual comic, but the graphics are awesome

Pistouvi is a peculiar story! Pistouvi is the tale of a little fox and his best friend Jeanne, who have the end of childhood bearing down on them. The entire story is permeated with an ominous eeriness- the feeling of being alone in deserted woods and dark clouds start to roll in menacingly. The artwork is simply gorgeous, particularly the wind spirit. However, I found the plot to be scattered and overly filled with metaphors. Pistouvi is a very nebulous and twisted story. There are no neat conclusions to be found here, only mysteries. The murkiness surrounding the plot leaves the reader with a bittersweet feeling. I would recommend this if you’re bored of traditional coming-of-age stories and want to think deeply about what it means to exit childhood. The ending of Pistouvi will definitely stay in your mind after the last page. While this story had an unusual structure, I know I’ll be thinking about it for quite a while. Pistouvi releases on November 10, 2020. Thank you to Merwan, Bertrand Gatignol, Diamond Book Distributors, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was not for me. I was drawn to this title because I love foxes, however, I found the story a bit convulted and confusing at times. I acknowledge this could be a me problem and sure there are people who may not find that they have this issue. The art was well done and very emotive which I appreciated.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Um, do I need to have taken drugs to understand this book? Because I honestly don't have a clue what I read. I am so so confused right now. The blurb sounded awesome, and while I did get some tiny itty bitty bits of that... mostly I was just utterly confused and I just had no idea what was going on. I just went along with it in the hopes that it would get more clear, would make more sense, would maybe get better. The art is at times pretty terrifying (and with that I mean the faces, they remind me a bit too much of horror stuff I read), but at other times also quite pretty. Another confusing thing. I am sure there is someone who will love this, but not me. Definitely not me.

This comic is told through a series of vignettes in which we follow a young girl, Jeanne, and her fox friend Pistouvi. Together they get into some antics like bothering the local birds and the Tractor Man. Their friend the wind tries to help guide them as best she can but both Jeanne and Pistouvi have to grow and learn, together and apart. The art in the book is really the selling point for me. I found the story itself a bit convoluted at times and felt like there were metaphors that were going over my head. Neither of our main characters are too likable in my opinion which also made it hard to fully get invested in their relationship.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC.

I like the illustration. I just wish there are more to the story.

Alright, this is not my cup of cocoa. At all. There are undoubtedly plenty of readers out there who will dig the allegorical trip that is this book, but I am not one of them.

The illustrations are very intriguing, but, again, not my preferred style.

This book... I am just left wondering what I have finished reading. I just don't know.

What a strange, dreamy experience. Pistouvi is a little anthropomorphic fox who lives in a treehouse with a young girl named Jeanne. He's obsessed with finding and eating new bugs and creatures — even though he talks and wears clothes, he's very much an animal, given to intense enthusiasms but more than a little bloodthirsty on the hunt. There's a mother figure in this world, Wind, who appears to actually be the wind — she's lightly drawn and fluid compared to everything else in this world, and she's warm and nurturing and helpful. The father figure is Tractor, a giant who's seemingly one with the giant tractor that's constantly plowing up the land and planting fences. He's threatening and alien where Wind is loving. All of this reminded me a fair bit of Cory Doctorow's weird novel Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, where the main character's mother is a washing machine and his father is a mountain — broad symbols of cleaning and remote towering remove, respectively.

That kind of dream-logic stretches throughout the graphic novel, which consists of a series of vignettes that generally don't resolve, and questions that generally aren't answered. There are giant birds in this world, and their speech is threatening to Pistouvi, though Jeanne is apparently immune because she's a girl. She has an ocarina with magical powers; Wind has seeds with mysterious effects. At times, the way these things interact with the world, and the preponderance of strange little wide-eyed black spirits and vast, slow intelligences make Pistouvi feel like a Studio Ghibli story.

But it's ultimately more like a dream. (This even though there are multiple actual dreams within the narrative, and they're even more surreal — metaphor stacked on metaphor.) I see where people here are complaining that the story is too opaque because there are never clear explanations for most of its mysteries. But I found it all pretty haunting. The art is lovely, alternately highly detailed and immersive, and impressionistic and dynamic. The facial expressions and body language are very clear and evocative. The emotions are intense and real. This may not be a story for people who demand clear linear narrative, but it's certainly immersive for anyone who loves world-building and unpredictable storytelling, or just wild and creative visual design.

Title: Pistouvi
Bertrand Gatignol Merwan
Rating: 3 ⭐️

Ok so I don’t really know about this one. It was originally published in French several years ago and I think that translated into the flow@problem in English. Or perhaps I just had trouble understanding the story.

Jeanne is a little girl who lives with a mischievous fox named Pistouvi. But soon the birds (which are creepy as hell) show up and everything changes. This graphic novel kind of scared me. But I would recommend it if you’re into dark but still mild graphic novels.

I received this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #pistouvi #

Pistouvi is a series of tales of a little girl and a fox in a fantasy world where if you listen to birds, you’ll turn into one. I didn’t understand this story, but I enjoyed it. It’s a cool allegory set in an interesting world,but while reading, I felt like I had missed the first volume. As soon as I let that sentiment go, however, and just read it without expectation for understanding, I enjoyed it a lot.

The wind is beautiful. Pistouvi is cute and mischievous, and Jeanne is a little girl who will have to grow up someday. I really loved the art. The fine line drawings are super cool, and the art really gave the characters, well, character.

If you can let go of needing everything to make perfect sense, definitely give this one a go, and just go with the flow. It’s a lot of fun that way. It’s out on November 10th, so keep an eye out for it.