This is a really adorable book yet it's also very heartfelt. The art is stunning. Gorgeous. The world building made me very interested in reading the next book. Highly recommend it for children. Especially if that child is dealing with a loss of some kind.

What a lovely little adventure. The world inside the magical music box is wonderful, whimsical, with a bit of darkness I look forward to exploring in the rest of the series.

A fun little fast read great for all ages. Of a little girl dealing with the grief of losing her mother and being uplifted by a journey into a hidden world of magic and fantasy creatures she inherited from her departed mother.

The art style is phenomenal. Characters real and loving. The magical world inside the music box an anchanting classical fantasy land that I look forward to seeing more of.

Welcome to Pandorient was just a cute story. It reminded me of Spirited Away with DreamWork animation.
The illustration was vivid with bright colors and scenery that made it magical (which it is). You go on Nola’s adventure to the world of Pandorient-a world inside a music box which used to belong to her mother, along meeting various characters like Igor, Andrea, and Octopodus. The story was pretty solid and a great introduction to Pandorant-interesting creature people with unique character designs. I would be down reading the rest of the series.
I gave this book 4.5/5 stars!
Thank you Netgalley and Capstone for the e-arc!

Having always been drawn to the world of children, Bénédicte Carboneill, aka Carbone, made the logical choice when it came time to decide on a profession by becoming a teacher. After joining the teaching ranks in 1995, she went on to become a principal before writing entered her life and quickly took over. Starting with publications on education (La Classe Maternelle, Jocatop/Bordas), she soon developed her own publishing house, Pas de l'échelle, which brought together comics and education. As an editor and author, Bénédicte began writing for young children and teenagers, including books published by various French-language publishers (Fleurus, Larousse, Mijade). In 2015, she tried her hand as a comics author with Le Pass'Temps (published by Jungle), taking on the pen name Carbone. She soon followed with La boîte à musique (Dupuis; The Music Box, Europe Comics, Capstone), and already has multiple other series in store, which readers can look forward to discovering over the coming years. Jérôme Gillet, aka Gijé, was born in 1988 in Lubumbashi (Congo). Following his studies at the Saint-Luc Institute in Liège (Belgium), specializing in illustration, he moved to Luxembourg to continue his training in animation. After graduating in 2012, he started out as a freelance 2D artist before joining Zeilt Production as a computer graphics designer, and gained experience working on advertising campaigns, short films (such as Long Live New York), and animated series (Barababor, Prochain arrêt). The year 2018 marks a major evolution in his career, as Gijé turned to the comics world with the adventure series La boîte à musique (Dupuis; The Music Box, Europe Comics, Capstone), written by Carbone. Their children’s dark fantasy graphic novel series The Music Box has been translated into English and is due to be published in 2023.
The Music Box focuses on Nola, who receives a music box from her father for her eighth birthday. The music box belongs to her mother, who recently passed away and whom Nola is still grieving. The music box turns out to be magic, and Nola is shrunk into a magical world where not is all as it seems. Pandorient is as beautiful and lush as a Miyazaki film, with characters as wild and varied as any Valente fantasy, but there is a dark underbelly to this kingdom, and a tyrannical leader, and while Nola survives her first adventure in Pandorient, she’s warned about its dangers if she’s ever to return.
This is a beautifully told story, perfect for new fantasy and dark fantasy readers. The plot is dark enough that there’s real fear and cunning, but it’s not so scary as to leave young readers having nightmares. The immediate plot resolves with all the good parties safe and a few antagonists get their just comeuppance, but leaves enough unresolved for there to be a sequel and to keep readers interested and eager for the next volume. The characters come across as dark, possibly even menacing or threatening, but not so terrifying as to leave Nola, and any readers, emotionally scarred. The art is fun and cartoonish, perfect for the intended audience, but isn’t so simplified as to cause readers to lose interest.
Overall, this is a solid entry into dark fantasy, possibly even dystopian fantasy, for early readers just starting to dabble. Carbone’s world of Pandorient is lush and imaginative, beautifully rendered by Gijé’s art. The plot is fun and leaves plenty of room for a multitude of sequels. This is a short but exciting entry into horror for junior readers for whom the graphic novel format might appeal, but older readers will enjoy this series just as well.

This was such a beautiful experience! The art style is very whimsical and enchanting and we really get transported into Pandorient. The characters are super loveable and I can already see how great the series can turn out. Some important topics are weaved into a more adventurous plot line and I think it's really well done.

What a great start to a five book, graphic novel series. I enjoyed the advance copy that I received so much that I immediately requested an advance copy of book #2 Cyprian's Secret.

I love the illustrations, they bring the world of Pandorient to life. The creatures are all interesting and unique and the story was great. I love that Nola gets to find this piece of her mother's past and I am hoping it will help her heal her grief.

Highly recommend.

Beautifully illustrated and compelling story! My daughter and I read the first part and immediately sought out part 2 — and I now have this on pre-order for my classroom.

After losing her mother it is hard for Nola to celebrate her Birthday. After getting a Music box that belonged to her mother, she discovers that there are parts of her mother that she never knew.
The part that interested me the most in the story was the art wich was beautiful and colorful. The story however is engaging aswell. Books like this are perfect when you need some quick or for children who don’t like to read.

First and foremost, I would love to thank NetGalley, the author, and publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Such a great adventure!. Recommended

A cute story about a young girl who finds a world in her mother's music box. I loved the colourful art, it really helped immerse me in the world of Pandorient. I thought the characters were engaging. I loved Nola and her new friends as they try to figure out what is wrong with Andrea and Igor's mother. I loved Nola's curiosity toward the new world she finds herself in and its inhabitants. I can't wait to learn more about the world of Pandorient in future books.

At the end of the book the authors also included some discussion questions for young readers about the story which is a great way to help young people think about themes in their books.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you to net galley and capstone for giving me an e-arc of this book

The illustrations are very good and it's a really cute really adventurous middle fantasy novel and i actually really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

This graphic novel is so pretty! Such an interesting concept, too!

This is a great introduction to grief for kids. Nola recently lost her mom and is still reeling from that when she gets a birthday gift that used to belong to her mother. Little does Nola know, it can transport her to Pandorient!

If you watch The Owl House, Pandorient gave me Boiling Isles vibes, but for a younger audience - our main character just turned 8!

I was a little lost on some world building things, but this is only the first installment, so I hope the other books in the series answer some of those questions!

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Capstone for an ARC of this English translation!

I just reviewed Welcome to Pandorient by Carbone. #WelcometoPandorient #NetGalley I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a nice quick read and plan on continuing with the next one. Would recommend this to anyone. It’s about a little girl getting taken to a different world that her mum have visited and kept it secret.

This was such an ADORABLE graphic novel and I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author and this series!
Would absolutely recommend!
It has a heartwarming Narnia vibe (young girl finding a magical world and having adventures and making friends).
I loved how it dealt very simply with a young child losing a parent, showing how it impacted the child, without it being the focus of the story.
Looking forward to more stories set in Pandorient!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC of the translated edition.

Thanks to Netgalley, Europe Comics, and authors, illustrators, translators of this series for the reviewing opportunity for this adorable beginning of a middle-grade graphic novel series called The Music Box!

First of all, I love the relationship between our MC and her father even though we see them just briefly. I also love how the general atmosphere of Pandorient gives me Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland) vibes! Also, the illustration style is just gorgeous! I wish we had more content and solving the problems takes more time, but I believe we can see more Pandorient parts and folk in the following issues since this one is just the beginning!

I recommend this to everyone loving middle-grade fantasy, people (no matter the age) who just started reading in English (or in my case I'm gonna try the next issues in French), Alice in Wonderland fans, people who suffer from a reading slump!

Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read this beautiful graphic book.
I love this book. A lot. The adventure starts when Nola inherited a music box for her eighth birthday from her late mom. It was a magical music box that took her inside its world.

Nola is a brave, kind, and sensible character which I love so much. Also, the story is so heartwarming and adventurous. At last, the illustration is superb!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC. As always, the fact that I got an ARC doesn't alter my review in any way.

For her eighth birthday, Nola's father gifts her a precious music box that used to belong to her recently deceased mother. This box isn't like your average music box however. On her first night of using it, Nola discovers a magical place inside the music box, Pandorient. Can Nola help her new friends Igor and Andrea solve the mystery of what, and more importantly who, is making their mother sick?

"Welcome to Pandorient" is the first in the French graphic novel series "La Boîte à musique", or "The Music Box". The book was first published in 2018 and has now been translated into English.

I definitely enjoyed this graphic novel. The illustrations were beautiful and the story fun, although fast-paced, but I didn't mind that in this book. I really enjoyed the magical world of Pandorient. It wasn't the most original story ever, just about what you would expect to happen in a middle-grade with a magical quest does happen. However, I would still recommend it if you're looking for a quick but fun read with pretty illustrations. I would love reading the next parts of the "Music Box" series as well.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this sweet story. Nola was a good character to follow. She is kind, brave, sweet, and smart. The story was a little short, but I can't wait to read other stories about Nola if they are written. I enjoyed the story and the art style.

Este libro comienza con la pequeña Nola que recibe una caja músical por su cumpleaños, sin saber lo que le aguarda.
Un libro con una historia muy entretenida e interesante con un mundo lleno de magia y aventura e ilustraciones bellísimas.
Me he leído todo en una sentada y de corrido, es corto, muy rápido de leer y está muy entretenido, los personajes son divertidos y agradables, la historia atrayente que ya quieres saber que sucederá al final, sin duda un buen inicio de saga, espero poder leer los demás pronto
¿Me gustó? ¡Por supuesto!
¿Lo recomiendo? Claro que sí

A well written children story, with an amazing message and lovable characters! I can't wait to be able to read the others!!