I believe that the illustrations of this book are marvellous, and I want to congratulate their author, because it is the focus on ‘’The music box’’. I have read this book very fast, since it only has 66 pages. However, I think that the fact of being short is the main reason why this book could be so much better. The story lacks many details about the world inside the box, for example who is in control, what are those many creatures and what powers they have. Even the fact that the main character is pushed inside to help another girl’s mom is a bit strange. She could ask more about how is it possible to have a world inside that box. Even the fact that the girl’s mom is poisoned with a strange drug could be more explained… like why that fox was trying to produce the drug.

The end is also a bit ‘’fast’’, because she is home and sleeping like if nothing has happened and the dad says that they are going to be safe. I don’t know if it makes sense, but it could be more explained. Nevertheless, I liked the illustrations a lot! I think that they are very pretty and well done.

There are many things about this story that make for an amazing reading experience. The story is easy to follow and understand, making the story accessible to most children who try to read it. Additionally, the art of the story really contributes; how colorful it is makes it feel magical and ethereal. One can really lose themselves in the story and begin to imagine they are following Nola on her adventure.

What stood out to me the most about this story was how it is essentially a story of a child dealing with the grief of a loss of a parent. The death of Nola's mother is still fresh on her mind, with her still frequently dealing with her feelings about it. While the overall story of Nola going into this magical world may be simply enchanting for younger children, adults reading this story will be able to see how Nola uses this world to deal with her grief and ensure herself "everything will be okay". It is a brilliant take on a child's coping mechanism and one that both children and adults alike who have lost a parent will be able to relate to. I would have liked to see this explored a little more before the "main story" of the magic box even occurred; however, for a children's book, the pacing is perfect.

The Magic Box, by far, is the sweetest, cutest, and simplest graphic novel I have ever read. The graphic novel features the story of an 8 year girl, Nova, who just received a music box for her 8th birthday. As she shakes the music box (it is sort of like a snow globe?) and listens to the music, she notices a small girl who is actually moves and is transported into the world that is inside the music box. It has strange creatures, powers, and just some strangeness overall.

I can already tell this has a great deal of magic and adventure. Although short, it still packed a pretty good chunk of a story. All though more is needed, it is definitely going to be worth trying out the next graphic novels when as they comes out. When I first received a copy of this, I knew I was going to like it, even though it may be targeted for a younger audience. This is a tale that can be enjoyable for a whole family. It even helps that the art style is just as a adorable as the characters are. The art style was definitely was one the bigger things I appreciated from this graphic novel. Everything was fun to look at.

This was a joy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the art style and pacing. It seems like a great introduction to a new world, with just enough snippets of information regarding the world to set it up well. The arc of the volume is paced well and concludes in a satisfying way, but does leave the reader wanting to continue and see what types of adventures Nola will go on and what types of things really go on in Pandorient. There was just a hint of mystery and sinister goings on to make you want to delve deeper. I can't wait to see how further relationships develop and what kinds of trouble Nola finds herself in.

This was such a lovely story. I loved it. I loved the illustrations and color scheme was amazing. It was a wonderful and magical story to read.

This beautiful comic entranced me from the beginning. The story is simple but sets up for a rich world as well as dealing with deep topics in a simple way. I look forward to reading more of Nola's adventures.

Beautifully done! I adored the drawing style of this comic immensley. The style and the colors are soft, harmonic and yet fresh, vibrant and deliver the perfect background for a story that takes place in kind of a dream world. A lot of blue, violet and pink tones.
The story was very sweet. It's about a girl who mourns over her mother's death, but finds new meaning and beauty in her life in a fantasy world where she meets new friends. For me the story signifies the importance of our Imagination and Dreams. They often give us hope and help us through difficult times.
I wouldn't recommend the comic to children under ten though. The "evil" guy is portrayed very frightening at times and for more sensitive children I think it would be too disturbing. And there is one scene, where sex is implied (a creature sitting in bed, hiding its nakedness with a blanket). Nothing inappropriate is shown and most children probably wouldn't even get the reference, but I think it is still necessary to warn parents, who want to avoid such content for their children.
I'm sure older fans of comics and graphic novels will enjoy the book as much as I did though.

In my opinion, it is fabulous work art- and storywise.

I thank Europe Comics and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

A fun graphic novel for junior audiences. We'll love having this in our children's section of our library.

I genuinely didn’t know what I was going into when I picked up The Music Box by Carbone, which is illustrated by Gijé. But the cover was gorgeous and so naturally I couldn’t help myself. Much to my immense surprise and pleasure, I absolutely loved it! A middlegrade graphic novel, The Music Box combines stunning illustrations with exciting and intriguing characters that you simply cannot help falling in love with.

It follows the story of a young girl called Nola whose father gives her a music box that once belonged to her mother on her eighth birthday. But the music box is much more than it appears to be at first and soon Nola is whisked away on a rather exciting, albeit terrifying, adventure in a world where people happen to know of her mom quite well.

I had a great deal of fun reading this book. The story was well done and the artwork was beyond impressive. Frankly, I think this is a perfect gift for young readers who enjoy graphic novels (and even those who don’t). The plot is somewhat simple, but given the age range for this particular novel, I don’t see that as problematic in any way. I do, however, wish that there had been more to it and that it hadn’t been so fast paced, which initially resulted in me rating the book at four stars. The more I think about it, though, I realize that this desire doesn’t really merit a four star book, and thus I changed my rating accordingly.

I really loved this story and I think many others will, too.

For her 8th birthday present, Nola is given her recently deceased mother's beautiful old music box. She soon discovers there is much more to the music box than initially meets the eye. She sees a young girl inside, who brings Nola into the music box to help her save her own mother. And so Nola is introduced to Pandorient, a strange town within the music box, populated by a cornucopia of bizarre characters.

The art and colours in this book are wonderful - vivid, magical and expressive - and the story is fun and cute. It was let down a little by the translation (the original was written in French) which felt a bit clunky in places - perhaps a bit too literal.

The Music Box is a fun, quick and easy - if a little stilted - read, but where it really shines is the gorgeous art.

First of all, the art in this graphic novel is stunning! It is absolutely beautiful.
That being said, I quite enjoyed this (beginning of a?) story. The world seems interesting to explore. Moreover, it looks like the world of Pandorient will show some commentaries on our world as well. Hopefully, they will not be too on the nose.

<spoiler>My one critique is that putting the responsibility of not one but TWO (!) worlds in the hands of a girl who just turned eight (8!) years old. Mathilda, especially as a mother herself, might have wanted to think about that before she said that to Nola. Annah might have wanted to tell her husband and/or daughter about her responsibilities and that those responsibilities can be inherited</spoiler>

So many of my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students would devour this and the upcoming series. Its reads as the kind of book a student wouldn't want to put down. These illustrations are delightful. They're full of life and the use of color is delicious. I love the imaginary world and how the quest is helping Nola during her time of pain. As a teacher, I always wish our standard for higher level vocabulary was taken up a notch in children/ya literature. While the story arc is solid and I look forward to more from this collaboration in the future, I wish they would push the figurative story elements a little harder and challenge their readers with their word choice.

2.5/5
cute little graphic novel but it didn't have much of an interesting plot or storyline. Could've been more than it was. I'm hopeful we will be able to see this world expand and develop throughout the next issues and volumes.

Nola's mother has died, but for her eight birthday she gets her music box.

And thus she learns about the world inside the music box globe, that her mother used to travel to before she was born, to help the people inside.

It is a magic world, and the illustrations of this graphic novel are lovely and colorful.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-772" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-22-at-9.13.51-AM.png" alt="The Music Box" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-771" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Screen-Shot-2018-07-22-at-9.23.05-AM.png" alt="The Music Box" />

Although this is a self contained adventure, that introduces the people of the music box, since it is volume one, it sounds as though there are more stories to be told.

What a wonderful fantasy, quick read, with a strong, and curious heroine. Nola does not shy away from danger, and jumps in feet first to help out in any way she can.

#TheMusicBox #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

An original plot line and amazing illustrations. I absolutely loved the art. It was colorful and whimsical. I'm excited to see where the story goes in future volumes and to see more of the world Pandorient.

I don't usually read comics, but I found this one to be quite enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who'd be interested in reading. Loved the graphics and the writing.

Welcome to Pandorient is the first installment in The Music Box series and it was first published in French this year. Thanks to Europe Comics because they will release all the volumes of this in English and as a fan of graphic novels, I'm really grateful for the opportunity they give for these comic illustrators from Europe to introduce their works worldwide.

The comic book targets young kids, such as middle graders, but older readers will be delighted on reading Nola's story and her journey to the world of Pandorient. I believe that 50 pages are not enough for me, thus I'm anticipating to check the release of the succeeding volumes from this series because I'm really eager to know what other adventures Nola will have.

The Music Box is a fun, sweet, and beautiful story of a girl finding her way through a tough times thanks to a fantasy world. I honestly can’t get over how beautiful all of the artwork is for this series – if you ever get the chance to read it/look through the images, please do take the time to do so! It’s absolutely worth it.
This is a fast paced read, with lots of endearing moments as well as heartbreaking ones. You’ll find the main character racing from one end of the newly discovered world to the other, in what can only be described as true childhood fashion.
What I loved most was the lesson it taught us – that friendships can in fact help you deal with grief, you just have to give them a chance. Yes, it won’t change what happened, and it has other limits as well, but isn’t a bandaged heart better than a broken one?
Seeing what kids can do, even in the worst of times, is always both impressive and heartwarming. Here we have three children fighting to save somebody they love, while also doing what is right. The fact that they also chose to ignore an unjust law being broken just made it all the sweeter – having a strong moral compass is something most of us can only hope to achieve.
I ended up reading all of The Music Box Vol. 1 in a single sitting, and I have no regrets about it, except perhaps that I have no more of it to read. I’m looking forward to seeing if more of it will come out, and what sort of adventures it’ll carry with it.

This is yet one more comic for young readers that takes a child into a strange world where they have a past that needs to be revealed, and a destiny awaiting them they cannot hope to expect. It's been done to death, as the Wormworld Saga kind of proves. But you know what? This is a better example. Yes, the artwork has a lot of manga influence – the females are too cute, the boy punky and spiky, the action full of motion lines and LARGE sound FX – but its painterly style is worth exploring. The ending is a little clunky – "so I can come back?" "yes here's a present that says you have to return, but you shouldn't as it's dangerous" "oh, ok, I won't" "but you will" – but at least we get an ending – not only do we meet the girl from our world who is missing her mother, on today, her eighth birthday more than most, and discover how she transfers to the other world, but we also get a full, proper story. Creature design is strong, and this world is going to be one to explore, based on this evidence. Recommended.

Inhalt

An ihrem achten Geburtstag erhält Nola ein ganz besonderes Geschenk – die Spieluhr ihrer Mutter Annah, die kürzlich verstarb. Doch als sie damit spielt, beginnt ein ziemlich großes Abenteuer für ihre Mini-Version: Auf winzige Größe geschrumpft, soll sie in der Welt der Spieluhr, Pandorient, den gewöhnungsbedürftigen Bewohnern helfen. Dabei entdeckt sie nicht nur ihre eigene Stärke, sondern auch das geheime zweite Leben ihrer Mutter, in deren Fußstapfen sie nun treten soll …

Meine Bewertung

Wenn ich ganz ehrlich bin, hat mich bei „The Music Box“ zuallererst das Cover angezogen. Es ist so wunderbar bunt, strahlt schon die fantasiereiche Welt von Pandorient aus und hat mich dermaßen in seinen Bann gezogen, dass ich kaum aufhören konnte, es anzustarren. Dementsprechend habe ich mir auch Nolas Geschichte angesehen, um zu erfahren, was es damit auf sich hat.

Die Illustrationen sind in diesem Comic wirklich bemerkenswert schön und ich habe viel Zeit damit zugebracht, sie einfach nur anzustarren und mich in den Stil zu verlieben. Außerdem passen sie durch die verspielten Details und die vielen Farben perfekt zu einem jüngeren Comic und zu der Geschichte an sich, die rasant und mit verrückten Figuren ausgestattet ist. „The Music Box“ hat mich nämlich auch mit den sehr sympathischen Charakteren verzaubert. Obwohl die Anfangssituation eher traurig ist, da Nola ihren Geburtstag ohne ihre verstorbene Mutter feiern muss, wartet das große Abenteuer auf sie und hat mich richtig mitreißen können.

Pandorient als Welt war extrem vielfältig gestaltet. Gemeinsam mit Nola konnte man als Leser viel entdecken, auch wenn es an manchen Stellen etwas schwer fällt, mitzukommen, weil die Erklärungen manchmal etwas auf sich warten lassen. Nolas neue Freunde, Andrea und ihr Bruder Igor, waren richtig lustige Charaktere, die mich so manches Mal zum Lachen gebracht haben, weil vor allem in Igors Anwesenheit nichts so läuft, wie es sollte. Die Kinder begegnen einigen Gefahren auf ihrer Mission, die Mutter der Geschwister zu heilen. Und auch Nola erfährt mehr über ihre eigene Mutter Annah, die die Beschützerin Pandorients war – eine Aufgabe, die nun sie übernehmen soll! Obwohl sich dieser Comic eher an Kinder richtet, fand ich ihn auch für Erwachsene richtig toll gestaltet. Die Story ist herrlich frisch, lebendig und rasant, und es gab so viel Neues zu entdecken.

„The Music Box – Welcome to Pandorient“ war für mich dementsprechend ein großes Highlight, was Comics anging. Ich liebe alles daran, von der Idee über die Figuren bis hin zu den Bildern, die es unterstützen. Ich kann es kaum noch abwarten, bis es endlich weitergeht, auch wenn der erste Band in sich abgeschlossen ist.