'Timothy Top Book One: The Green Pig' with story and art by Gud is a graphic novel for younger readers about a young boy and a tree that is in danger.

Timothy Top lives in a house with parents who argue. He's also a bit of an outsider at school. Every day on his way to school, he passes a park with an old tree. When a rich businessman wants to reinvent the park and cut down the tree, Timothy Top has to find a way to stop him.

This is kind of a weird story, but I liked it. The main character has a pretty odd sense of imagination, which probably helps his cope with his world. The art is decent enough and I think young readers might be able to relate.

This is a really fantastic story and I really liked getting an inside look at this particular job. The art is also fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Lion Forge, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Timothy has a hard time dealing with parents that constantly fight and other children at school are hard to relate to. He enjoys nature and superheroes, which most of his classmates don't. On top of that, a developer is planning to renovate the park and replace it with a concrete monstrosity. He doesn't know how to save the park, but soon discovers that he was given powers that allow him to heal and grow plant life. Now he just has to figure out how to use them.

Timothy is a third grader that fears speaking up in front of the class, and it doesn't help that his teacher makes a point of having him be an example in front of the class. He retreats into his fantasy superhero world, which most children would appreciate and understand. It's difficult to handle feelings of helplessness, but in his daydreams, he can be a hero with a sidekick to help right the wrongs that seem too big in real life.

The art is approachable, and the limited color palette means that certain things really pop visually. It shows before the characters even speak how important things are to them, and the random symbols of the arguments show how the topic is entirely over Timothy's head. My daughter read this book and loved it; her favorite part was the climactic ending that neither of us want to spoil for the next reader. Overall, this really highlights that sometimes it's the small gestures that matter, and it's worthwhile to keep fighting, even when it feels hopeless. Maybe it doesn't always work out, but it's always worth the effort.

An interesting story, and easy to follow. Not super complex, but still enjoyable and has a good message.

This is very much a graphic novel for the young (or young at heart). I was surprised at how well it worked even though it's been translated from Spanish. The story is so sweet and the animation reminds me of the cartoons of my childhood. It's not a very long or complicated story but I can see it easily becoming a favorite for many young readers - heck, I'm looking forward to book #2.

I like how the story of this graphic novel is close to reality. Some kids usually deal with several issues even at a young age, such as the problem with their family and bullies. Timothy in the story was facing these problems and through him, it shows that young kids are also stressed out.

The major problem in the story is on how Timothy could be able to save the big tree named Little John in the park from an evil businessman, Mr. Plumbee. His desire to preserve the tree is an example not only to respect the environment but his perseverance is also an inspiration to look up to. Also, the teaser in the epilogue is really interesting and I wonder what happened to Mr. Plumbee and what will be his next move.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is an interesting graphic novel with a focus on saving nature and memories. The main plot I think works well that way. Timothy is a sensitive kid who loves nature-- plants and bugs. He is caring and thinks creatively both of which get him teased by both his peers AND his teacher. The peers I understood, the teacher?? That felt a bit unreal to me, but I suppose can happen. There is also his home life as a conflict since his parents are fighting constantly.

I think much of the conflict is settled too easily-- not the main plot, that is awesome, but the little things that change because of his powers... I don't want to give anything away and honestly the more I think about it, the more I sway myself. Perhaps knowing that just a little effort and giving can change things is good for children to read about.

I also liked the artwork. It is fun and cute, but the drawings and some of the panels give even more meaning to the book. There are parts that are heartbreaking.

Do I recommend it? This is where I'm stuck... I think many people will like it, but I also felt like it was missing something that I can't explain. I'm divided on this point.

Timothy has a hard time dealing with parents that constantly fight and other children at school are hard to relate to. He enjoys nature and superheroes, which most of his classmates don't. On top of that, a developer is planning to renovate the park and replace it with a concrete monstrosity. He doesn't know how to save the park, but soon discovers that he was given powers that allow him to heal and grow plant life. Now he just has to figure out how to use them.

Timothy is a third grader that fears speaking up in front of the class, and it doesn't help that his teacher makes a point of having him be an example in front of the class. He retreats into his fantasy superhero world, which most children would appreciate and understand. It's difficult to handle feelings of helplessness, but in his daydreams, he can be a hero with a sidekick to help right the wrongs that seem too big in real life.

The art is approachable, and the limited color palette means that certain things really pop visually. It shows before the characters even speak how important things are to them, and the random symbols of the arguments show how the topic is entirely over Timothy's head. My daughter read this book and loved it; her favorite part was the climactic ending that neither of us want to spoil for the next reader. Overall, this really highlights that sometimes it's the small gestures that matter, and it's worthwhile to keep fighting, even when it feels hopeless. Maybe it doesn't always work out, but it's always worth the effort.

Timothy Top was a unique story that correlated with a realistic point of view. We were fascinated with the fact that Timothy's superpower was "green thumb" being that our community and staff are huge green advocates (not to mention we have a tower garden in our library). Fighting for a cause that is worthy for Timothy is also inspiring young readers to pick their battles and if they believe in whats right, it will all work out in the end. We also found it interesting that Timothy was battling fixing his parents relationship and how he shows passion for the love of his parents and the structure of his family and how much it means to him. This book was very inspiring and motivating.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. We will definitely be considering this title for our graphic novel collection. That is why we give this book 4 stars.

A boy and a farty little pig save the world – well, one nice corner of it – when he discovers the powers that lie within him. It's clearly a huge metaphor for willpower, but I liked this a lot. The set-up is fine, the efforts from others our hero sees that inspire him are spot on, and I liked the fact it conveyed the baby-steps, save the world one tree at a time moral, but in such a light way when it could have been really rammed down our throats. The artwork is great, and much kudos to the use of technical symbols and wingdings fonts for the bickering adults that talk about things beyond our lad's ken. Also of note is how this is quirky, but in a good way – and I think they hit peak quirk, as any more would have made this too oddball. So a thoroughly measured and competent book, then, and one adults could easily read and enjoy as much as the children it's aimed at. This has the makings of launching a wonderful series. A strong four stars.

Review to be posted on all sources when the release day is closer by.

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

Frankly, I have no freaking idea what just happened. Before I knew it the book was over and I was left with questions. Like where did the hog come from? How did Timothy get his powers? What are his powers (as it seems they don't do much except shiny pretty light and maybe grow a few plants)? What was up with the villain and why was it necessary to add a small backstory? Why did the parents speak in emoticons (I really thought my copy was wrong, and then I noticed it was only the parents when they argued who had the emoticons)? Why aren't the parents seeking help? Don't they see they are hurting their kids? What is up with that teacher at school? Why is everyone so mean towards Timothy? And yes, I could go on.

The idea is fun, a boy who is normally very average gets superpowers and has to save the local park from being destroyed by some weird looking guy (and we can clearly see that love makes blind). In the mean time he also has to deal with bullying at school (both from the teacher and the students) and his home situation is also not the best (his parents constantly fight/are tired).

I flew through this book, also because there wasn't always text, or when there was text there wasn't much. This book heavily relies on its illustrations to tell the tale.

But as I said I just couldn't make sense of anything. I could see what happened, but for some reason it just didn't click together. It just seemed like a big dream-like/rambling rant.

The illustrations were pretty OK-ish. They did fit the weirdness and wth is going on of the book.

I probably won't be reading the second book when it comes out.

Timothy Top has a hard time at school. His parents are constantly arguing and he is just a sad little boy. They one day everything changes. He gets superpowers. Mister Plumbee wants to turn the park into concrete and no pets. Timothy does not want to see an old tree Little John destroyed. He gains his self esteem and the story goes from there. Good graphics and in comic book form. I think it is a great story for children 8+ to read and enjoy.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a rather interesting story of a boy who decides that to save his park, and his tree, that he has to take action, even when everyone around him feels that it is a lost cause, and who cares about trees anyway, with their falling leaves, and their bugs, and rain, when you can have plastic trees, and enclosed parks.

I think it is a good example of local community action, and how to protest the wrongs that need to be righted. And kids will enjoy seeing how an outsider like Timothy saves the day.

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