This was a great allegory about how humans are to self-absorbed to notice what is right in front of them. The illustrations and the story itself were both charming.

This story totally blew me out of the water! The art was above and beyond my expectations, and the storytelling was really unique. There were points when I literally laughed out loud while reading this book. Bolivar has definitely secured its spot in my top 3 children's books! I would highly recommend picking up a copy for your personal collection or for the classroom. Any kid would love this book! It's entertaining, funny, and all around spectacular!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with the ARC.

Oh what a delightful book! I loved it! Sean Rubin is a genius in making us want something that we never knew we do and in this case it is a dinosaur for a friend!
I heard that he spent a very long time finishing this and I could see why. Each and every page is so beautifully done.

I simply cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy for my daughter.

A gorgeous graphic novel for kids about a young girl, Sybil, who lives in New York City, and suspects her neighbor is a dinosaur. To her frustration, no one believes her (so annoying when you're a kid, to have adults dismiss you!), because everyone is too busy to notice what's right in front of them (social commentary snuck in without hitting us over the head with it! yay!). The neighbor, Bolivar, is a T-Rex type dinosaur who likes corned beef sandwiches, going to museums and book stores, and being left alone. He's very good at going unnoticed, like many introverts are (more social commentary, allowing introvert kiddos to see themselves in the story! yay!). A series of crazy happenings and coincidences cause Bolivar's identity to be exposed, but things work out well in the end. The illustrations are fabulously filled with detail, and the speech bubbles are clearly differentiated by colored text, making it easy to tell who is speaking. Just wonderful.

#Bolivar #NetGalley

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This is such a cute book! not only the story but the art is soo cute! really want to own this!

A delightful story of a young girl in New York who lives next door to a dinosaur. However, everyone but her is too wrapped up in their own lives to notice Bolivar on the subway, at the bookstore, etc. No one believes her until...

Part childrens book, part graphic novel, this book is a love letter to New York. Sean Rubin grew up there and it took five years to create this book. The art is luscious and vividly detailed. Your eyes will be rewarded by taking in those not only 2 page spreads, but sometimes 4 or 6 pages. I love how scenes like the subway car go on for several pages so we can take all the riders in and finally see Bolivar hiding amongst them. This was an absolute delight.

Bolivar is the graphic novel for kids growing out of Imogene's Antlers or What the Mailman Brought. It takes a very strange occurrence - a dinosaur living in New York City - and makes it very commonplace. The bulk of the plot is Sybil either trying to see her neighbor or prove to others that he is a dinosaur. The adults in the neighborhood interact with Bolivar regularly but are so caught up in their own concerns that they cannot see that he isn't human. Or if they do notice something odd about him assume they can't possibly be right. This is actually a pretty high level concept for such a simple story since most of the plot is predicated on self absorption and willful ignorance. In the end, the plot doesn't even matter (though it's definitely worth reading). The illustrations are amazing. They are full of super fine details. It's a book you can enjoy simply leafing through.

A graphic novel about a girl living in New York and her next door neighbor is a dinosaur and no one seems to believe her. The dinosaur is living in one of the busiest cities just to avoid interacting with people who are so immersed in their lives that they don't notice him coming and going.
I loved the art style and the interactions of the girl and the dinosaur.

It's a definitely enjoyable read for people of all ages.

I thank Netgalley and Archaia for the digital ARC.

Beautiful illustrations and an interesting story! I enjoyed reading this. It's very up my alley as well.

A fun 5 🌟 read for me!

This story is somewhat unusual and I would say it's a good depiction of the adults today not seeing things that's hovering right in front of our eyes even if we are running around every waking minute trying to do 'important' things.

The story talks about a small girl who happens to be the only one noticing the last dinosaur on Earth as her neighbour while everyone just fails to notice the obvious because of obvious reasons! Yes, no one actually cares (I guess the zombie apocalypse might not be that far because we are turning into zombies by the way!). Okay, that wasn't required at all for this review. Excuse me.

And so this young girl tries her best to show some valid proof at least to her mom that there's an actual dinosaur. And like every other adult on Earth, the mom doesn't listen to her kid.

Things happen (I don't want to spoil the ending).

And it ended fairly well.

But yes, the story seems to be a little too far fetched for me. If it was a teeny tiny animal, it would have been a much plausible one.

However, it was executed pretty well.

The illustrations did it all! Love the artstyle. It makes me nostalgic just looking at the illustrations!

A fun book to read and to be read to I say!

Pretty hilarious (and satirical for the adults reading it).

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

Bolivar is a dinosaur. Bolivar leads a quite, unremarkable life. No one notices the fact that Bolivar is a dinosaur, that is, except his young neighbor, Sybil.

Sybil tries so hard to get people to listen to her about the dinosaur next door. Those around her never seem to have enough time to pay attention to what she is trying to tell them.

Then one day, Bolivar is issued a parking ticket. He goes to City Hall to dispute the ticket. How can he get a parking ticket. He is a dinosaur, not a motor vehicle. No one took notice. He tried.

He ends up at the Natural History Museum and Sybil is there with her classmates on a field trip. Sybil sees Bolivar and Bolivar sees Sybil. Not shortly thereafter, everyone sees Bolivar. Apparently seeing a dinosaur is startling.

This book and artwork were well done. I enjoyed reading about Bolivar and Sybil.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Sean Rubin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bolivar was an adorable story about a dinosaur living in New York city where no one but one little girl, Sybil, notices him. It was a great story about how so many people can be wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of life and not stop to just look around and notice the small things. Bolivar was a really cute character, but I didn't enjoy all of the characters. The mother in particular was quite patronizing and wasn't the best character. The illustrations were nice and quite detailed. I especially liked how we got to see the pictures that Sybil has been taking. Overall, I don't think the story was amazing, but it was enjoyable.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Bolivar, by Sean Rubin
★★★★★
224 Pages


This was one SUPER CUTE story, for all ages.
The artwork was stunning, the story had a lovely message and a feel-good factor, and the plot was both sweet and clever.

The relationship between Sybil and Bolivar is neighbourly and doesn't become a friendship, as such, until late in the book. The story is more about Sybil being the only person in New York City that notices her neighbour is a dinosaur, and she sets out to prove it. We see Sybil encountering him often in their small, local neighbourhood, and it becomes a lovely take on (one of my personal childhood favourites) Where's Wally. You end up searching every page to see if there's a small piece of Bolivar on show – a tail, his silhouette or his head. It's so cleverly done, to show how easily even Bolivar drifts into the chaotic background of a crowd.

I loved the consistency of the artwork. Which sounds strange, but there were many times I noticed other “characters” in the background – such as an end panel where the bratty King Kong kid appeared with his mother – that just added another layer to the idea of a local, familiar neighbourhood.

Overall, a really loved the story. It was lovely, sweet, fun and had a lovely message for children. I'm not ashamed to say that as a 30-year-old adult, I'm planning to buy the hardback for myself. This is a smash-hit for kids and adults alike.

I think most kids can relate to being accused of fibbing by adults...but poor Sybil is telling the truth when she tries to alert everyone that there is a dinosaur living next door. Everyone is just too busy to notice so she sets off on a mission to capture evidence. The illustrations in this book tell the story as well as, maybe even better than, the text. I can see a child snuggling in and paging through Bolivar "reading" the pictures to themselves. Definitely get the hardcover edition of this book. It was lovely as an e-book but would be a treasure to actually hold in your hands.

Bolivar by Sean Rubin is a gorgeous children's book in the style of a graphic novel, with some great adult humor blended in. This adventurous life of a dinosaur intertwined with the buzzing of New York City was a great contrast as depicted from a child's point of view. The art style is so unique and engrossing - just beautiful!

Thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.

In this beautifully illustrated childrens book, nothing is as it appears. Take the time to look around and you will find things that you have missed, such as a dinosaur living next door! In the hustle and bustle of life, it is hard to remember to take the time to slow down and enjoy our lives and our surroundings, this book helps us to remember just that. We follow a young girl who notices the dinosaur living next door, and when no one believes her, she goes on a mission to capture his photograph. Follow their adventure in this book, as it reminds us of the little things in it’s beautiful illustrations and makes us wonder if what we are missing in our own lives.

Not only is this book well written and beautilfuly illustrated, it has an important life lesson not only for children but for adults. This book teaches us to take the time to look at the little things and to remember what it is like to have just a little bit of imagination and happiness in our lives. Now that I am aware there are more books of Bolivar, I will be searching for those!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

The spreads in this book are gorgeous. I love the art style, and I love the way the book seamlessly blends picture book and graphic novel styles. I think if I were a New Yorker, I may rate this book five stars, but as a non-New York reader, this love letter to the city doesn't grab me quite as much as it otherwise might. But I can't stress enough how beautiful the book is.

Bolivar, by Sean Rubin, is an illustrated children's story about Bolivar, a dinosaur who lives in New York. He travels around freely because everyone is too busy to take any notice of him. Except a little girl, Sybil, who for some reason is able to see him. What follows is a humorous romp through the town.
The artwork of course was excellent and that in itself deserves five stars. However, a story such as this is predicated on suspension of disbelief. In other words, it has to be believable that no one would notice the dinosaur, and this I have a problem with. It comes across as insulting, as if people are dull and completely non-observant, and so any dinosaur could roam a busy city at will, with no fear of consequences. Except if people suddenly *blink* they can see it, which is even more confusing. This is where I think the story misses the mark. Instead I would have found a better story if Bolivar at least tried to hide, wearing disguises and blending into the backgrounds from the start. That would show his intelligence and highlight those, like Sybil, who were sharp enough to see through his facade.

This book is a fun example of adult humor used throughout a children's book. This is a fun adventure of the life of a Dinosaur intertwined with the hustle & bustle of New York City and depicted from a child's point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, the art style is so BEAUTIFUL!!!
The Story? Also beautiful. I loved how no one simply could not notice that Bolivar was a dino because they were too busy.
Even a dino feels invisible, that’s how busy we are. It's got a wonderful message to kids. I highly recommend it.