A clever, charming tale of a world-weary wanderer who is running out of tricks up his sleeve. Perfect for a snowy winter's eve.

I was honestly more confused by this book than anything else. It's laid out like a children's picture book with simplistic prose and full-page illustrations, but some of the content was pretty risqué. I'm not a parent myself, but I can't imagine wanting my child to read a book with partial nudity in the illustrations and implied sexual encounters. Even if this is geared towards the middle-grade audience (which I still think is a questionable age for topless women in a picture book), I feel like the middle-grade readers I know would be put off by a book formatted like a picture book instead of a true graphic novel. This book was cute enough for me as an adult reader, but I'm still left confused as to its intended audience. I was hoping for something that referenced some known myths and legends, but instead I got a completely original story and characters - again, not outright a bad thing, but confusing based on the brief description. Overall this one gets 3/5 ⭐️

Best of the book: The beautiful illustrations.
Worst of the book: I get that show-don't-tell is a thing, but it felt like half of the plot of this book was implied.

Thank you for the opportunity to review and preview this title. I found "Reynard's Tale" to be a delightful little story---certainly one that can easily be picked up and put down and revisited again and again. I think a little background familiarity with Reynard and his trickster ways is important for the reader to come to this book with; otherwise it may be confusing.

The book is one of its kind. A folklore written in a poetic verse which takes you to old times. I have never read a book so beautiful and interesting. The plot ferries us to our childhood with its alluring verses. And, if you are also a fan of poems and folk tales, then you cannot miss this one.

Definitely, 5 stars to the book. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Firstly, I would like to thank the publisher for sending me the digital ARC copy of this book.

It deals with a sort of graphic novel about medieval folklore of trickster tales. In this case, the story of Reynard the fox. His adventures are full of mermaids, lovers, kings and murderers.
The narration is simple and fluent. The best part is the work of the cartoonist Ben Hatke. Especially I loved the decision to have black and white illustrations. Besides, I found the drawing of the fox almost perfect. It portrays the idea of trickster. And it made me curious about this kind of legends.

I suggest this book to everyone who loves graphic novels and medieval atmospheres.

An utter delight. Invokes the feeling of held breath around a campfire listening to a story being spoken aloud. This is not one to miss, my friends. Reynard's Tale by Ben Hatke captures so much warmth, mischief, joy, and cunning, it's hard to believe it's such a short story. It leaves you full, though, and smiling.

Reynard's Tale is stories told by a trickster (Reynard) told with an illustrated novel format. I really enjoyed the story and the artwork was a perfect fit. I have read both the Zita and MIghty Jack series and loved them. I can't wait to get my physical copy of Reynard's Tale.

Grownups need fairytales too, and this was a lovely little adventure that I will be revisiting again and again. (The illustrations are delightful as well.)

I received and ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Hatke's children's books. Zita the Spacegirl was one of my first ever graphic novels. So I was very excited to see that he was releasing an adult graphic novel. It's short, but charming. The art is recognizable at Hatke's but definitely has a more adult vibe. It doesn't really read like a graphic novel, so if you're new to the genre, this would be a good place to start. It reads more like a picture book, meaning that the art is on one page and the story is written on the other rather than the art lying under the words and the reader having to skip from moment to moment on the same page.

An interesting take on Reynard tale. Beautiful illustrations showing us the story that is written lyrically. Very quick read. Too sophisticated for the young.

It was ok. Not a story for children. I liked the idea, but found the execution a little stilted. Illustrations were ok, not my favorite.

An interesting and atmospheric take on the original Reynard the Fox: while further familiarity with the original would probably be beneficial in fully appreciating all the details of this story, I really enjoyed this adaptation and the accompanying illustrations.

Many thanks to First Second Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I thought this was an enjoyable story, even though I did not have much prior knowledge of Reynard the Fox before reading this. Because of this, I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I might have if I did have that prior knowledge. However, the writing and illustrations were interesting in that they had an old storybook-like charm, and kept me engaged in the story.

The only exposure I had to Reynard's story before this book was through various media...let's just say they didn't portray him in the best light. Thankfully, this story helped make him more relatable. You get some great storytelling, some funny stories, and an appreciation for the trickster god.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.