Cozy Fantasy, Baking, Magic & stunning artwork?? Say less! 100% sold!

This was so darn cute!!! From the absolutely gorgeous artwork to the whimsical storyline, I loved everything about this graphic novel! The Baker and the Bard is such a heartwarming tale of friendship, found family, adventure, gender expression, environmental conservation, love and being true to yourself!

🥖 Baking
🗺️ Adventure
🐛 Fae Bugs
🫶 Found Family
✨ Cozy Fantasy
🖼️ Graphic Novel
🎨 Amazing Artwork
🍄 Mushroom Quest
🪈 Bard

This has instantly become one of my favorite cozy fantasy graphic novels and I look forward to reading more of Fern Haught’s work in the future!

Thank you Feiwel & Friends for the gifted copy!

I was initially drawn to this book because it was marketed as being perfect for fans of The Tea Dragon Society, Legends & Lattes, and Animal Crossing and it did not disappoint!

This graphic novel follows the journey of Juniper and Hadley as they embark on an adventure to forage mushrooms for a large order of pastries. This simple mission turns into a whimsical adventure taking them through the woods in order to help Thistle, a little fey in need of help.

This graphic novel was short, cute, and very cozy! With all of the story problems being quite low stakes, I would absolutely categorize this as a cozy fantasy and perfect for fans of any of the aforementioned media above. I cannot wait to pick up a copy of this for my personal library!

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

A recipe in the back?! An adorable adventure. Baking, wholesome vibes. What more could you want!
I thought this was a sweet fast paced graphic novel perfect for a cosy fantasy lover.

This was a really sweet, cozy read.
I thought the soft color palette and the illustrations were wonderful.
I think overall it was just missing some depth. Everything felt very surface level and some conversations between characters felt forced or out of place.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Absolutely perfect for readers who love the Tea Dragon Society! The inclusive cast, beautifully told story, and wonderful art all feel like a soft hug. Graphic novels like The Baker and the Bard remain some of my absolute favorites!

The Baker and the Brad is a debut graphic novel from Fern Haught. It is a story of June the Baker and Hadley the Bard as they go on a quest that should be simple, but gets a little more interesting once they reach the woods. There is magic and wonder, friendship and authenticity.

This cozy little fantasy adventure was a short sweet read. The illustrations were done in a lovely palette. My only critique would be that the drastic contrast between the softness of the illustrations and the harshness of the speech bubbles was a bit distracting. The story itself was a gentle adventure in finding oneself. It is the perfect introduction to any kid who enjoys RPGs and graphic novels. It was adorable and the non-binary representation is much needed in books today. Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy through NetGally. It does not affect my review in any way.

This is a story of two friends - one a baker and one a bard - who have an adventure together when they go to find some mushrooms for some pastries.

It was super adorable and I loved the non-binary representation. While it was adorable, it was quite young. The humor was amusing, but this didn't say a whole lot. The art is lovely and it made me feel like I was in a cozy dnd game. Super cute!

Like a warm hug.

3.5 stars

The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught is the author’s debut graphic novel. this story follows June (the baker) and Hadley (the bard) as they go on a quest into the woods for a special ingredient. their adventure is filled with magic, creatures, music, and baking and it truly lives up to the cozy fantasy name.

What I Loved:
—lovely art style that gives me the warm fuzzies! very reminiscent of The Tea Dragon Society
—the images that took up the whole page and had no text were just stunning; so well done!
—non-binary representation!

What I Didn’t Love:
—everything this book did well, it did on a very basic level. it’s super similar to The Tea Dragon Society, except The Tea Dragon Society is more complex and fleshed out on every level. all in all, I would definitely recommend the The Tea Dragon Society over this because while this book is cute, it's nothing to rave about. The Baker and the Bard would be better classified as middle grade rather than young adult because everything was truly so basic, and I would be writing a different review if it was better classified.
—the text/font could’ve been better incorporated into the panels and images themselves. since the color palette for this graphic novel was so soft, the black text on white text bubbles created too much contrast. changing the color of the background (even to a more off white) or changing the color of the black text (even to a shade of grey) would’ve made a big difference!

overall, a really cute story, but I would love to see a story with a little more creativity and ~umpf~ from Fern Haught in the future!

{I received an advanced review copy from Fiewel & Friends through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review}

This was such a cozy read. I had such a delightful time reading this graphic novel. The characters were a lot of fun, and the art was really cute. I did want to a little bit more depth from this, but overall it is just so delightful.

Such a cute and cozy read. The art is soft, the characters are sweet and you just need a fast glimpse to see they like each other but this is not a romance, it's an adventure! Looking for an important ingredient for a special pastry order will bring them to meet new people and experience the world outside their village. It was really cute.

The art, the color scheme, and the story were all so great...and it's their debut?! This was such a cute and cozy quick read, that I think would be perfect for fans of The Tea Dragon Society and Garlic and the Vampire. It has magic, baking, friendship, adventure, and fae. I will definitely be adding this to my collection.

I LOVE an adventure story. I love a cozy fantasy world. I love friendship! I love a book that HAS A RECIPE IN THE BACK.

I also love not only the representation, but the discussion of gender between the two characters. I think it was so seamlessly written in. I loved that.

It was simple and sweet and I loved it.

This was super cute. I really liked the art. The story was fun and whimsical. All the characters were super lovable and adorable. Definitely would recommend to cozy fantasy fans!

The Baker and the Bard was such a sweet graphic novel about discovering one's self and passion. It was a light adventure novel with amazing cozy vibes, which the art style did a great job emphasizing. The characters were an amazing balance to each other and helped progress each other.

A sweet and fluffy adventure, short and fast paced. Full of laughter and joy. Soft and sweet characters, stunning illustrations.

One of my favorite art styles! Loved this so much it was a cozy, fun , and beautiful tale! A quick read and I love that a Recipe was included at the end! Unique characters that I would enjoy seeing on another adventure! Highly recommend!

A very cute and cozy children's fantasy graphic novel! This has a baker and a bard (with a cute little snake) end up on an adventure.

The artwork was great, and this is a bit simpler of a story, but for the audience it's intended for - this would be a very fun "first fantasy/rpg inspired book" for young readers!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for making this ARC accessible!

This was a very cute and a very tender story! 4.5
The artwork and the main story line really caught my attention and heart the most!! Loved the ending bit where an actual recipe was illustrated and included- lovely touch. I enjoyed the character design additions in the back too.

My only issue was it felt disjointed somehow and felt like the author was fitting a whole bunch of story pieces into one graphic novel with a few loose ends or slightly off pacing parts that i had a hard time following all the way.

Lovely, gorgeous artwork and loved the characters so much tho!!

This book was so much fun! Sweet, thoughtful, and beautiful, The Baker and the Bard was comforting in a way I didn’t even know I needed. Although relatively short, I felt like I deeply connected with Juniper, Hadley, and this entire world—a fantasy world with a feeling of such normalcy that I immediately was sucked into it. The characters were truly lovely; in particular, Juniper and Hadley’s interactions felt so realistic, and their friendship consistently made me smile. I also loved the queer/nonbinary characters, whose acceptance in this world fit so well and made me think of A Psalm for the Wild-Built.

​The illustrations were bright and fun, and helped make this book a quick read while moving at a relaxing, leisurely pace. I particularly loved the frequent full-page illustrations, which contributed such a sense of place and atmosphere to the story. Although often relatively simple, they were perfectly expressive, and the primarily pastel color palette helped maintain the quiet, open mood of the story. If you love graphic novels or just feel-good reads, this is definitely a book I'd highly recommend!

A young baker sets off to find a special ingredient but finds a village facing devastation from caterpillars. This is a sweet, simplistic story of friendship and environment. It would best fit upper elementary and young middle school readers.