Writer, Artist, Colorist, Letterer & Cover Artist: Caitlin Rose Boyle
Publisher: Oni Press
Price: $12.99
Release Date: March 11, 2026
When Frankie Fairy returns home, she calls out to her mom as she flops down to rest. As Frankie takes off her shoes, her mom asks how her day at school went. When she enthuses about making crafts, her mom promises to look at her latest masterpiece. But first, she asks her daughter to walk Tuna.
Frankie calls out for her pet. But she can't find her anywhere. Where has Tuna gone? And can Frankie find her? Let’s grab our art supplies, leap into Frankie and the Curious Cocoon Quest HC, and see!
Story
Frankie looks in all the places she would expect to find her pet. The pet bed on the lower shelf of the coffee table is empty. Frankie peers among the stems of a potted plant. Tuna isn’t sleeping on a stack of towels in the closet, or nuzzling into the fibers of the bathroom rug. When she approaches her mom, Frankie explains that she's looked everywhere in the house she would expect to find Tuna. When her mother gazes through the window, she wonders if Tuna might have ventured outside. Despite Frankie's reluctance, she accompanies her mother outdoors.
After inviting readers into Frankie’s world, Caitlin Rose Boyle gives Frankie’s mother the reins of her story. Initially, Frankie felt in control of her world in Frankie and the Curious Cocoon Quest HC. But outside, her mother becomes Frankie’s guide. Frankie resists her mother’s notion that Tuna may be changing. But as her mom shows her how change occurs in the world, Frankie grows more comfortable with the notion that growth involves adapting to the changes that life brings our way.
Art
Frankie's pointed ears poke out of her bouffant hair as she regards the world through big, expressive eyes. Her love of animals shows in her backpack, stuffed toys, and bedroom clock. Key rings, a fridge magnet, and her mom's sweater show where Frankie gets her love of nature from. Photos of her mother and Frankie adorn every room. And like Frankie, her mother lavishes her attention on a spiral-bound notebook adorned with numerous colored tabs.
Caitlin Rose Boyle fills Frankie and the Curious Cocoon Quest HC with a palette of bright and inviting colors. Frankie's blue hair turns red as the yellow and orange cocoons in the tree outside incite her fear of change. Yellow and orange also link the mother and daughter's clothes with their love of art and learning. Faces of Frankie and her mother, surrounded by orange, evoke stickers in Frankie's journal, as a Ladybug's life cycle illustrates their discussion.
While Frankie and the Curious Cocoon Quest HC is a children's book, Caitlin Rose Boyle designs her tale like a comic. Black uppercase dialogue fills white balloons. The lettering and balloon shapes express the character's emotions, while music notes illustrate the family's love of music. Sound effects accompany Frankie and her mother as they explore the world around their home, while letters on the colored panels reveal Frankie’s thoughts and anxiety about her missing pet. Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
When Frankie arrives home, the art she created at school hints at her teacher's lessons. Frankie's mother translates the teacher's ideas into concrete terms and helps her daughter embrace the consequences of change in Frankie and the Curious Cocoon Quest HC.
Rating 9.5/10
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