From Booklist , September 15, 1995
Unlike most graphic novels, this powerful new effort is neither genre fiction nor autobiographical, but a compelling tale of childhood sexual abuse and recovery. Its heroine is teenager Helen Potter, who has run away from an abusive father and whose path to recovery takes her from a squat in London to refuge at an inn in the British countryside. Along the way, she meets characters and situations that Talbot derives from the work of Helen's namesake, Beatrix Potter, whose life he symbolically links to Helen's. Talbot's vivid, realistic full-color illustration brilliantly evokes the story's settings, yet even more effective are his compassionate characterizations. Although Helen's eventual decision to take responsibility for her recovery seems somewhat facile, her ultimate triumph is genuinely inspirational. This graphic novel has the potential to affect a large audience, notably including counselors and others who work with abuse survivors.

From Publishers Weekly
The solemn little turtle Chunky Rice embarks on a journey from his seaport home, obeying an inner call he can't quite articulate. His mouse girlfriend, Dandel, encourages him. ("You're like a little flower that's outgrown its pot," she says, as they build their last sand castle.) But once Chunky leaves, Dandel spends her time collecting empty bottles and filling them with letters she hopes will reach him at sea. The themes of deep friendship and the pain of separation are amplified in the lives of other characters. Chunky's kindly neighbor Solomon befriends a wounded bird, seeking consolation for a childhood loss, while Solomon's estranged and gruff brother, Charles--on whose boat Chunky sails--long ago embraced the sea for companionship. There is little dialogue, but each panel of this comics novel--from the vast expanse of ocean that fills an entire page to the tiny closeup of Dandel's sleeping face--carries the emotional heft of the story forward. Thompson's b&w drawings exhibit a sturdy line and offer generous details, forcing the eye to linger on every page. The perspective zooms in and out, panels change size and overlap and Thompson uses so much black that his drawings often look like cut-paper silhouettes. His characters' irresistibly smooth, round shapes, meanwhile, add to the charm and humor of their expressions, by turns wistful, anxious and joyful. Thompson has crafted an enduring fable in words and pictures--an alternative-comics answer to Saint-Exupry's Little Prince--that will charm anyone separated from a dear and loving friend.