Branching into Chapters: Pea, Bee, & Jay: Stuck Together by Brian "Smitty" Smith

 Pea is an adventurer and likes to live on the wild side. After he escapes from his watchful mother and grandfather, he meets up with his friends and takes their dare to travel... under the fence and off the farm! His goal is a tree and a red leaf to prove how far he's gone. Of course, things go wrong almost immediately and he has a serious of terrifying and wild adventures before meeting up with some unusual new friends, Bee and Jay. Together the three help Pea find his way home and learn new things about themselves along the way.

Simple, colorful illustrations and basic panels take young readers through this intermediate graphic novel and the adventures of the three friends. There's a number of different cartoon fruits and vegetables, a swarm of bees, and lots of green grass and other vegetation in the background.

I have never quite understood the appeal of talking food, but kids seem to find this endlessly amusing. While the logic of a talking, sentient pea (with a gender?) teaming up with a bee away from the swarm and a jay who can't fly grates on my nerves, kids will find the silliness all in good fun.

Verdict: A popular addition for young readers moving on from Elephant and Piggie. Pass this one out along with Pizza and Taco, Terry Border's picture books, and similar stories.

ISBN: 9780062981165; Published 2020 by Harper Alley; Borrowed from another library in my consortium