The BCCB calls XOLO by Donna Barba Higuera “clever” and “visually arresting” in starred review: “Dog lovers will be particularly pleased…to learn that one very good dog saved the world.”

★ XOLO by Donna Barba Higuera, illus. by Mariana Ruiz Johnson.

In this clever, visually arresting graphic novel, Xolotl, the dog-headed god and brother to the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, gets a chance to give his own version of how Quetzalcoatl brough humanity back to Earth. The main details of the setup are dealt with quickly: humans have died out, the planet needs to heal, and the gods have come to Earth, each claiming an element to help ready it for an eventual return of people. Xolotl chooses lightning and thunder, hoping to be closer to his brother, the god of wind, but Quetzalcoatl is entirely indifferent to Xolo. When the god of the underworld, rejected by the other gods and seeking revenge for his mistreatment, emerges with a plan to destroy humanity forever, all must make a bold sacrifice, with only Xolo too timid to do so. The remainder of the story is setting right the harm done by his fear, with Xolo ultimately emerging as the hero (though his brother steals the credit). Xolo is immediately endearing, deeply committed to his family and focused on the importance of the return of humanity even when some of the other gods become content with the world as it is. His ultimate triumph is so transformative that readers will likely celebrate Xolo's growth, rather than be angry at his ego-driven, vainglorious brother when he claims victory. The exceptional artwork, deeply inspired by the Codex Borgia, a sixteenth-century pre-Columbian Aztec manuscript, is impeccable, resplendent with rich, vibrant colors and stylized linework in the evocative visual representations of ritual, sacrifice, ego, weakness, and, finally, redemption. Dog lovers will be particularly pleased, though little surprised, to learn that one very good dog saved the world.

—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)