Review Detail

Dusty, ReRe, and Scraps, the Bins family, all star in this fun and hilarious graphic novel called The Racc Pack. Their goal is to find the best trash that they can in the city and they seem to have found a jackpot when a new grocery store is throwing away perfectly good food. Unfortunately, the CEO, Jeff Beans, hates critters and has come up with a high-tech defense system to keep them out of the trash so the Racc Pack has to come up with a plan to defeat him. 

What I Liked: Let me start with the hilarious coincidences of Jeff Beans and Well Bean with people and places that currently exist in our world. The commentary that this book provides on displacement, greed, and sustainability is fascinating. The cat’s, JB’s backstory will tug on your heartstrings as she explains to the Bins family why she wants to help them with this heist. 

This book is full of side-splitting schemes, engaging dialog, and dazzling images. The images add personalities to each of the characters that we are introduced to including the villain. There are moments that you may forget that the animals aren’t the same size as the humans and that this is not a different universe where animals rule because of the ways in which they are drawn. This aspect causes you to want to continue on adventures with the Bins family as they are now your friends. 

While Scraps may be a possum and this story points out characteristics that differentiate him from the raccoons such as his tail and “playing dead,” Dusty and ReRe have accepted him as a raccoon and JB learn to accept that as well. This aspect of the story made for some laughs as Scraps is waiting for his raccoon tail to grow in and we all know this isn’t happening. 

Final Verdict: The Racc Pack is a humorous and riveting story that will have you wanting more adventures from this family and their newfound friend, JB. Children ages 8 and up will savor this story as they go along this heist with their new friends, Dusty, ReRe, Scraps, and JB.