Hilda and the Hidden People: Hilda Netflix Tie-In 1 (Hilda Tie-In)

There are at least five Hilda books. Each one comprises a complete story arc, but the six also establish a larger continuing story. If you think of those five books as "albums", then this new book is composed of various "tracks" from the first of them that have been arranged to tell the beginning of that overall story.So, while the first Hilda book is about a rock troll, and the second Hilda book is about the Elf community around Hilda's home, this book just condenses those two complete stories and hints at the other stories to come. On the one hand that makes this book basically a single volume summary of the Hilda tales to date, but on the other hand that necessarily means that those tales have lost a certain amount of charm and depth, since they have had to be condensed pretty dramatically.To continue the album analogy, if you own all of the original albums, maybe you don't need the collected hits. But, if you want to introduce Hilda to someone or get them caught up or aren't willing to commit to buying five different books, this is a fine way to get a broad sense of Hilda and her world.This is the tie-in to the upcoming TV show based on the books, and so it almost had to lose a little bit in its development journey. That said, this book does a surprisingly good job of fairly presenting Hilda. It is a bit more text based than the originals, and that text is not by Hilda's creator, Luke Pearson. The illustrator is new as well. But, the drawings are remarkably close to Pearson's style, and the text is especially faithful to Pearson's storytelling. Unless you're a superfan of the originals you might not even notice the difference. (So maybe this is like an accomplished "tribute" album?)The big picture, though is that Hilda is an admirable and very appealing character - energetic, observant, assertive, independent, resourceful, and kind-hearted. Any Hilda is better than no Hilda, and this book is a perfectly fine way to meet her, to become acquainted with her charms, and to enjoy her adventures.(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)