- Graphic Novels
- Ages 5–8
- Comedy
Pizza and Taco: Who's the Best?
Book 1 of 11 in Pizza and TacoView the full series
A brilliantly simple early graphic novel about two food best friends arguing over who is better. It is very friendly for new independent readers, with big jokes, expressive panels and an easy friendship conflict.
- Best for5–8
- FormatGraphic
- Length72 pp
- Read aloud~34 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Warm
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Pizza and Taco are best friends, but both of them are pretty sure they are the best. Pizza has all the toppings, Taco has all the crunch, and neither wants to back down. Their argument becomes a funny, low-stakes contest full of food jokes, dramatic reactions and childlike logic. Stephen Shaskan's first Pizza and Taco book is designed as an early graphic novel: short chapters, bold panels, limited prose, expressive faces and jokes children can grasp quickly. The friendship problem is simple enough for younger readers, but the comic timing makes it more fun than a standard early reader. It is especially useful for children moving from picture books into graphic novels, or for reluctant readers who respond to visual storytelling, speech bubbles and silly character comedy.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 5–8
- Read aloud · 5–8
- Independent · 5–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Bedtime
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- First graphic novel
- Reluctant readers
- Funny food characters
- Friendship comedy
- Newly independent readers
Avoid if
- Wants dense prose
- Prefers realistic children
- Wants big adventure
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
- Making friends
- Low self esteem
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A snappy, silly early comic series — a confidence-builder for new and reluctant readers.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the actual vote — Pizza and Taco both convinced they're the best, holding an election to settle it, the friendship under genuine comic strain. The early graphic novel opener that turns a tiny argument into a whole story.
- Friendship and belonging
- Trickery and cleverness
Why parents love it
The Pizza and Taco opener — early graphic novel format perfected: tiny vocabulary, big panels, food-character premise, friendship-rivalry as the plot. Strong reluctant-reader bet for ages five-to-six up.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Bedtime appropriate
In the series
Pizza and Taco.
11 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Stephen Shaskan.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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