Pup Pup is the Boss of the Stars

An artistic mouse girl sets out across Mexico to find her destiny in this innovative and heartwarming graphic novel that combines arts and crafts, photography, and illustration.

Maggie Mouse…head in the clouds…chores on her doorstep. Maggie lives with her large family in a small Mexican desert town and yearns to be appreciated for her art. When a strange bus rolls into town carrying an animal troupe of poets, wrestlers, and musicians on their way to the Dark Waters Art Festival, Maggie and her faithful companion Pup Pup seize the opportunity to break free from the boundaries of home in exchange for the adventure of the open road. The bus, with its cockroach driver, takes Maggie and Pup Pup north to the border town of Agua Prieta. Soon, an unlikely group of friends find themselves swept up in the wild and outrageous schemes of the tarantula mayor, whose ambition has jeopardized the well-being of the entire town.

Drawing inspiration from both The Wind in the Willows and the author’s own life growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border, Pup Pup Is the Boss of the Stars is an adorable and ambitious story about cultural boundaries, conflict zones, empathy, and growing up. In her debut graphic novel, Elizabeth Marruffo creates a lusciously handcrafted visual world, full of felted anthropomorphic animal characters, diorama set pieces, painted landscapes, and digitally illustrated accents.