With its first-ever graphic novel, Kids Can Press hopes to appeal to readers who are ready to move beyond picture books. Good intentions, but Claire and the Bakery Thief doesn’t always hit the mark, mostly because of an uneven story that straddles two styles. Is this a real girl with normal problems, or a larger-than-life heroine who faces challenges of comic-book proportions? Author Janice Poon, whose background includes art design and cookbooks, can’t seem to decide.

Claire is a young girl whose family has recently moved to the country to open an organic bakery. She and her new best friend explore the countryside on their bikes while sharing thoughts on the bakery, future careers, and why parents fight. Up to this point, the story is set in a familiar world that young readers can recognize. But when Claire’s mother leaves home with the creepy Artificial Flavoring Salesman, the tone suddenly shifts gears. Within a few pages, the girls ride to the city and see Claire’s mother being dragged into a building by her abductor.

This is not fun any more, and suddenly it’s not real, either. The characters become caricatures: Claire goes to work thwarting the diabolical inventor whose plan for world domination rests on Mom’s bread recipe. What started out as a lighthearted story about a resourceful heroine facing real-life challenges suddenly becomes slapstick, complete with an over-the-top villain who says things like “I’ll tie you up and ship you to Bolivia. You’ll have to work for peanuts at my sesame seed sorting plant.”

While the story wavers, the illustrations never falter, depicting the action with clarity and style. A selection of recipes at the back of the book is another appealing feature. Claire certainly has the potential to be an engaging heroine. It’s just too bad that her creator can’t decide which literary world to put her into.