Avatar: The Last Airbender—Book 1: Water, Volume 1

The Avatar of the title is Aang, a 12-year-old reincarnation of an ancient being whose purpose, in the imagined world of this often beautiful anime-style Nickelodeon-aired series, is to restore harmony between the four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. At various times in history, the Avatar has been embodied in different masters of each of those elements, and Aang, freed from a century-long sleep within an iceberg, is an "airbender," capable of using air and wind as forces for moving objects and defeating armies of firebending bad guys. While there's plenty of action here, the greater dramatic interest lies in Aang's reintroduction to the world he left behind 100 years before. Featuring the first four episodes, this unrated—though suitable for 7-up—opening volume in the series also includes a behind-the-scenes "kung fu” featurette. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)