Local cartoonist Stephen McCranie will be hosting a release party for his new book at the Los Alamos County Library 4-6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17.

The new book, Belly Flop!, is the third volume of an all-ages graphic novel series called Mal and Chad. McCranie will give a short talk and will be available afterwards to chat and sign books.

Books can be purchased for $10.

McCranie graduated from Los Alamos High School and attended the University of New Mexico. While there, he began working on a comic strip called Mal and Chad about a boy genius and his talking dog for the UNM school newspaper.

An editor from Penguin Young Readers Group found his comic strips online, and approached McCranie about adapting the feature into a series of children’s books.

After graduating from UNM with a degree in Fine Arts, McCranie began working on the series full time.

In his recent book, Belly Flop!, the boy genius Mal invents a machine that can control the weather.

After the machine malfunctions and covers the town in a freak snowstorm, he and his faithful sidekick dog Chad, must journey through the snow to destroy the machine and save the town.