Illegal

Illegal

Written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

Illegal provides a powerful, poignant reminder of the sacrifices undocumented immigrants face when risking their lives for a better future. Told from the perspective of Ebo,a twelve year old boy, Illegal details his plight of leaving Niger, as an undocumented immigrant, in the hopes of reuniting and starting a new life with his older brother and sister in Europe.  Ebo meets many kind strangers along his journey who continue to fill him with hope; despite the many setbacks he also faces along the way.

An important theme that stands out to me throughout this story is that migration is an arduous, life threatening journey.  People of all ages are willing to work tirelessly in order to raise enough money to escape for the chance at a better future. They then use their money earned to pay large sums to strangers, in order to risk their lives for a tortuous journey towards a better future. In addition, this story opened my eyes to the business of migration. I will admit that before this story, I was unaware that undocumented immigration is a money making scheme for many people. These scammers promise immigrants a journey to safety, but one they have collected their money, the lives and safety of the migrants is no longer of  concern to them. The transports withhold water, shelter and basic decency, despite the fact that many of the migrants are handing over their life savings all for the promise of a more desirable future.

The visual aspect of this story illustrates, as told through a graphic novel format, provides an emotional perspective that can only be told using illustrations and pauses to draw inferences between panels.  The emotional tone of the story is one that truly could not be described using words.

I would recommend this book for middle school readers and beyond.  Now more than ever, readers need to be exposed to stories of immigration in order to help all people empathize with the plight of undocumented immigration.  Illegal is the perfect reminder that everyone of the undocumented immigrants in this world is a human being. Be sure to pre-order this book from your local independent bookstore.  Illegal will be for sale on August 7, 2018.

I was granted an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow

Spill Zone: The Broken Vow

by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland

It’s been three years since a strange event destroyed Addison and Lexa’s hometown. The spill zone has now been blocked off by the government due to the zombie-like creatures and lethal dangers that were left behind. Spill Zone: The Broken Vow is the much anticipated second book of this series, and readers are able to catch up with the adventures of Addison and her younger sister Lexa as they learn to move on with life after the spill.  

After becoming selectively mute in book one, Lexa is finally talking to her older sister Addison, and has even shared her secret about her doll Vespertine.  Addison is now ready to do whatever it takes to move as far away from this town, and its strange happenings; including working for the North Korean government.  However, Lexa is not as willing to leave the zone because that means parting with her friend and doll Vespertine. It’s through this struggle that readers learn Lexa and Vespertine may have had more to do with the destruction of the town than anyone ever suspected  

Within The Broken Vow, readers are introduced to a new character, Don Jae, from North Korea who experienced the same strange event within his own town.  Unexpectedly, Don Jae and Addison team up to try to save Lexa from a path of possible lethal destruction. As a reader, I was hoping for more background information and character development on Don Jae’s character, but I was left with many unanswered questions at the end of The Broken Vow.  However, given the way the story ended, I suspect there will be a third book in the story that will tie many of the loose ends all together.  

In terms of the graphic novel aspect of this story, the speech bubbles were one of my favorite visual aspects.  Alex Puvilland did an incredible job using the speech bubbles to reveal personality traits of each character, but specifically to illustrate the relationship between Vespertine and Lexa.  As a reader, science fiction tends to be a genre that I struggle to read in text only novels. Visualizing complex science fiction events, such as the fallout from the spill, would be difficult for me if it wasn’t for the illustrations in this story.  The Broken Vow does a fantastic job using illustrations to help readers visualize moment to moment conflicts within each panel and between the gutters.

I would recommend this series to all readers middle grade and above; especially those who prefer science fiction/horror stories.  Readers who enjoy The Walking Dead would especially appreciate the plot and illustrations within this series.  I would recommend you read Spill Zone (Volume 1), to get caught up on this series, as Spill Zone: The Broken Vow became available on July 10, 2018 at your local bookstore.

I was granted an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cottons: The Secret of the Wind

by Jim Pascoe and Heidi Arnhold

Cottons: The Secret of the Wind is the first graphic novel in a three part series, which takes place in a dystopian world around 500 years after industrialization and the fall of civilization.  The protagonistic group of the story are the rabbits who own a carrot factory, and are trying to rebuild civilization to reflect a more modern sense of time.  All rabbits are expected to work at the factory in order to turn carrots into Cha for energy. Readers will meet several rabbits who are not taken seriously by their elders or peers because of their intense interest in becoming artists, as opposed to working at the factory.  The foxes, who would be considered the antagonistic group of the story, are desperate to take over the factory, so that they can use the Cha for evil. In order to prevent the foxes from breaking the previous agreement and taking over the factory, the rabbits must learn to accept who they are within themselves, as well as where they came from in their past.

Within the first ten pages of Cottons, I was left in awe by the beautifully descriptive illustrations.  I instantly knew this story wasn’t going to be as lighthearted as I originally anticipated because of the fierceness of the animals emotions depicted within the illustrations. The visual literacy skills that are developed by readers while reading this story are beneficial in helping them understand more about visuals in the world around them.  Readers are able to use the illustrations from one panel to the next to help them truly develop a sense of each character’s emotions and personal struggles.

As I was reading, I could picture this story being used in a history class as a parallel for major events that have happened within our own history.  At the conclusion of book one, the author gives the readers a detailed background of each character, as well as the history of the conflicts between the rabbits and foxes.  There were times within the story that this information would have been helpful prior to reading the story. However, given that I am now aware that this information is at the end of the story, I would guide readers in that direction if they seem confused while following the story line.  I would also recommend that readers research the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution in order to gain a better understanding of the setting and relationships between the characters.

Overall, I would recommend this story to readers in upper elementary and beyond.  Given the dystopian nature, complex relationships and underlying themes of self-acceptance and courage, Cottons might be too complex for younger readers to understand.  However, there is no content in this story that would be inappropriate for any age to read.

Cottons: The Secret of the Wind is available to pre-order today or you can purchase it at your local bookstore on July 3, 2018.

I was granted an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Science Comics: Rockets: Defying Gravity

by Anne and Jerzy Drozd

If you haven’t had a chance to read any of the previous Science Comics published by First Second Books, this is the perfect place to start!  Anne and Jerzy Drozd make the perfect team with their expertise of all things rockets, as well as their eye catching illustrations. Similar to Science Comics: Robots and Drones, the animal narrators of this story relate directly to the history and development of rockets, and provide a humorous narrative for all readers.  Did you know that pigeon, sheep, chickens, ducks, bears, monkeys and turtles all have a place in the world of rockets?

Being that I didn’t have a lot of background knowledge on rockets, this book was a fascinating read!  I thoroughly enjoyed the connection between chemistry and physics related to rockets as described in a comic format.  Anne and Jerzy did a beautiful job of portraying Newton’s Laws of Motion and how they relate to rocket science. I will absolutely be using these illustrations for students who are studying Newton in science class.  Another topic that was explained with creative detail was the topic of g-force. I have heard of this term many times, but did not truly grasp the concept until I read the humorous explanation found in Science Comics: Rockets: Defying Gravity.

Even if you are not a person who typically likes science related topics, I would highly encourage you to check out this book, as there are also facts about how rockets have been used for entertainment, the military, the space race and a breakdown of where we currently are in the development of rockets. The underlying humor of the narrators makes this book a quick, entertaining and enlightening read for readers of all ages looking to learn more about rockets.

Wires and Nerve: Volume 2 - Gone Rogue

It’s been several years since I fell in love with Cinder, Cress, Scarlet, Winter and other strong female leads within the Lunar Chronicles series. A few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the graphic novel additions to this series. If you’re not familiar with the Lunar Chronicles, the best way to describe these stories would be science fiction meets the Disney Princesses. Despite the change in format from text to graphic novel, Wires and Nerve Volume 1 and 2 are a conclusion to the series, and not a spin-off from the series.

These graphic novels are told through the droid, Iko’s, perspective in order to conclude the series. To me,the graphic novel format felt perfect as a way to share the perspective of a droid compared to the previous perspectives of human characters. The difference in formats relates directly to Iko’s ongoing internal conflict between having human emotions, but only being a droid. In Wires and Nerve Volume 2, Iko and her friends attempt to hunt down Alpha Lysander Steele in order to save Cinder and the innocent people on Earth from his revenge. However, Iko struggles to come to terms with being a droid in a world of human emotions, which takes her on an emotional journey that risks being in the way of a mission to save the innocent people on Earth.

I would recommend the Lunar Chronicles series to readers grade 7 and above. However, readers may be confused with character relationships and conflict if they do not have the background knowledge from the previous books in the series. Therefore, I would encourage readers not to start with the graphic novels, but with getting to know the characters in Cinder, when starting this series.

Given the large number of characters throughout this story, and the amount of time that passed since I read the previous books in the series, I appreciated the visual representation of each character to help me keep track of relationships and emotions throughout the conclusion of the series. Stephen Gilpin, the illustrator, did a fantastic job illustrating the fast pace of ideas during arguments throughout Volume 2, and the thought process of the narrator as demonstrated on page 172. On this page, I love the look of intense concentration on Iko’s face (center character with braids) while the rest of the characters are quickly sharing their ideas; as demonstrated by the large number of scattered speech bubbles around her on the page.

Recommended Related Readings:

• The Lunar Chronicles series 
• Book 1: Cinder
• Book 2: Scarlet
• Book 3: Cress
• Book 4: Fairest: Levana’s Story
• Book 5: Winter
• Wires and Nerve: Volume 1
• Science Comics: Robots and Drones: Past, Present and Future by Mairghread Scott and Jacob Chabot
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Science Comics: Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future

The Science Comic series published by First Second is a favorite among all readers in my life.  The most recent release from this series is Robots and Drones: Past, Present, and Future by Mairghread Scott and Jacob Chabot.

Pouli, the narrator, is a bird (born 350 BCE) who also happens to be the first machine that flew in the sky.  Pouli takes readers through a chronological progression of the history of robots and drones.  As someone who is very new to the world of robots and drones,  I appreciated the real-life comparisons made throughout this story to help the reader better understand how robots are everywhere within our lives.   I'll admit that I never considered my coffee pot a robot until I read this book!  In order to help readers understand the differences between robots and non-robots (remote control cars, humans, computers, simple machines), the author and illustrator used visuals and vocabulary to help describe the subtle, yet important, differences between the two.

Given that I have no background knowledge about robots and drones, I would have been completely lost if it weren't for the engaging visuals used to describe the vocabulary throughout this book.  My favorite example of how visuals helped me understand a concept was on page 71 when describing the difference between resistors and conductors:

In addition to the vocabulary, the author and illustrator did an amazing job making this book enticing to all readers.  I would recommend this book to any reader who has a budding interest in robots and drones.  The fact that the illustrator was purposeful in incorporating diverse characters, as shown on page 67, was something that I noted multiple times while reading this book.

As a teacher, I couldn't help but think about how I could use this book to inspire argumentative writing topics.  Near the end of the book, there were many ethical and hypothetical questions asked relating to the future developments of robots and drones.  These questions could be used to help students deeper investigate arguments for or against the advanced developments of robots and drones.

If you have readers that will enjoy this book, they might also enjoy these titles:

• The Secret Coders (Books 1-5) by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes
• Science Comics: Flying Machines by Alison Wilgus and Molly Brooks
• Wires and Nerve (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) by Marissa Meyer and Stephen Gilpin

My Purpose Was Hiding with the Monsters

I miss blogging.  I still write daily in my notebook, but the audience piece of blogging always motivates my purpose for my writing.  At least once a week, I have some kind of conversation with my husband about the purpose of why I want to blog.  We discussed many ideas such as sharing about teaching instruction, co-parenting or interventions.   As much as those topics fill me with joy, there are some not so joyful moments that I just don't wish to make public.  I could easily skip those parts, but then I feel as if I'm not telling the full story and I don't think I could commit to those ideas.

After talking to Melia at Cover to Cover Books in Upper Arlington, I realized my blogging purpose is right in front of me, and under my bed, above and below my nightstand, hidden under the couch, living with the monster under my daughter's bed and scattered around my classroom.  If you know me, you've probably guessed it by now...graphic novels!  I love anything and everything to do with graphic novels.  I have witnessed many self-proclaimed, non-readers transform into avid readers with a graphic novel in hand. 

While I would love to share teaching strategies and ways to use graphic novels within the classroom, I want this blog to focus more on reviews of graphic novels.  When reading a graphic novel, I read it with my students and own children in mind. 

• Does this book have strong vocabulary?  
• Do the graphics help tell a story along with the words?  
• Do the gutters between the panels help readers to infer?
• How diverse are the characters?  
• Are the graphics appropriate for certain ages?  If not, why?
• What is the conflict in this story?  Is it going to be something my readers can relate to?  Or is it going to be to childish or mature for them?
• What other books could I recommend that are related to this story?
• Are there specific Notice and Note strategies that stick out to me as I'm reading this story? 

These are just a few examples of the information that I plan on providing in my reviews.  I would love to hear your feedback on other types of information that you look for when considering purchasing graphic novels for your classroom.  

If you are new to the world and graphic novels and are looking for resources on how to better understand, incorporate and use graphic novels for instruction in your classroom, these are two of my favorite resources.

1. Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension by Terry Thompson  
2. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud