Tag: Graphic

Survive in the Outdoors!

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Latinx boy and girl at a wooded campsite building a fire and holding a fish they caught surrounded by camping equipment.Just in time for summer fun, this graphic novel packs an incredible amount of practical, useful, clearly explained information about staying safe while enjoying the outdoors. Tweens Alonso and Sophia are spending the weekend with their Abuelo. Abuelo loves the outdoors and decides to take the children to his favorite remote fishing spot. Alonso and Sophia aren’t excited about this as they aren’t used to being disconnected from their online lives. Abuelo begins teaching them about what to expect as they make and pack the things they’ll need for their trip. As they hike deep into the woods Abuelo twists his ankle and can’t walk. It’s now up to Alonso and Sophia to care for Abuelo and keep themselves safe. 

The story of Alonso, Sophia and Abuelo is a great vehicle for teaching how to be prepared in the outdoors. Since this is a maker project book, it contains fun hands on activities as well as general information. The maker projects include making fishing lures, a compass, and a campfire, all of which are well illustrated and explained in detail. Outdoor safety concerns, e.g. avoiding ticks, administering first aid, making sure water is safe to drink, and creating an emergency shelter are presented in a way that informs rather than frightens. One unexpected and interesting element involves the children’s feelings about fishing for their dinner. Abuelo recognizes their sadness at having to kill a fish to eat it. He explains that feeling sad is normal, but if you’re going to eat meat you should know where it comes from.

The relationships in this Latinx family are sweet and warm. Sophia and Alonso manage through the crisis in a realistically age appropriate way. The art is colorful and engaging, expressing the characters’ emotions just as well as it diagrams project instructions. As someone whose first choice of activity is not spending time camping or fishing, I have to say this book made me feel like going outside might actually be fun.

Find Survive in the Outdoors!  at your local bookstore.

Personal note: Sorry to be absent from the blog for so long. COVID and other upheavals kept me away – I’m happy to be back!

If The Dress Fits…

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Being true to yourself is easier said than done.

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In this lovely graphic novel, Frances, an aspiring designer makes an outrageous dress for a young woman attending a prince’s ball. The prince is captivated, not by the princess but by the dress.  Prince Sebastian is gender fluid, some days feeling fine in traditionally male clothing, other days loving wearing his mother’s dresses and feeling like a princess. Frances dreams of creating costumes for the Paris ballet and loves designing with drama. Prince Sebastian secretly employs Frances as his seamstress, and together they create Lady Crystallia, Sebastian’s alter ego who soon becomes the fashion icon for the young women of Paris. Secrets like this are hard to protect, especially when Sebastian’s parents have been presenting him with princess after princess, pushing him to get married. At the same time Frances grows frustrated because she cannot be recognized for her work. Eventually they both have to make some difficult decisions in order to move ahead. Jen Wang’s illustrations, in both style and tone, beautifully express the delight, drama and sadness the characters experience. Each chapter is introduced with an illustration of a pattern piece, a nice touch. Overall, this is a moving exploration of balancing what others expect of you with your own dreams. I was surprised to hear some “gatekeepers” saying this graphic novel is for high schoolers. The story is fine for middle schoolers; in fact, it’s important for them to see stories like this. They are in the midst of figuring out who they are, and seeing different ways of being helps sort out the confusion that comes with this journey.

The Prince and The Dressmaker, Jen Wang, First Second

Love and Soul reaping

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Did I mention I also love comics and graphic novels?

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Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings is a sweet, queer love story that manages to be funny and creepy at the same time. Becka has been crushing on Kim and one day decides to ask her out. As Becka approaches her, Kim disappears through a portal, which Becka is then sucked into. She lands in a house and discovers Kim at her part time job – she’s a grim reaper. Understandably Becka is freaked out so Kim calmly explains she’s not a murderer, she just shepherds souls into the afterlife.  Kim is still new at the job and is only allowed to harvest animal souls; things get complicated when she decides to harvest a human, and has to face the consequences. Kim and Becka have a sweet relationship; Kim introduces Becka to the cool things about being a reaper and Becka shows Kim how much fun it is to work in a bakery.  They do their best to grow their relationship in the midst of reapings, possessions, zombie uprisings and dealing with Kim’s reaper bosses. They have their ups and downs but they come through for each other. The colorful art’s somewhat whimsical style supports the story well, easily being both charming and disturbing. The narrative around the relationship keeps the focus where it belongs – on the relationship itself, not their sexuality or culture. We get to see how two people can enjoy a life together – even if that life involves soul harvesting.

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings, Sarah Graley, Oni Press