Five graphic stories for young readers
March break books where pictures matter as much as words in new works for all ages
Climbing the Volcano: A Journey in Haiku written by Curtis Manley, illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann, Neal Porter Books, 40 pages, $25.99
With many panels and tiny poems, this poetic, graphic story transports readers out of winter doldrums and into the glory of ascending a mountain: a dormant volcano. As a family sets off up the trail, the child narrator marks their observations in short, vivid haiku. The bother of mosquitoes, the relief of the mountain’s cold wind, a snowfield’s glare and the wonder of gazing down onto a raven’s outspread wings are just some of the sensory moments observed, each sharing and heightening the wonder and effort of exploring this new terrain. Intense realism in the poetry and in Mann’s depiction of habitat (and child narrator, in bright hoodie) make this a captivating nature book, a vivid enticement for outdoor adventure. Highly recommended.
Wildful written and illustrated by Kengo Kurimoto, Groundwood 216 pages, $22.99
Spring, a friend, birds, plants and animals wild with life and growth — all are here in the sepia forest of this almost wordless graphic novel. When Poppy happens on an abandoned, overgrown estate, she finds an ever varying kingdom of twisting vines and branches, leaves and buds unfurling. Minute spiders, snails, wrens, robins, badgers and more come into view as she grows increasingly attentive to what’s around her. Shadowy sepia tones may seem a subdued entry into nature’s intricate plenty, but here they sharpen the eyes for a spell of wondrous looking. A story of nature’s consolatory powers. Highly recommended.
Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet, written by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton Candlewick, 40 pages, $24.99
“This tree doesn’t look like it’s doing very much,” Davies begins, “but in fact, it’s busy.” In straightforward style she explains photosynthesis, plants’ way of storing carbon dioxide and producing the oxygen that we need to survive. She goes on to describe how plants evolved, their photosynthesis making earth livable, and where those prehistoric plants ended up: as an atmospheric, too-warming blanket of carbon dioxide now unearthed through coal, oil and gas. “GREEN is the most important colour in the world,” she finishes, drawing the direct line between plant respiration and all life on Earth. Sutton’s squiggly lines and clear colours give this a lively, even playful aspect, underscoring the energetic force of life at work. There couldn’t be a more important story.
Clement’s eye for the absurd and his dry humour suffuse five graphic short stories about K, a schoolboy who always, through no fault of his own, ends up being yelled at by ferocious adults. Sent to retrieve a teacher’s spectacles from a tram, through a cockeyed series of events K becomes subject to a tribunal in the Superintendent’s office. Left recuperating at home in bed, K is blamed for an infestation of crows that wreak havoc on the furnishings. And so on. These stories are at once hilarious and nightmarish — after all, powerlessness and misunderstanding are the very stuff of trying to manage in a world so often arbitrary and mysterious. Clement’s penchant for absurd detail and his visual mingling of deadpan with over-the-top drama makes for Kafka-inspired lunacy.
Lunar New Year Love Story written by Gene Luen Yang illustrated by LeUyen Pham First Second, 345 pages, $34.99
Lunar New Year celebrations are over, but this rosy-coloured graphic novel makes an exceptionally wise, deft romance at any season. Valentina Tran feels doomed at love despite the saint she’s named for: there hasn’t been a successful love relationship in her family for generations. Then, after being dragged to a Vietnamese New Year festival by her grandmother, she decides to learn to lion dance, exploring not just this powerful Asian ritual but, inadvertently, her own romance and family history as well. A multi-layered, intergenerational tale and a satisfying high school story, rich with humour, heartbreak, heartthrobs and cultural complexity.
Highly recommended.