Peter and Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths

Peter & Ernesto is just like the title says, a tale of two sloths. Day after day they live in the same tree, eat the same food, and play the same game where they name the shapes they see in the clouds. One day, however, Ernesto announces that he wants to see not just that piece of sky but the whole sky, so he embarks on a grand journey. Peter is more of a worrier and homebody, and he warns Ernesto about the many potential dangers out there, including bears, but to no avail. Not to spoil anything, but the rest of the book follows Ernesto on his trek while Peter eventually decides he should follow up and check on his friend. Both of them, in turn, have their own set of discoveries and adventures.

This simple yet affecting tale was fun to read. It's the best kind of all ages book, and I feel that  contains a good amount of detailed world-building in terms of if its locales and characters. I very much liked Ernesto's spirit of adventure and optimism. I also admired Peter's sense of loyalty and reluctant bravery. Both run into a motley array of other creatures, and they all have strong personalities that are entertaining to boot. The various settings Ernesto sees are all simply yet strongly portrayed. Overall, I loved the amount of energy and information the author conveys in his line work.

Graham Annable was that author, and he has been creating comics and animated work for a good while now. He has been celebrated in both fields and is one of the few folks to have been nominated for both a Harvey and an Academy Award. I know him best from his work on Grickle and also the various comics he shares via his Instagram account. Others would probably be more familiar with his work on animated features like Coraline and The Boxtrolls.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been very positive. In a starred review for the School Library Journal Jennifer Costa likened it to the Elephant and Piggie books and summed it up, "Recommended for beginning reader shelves and elementary graphic novel collections." Dustin Cabeal called it "delightful. It’s full of positive energy and gives you so many ways to be inspired." Publishers Weekly stated that "Annable’s gift for caricature and zippy dialogue shines through, as he celebrates his characters’ contrasting temperaments without a hint of snark."

Peter & Ernesto was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and much more here. There is a sequel already slated for next year, and it is called The Lost Sloths. I will definitely check it out!

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter

First off, let me say that I am a sucker for books like this. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite shows ever, and I love the turn-of-the-century England, steampunk-style, monster hunter vibe displayed in these pages. Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter is a fun, action-packed, and sometimes creepy graphic novel. The title character is an orphaned teenager who lives with two servants. The first is Napoleon White, a butler/chauffeur, and the second is his wife Mrs. White, a governess. Together they look after Scarlett and Ravenwood, her family's estate, which is in a state of disrepair since her parents' death. She came into monster hunting as the family business, but she does not just hunt monsters because it is her calling or there's some mystical need, she does it to earn the reward money needed to keep ahead of their creditors.

One obstacle that Scarlett faces is that she is legally too young to hunt monsters, and the local "Watch" is onto her. The second is Count Stankovic, a rival monster hunter who has a special desire to not only foil Scarlett but ruin her life. As there are frequent monster attacks in this version of London, the two adversaries come into frequent contact. And when Scarlett tracks some monsters to their source and sees the Count involved, she begins to feel that he is not only hunting monsters but summoning them as well.

I felt that this book had a great amount of action and intrigue. I can't say that it is the most original or complex plot I have ever read, but it is a fun, well crafted piece of genre fiction. I got sucked into reading the whole thing in one sitting, even though I told myself I was only going to read the opening vignette. It's ghoulishly delightful, and if you like books with gruesome monsters and steampunk weaponry, this one will be right up your alley. Also, I should add that this book has a clear ending, though it leaves the door open for a sequel. I hope that it sells well so we get one.

This book was a collaboration between writer Marcus Sedgwick and artist Thomas Taylor. Sedgwick has written several novels and won the Printz Award for his book Midwinterblood. Taylor is an accomplished children's book author and is most famous for being the first illustrator of the Harry Potter series. I very much like the tone and style of the art here, which I find to resemble an amalgamation of those of Joann Sfar and Richard Sala. It's appropriately creepy, muted, and ominous, perfect for a tale such as this. Both creators speak about their work on Scarlett Hart in this interview.

The reviews I have read about this book have been fairly positive. Kirkus Reviews summed up that it would be "fun for a spooky night, anchored by likable characters and a zippy story." Publisher Weekly wrote, "Taylor’s energetic artwork captures the time and place through the use of metallic grays and browns, while integrating an array of gothic and steampunk motifs." Elizabeth Bush was less taken with the plot and wrote that "this debut graphic novel series chugs along with little more than a workmanlike, repetitious plot of monster appearance/confrontation action scene/Hart-vs.-Stankovic rivalry."

Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

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

I have read all the entries in the Science Comics series published so far, and I am sad to say that this one, Robots & Drones is not one of my favorites. I can also be glad to report that it is still an enjoyable book, as it features excellent artwork and lots of interesting information. By no means is it a bad book; it just did not light my fire the ways some of the other volumes have.

In particular I felt this one lacked a hook that would draw me in and also unify the entire book. Perhaps what stuck in my craw was how hung up the book was on definitions and drawing distinctions on what defines a robot and how other devices and machines (like automatons or remote controlled vehicles) are not actually robots. It seemed to take for granted that the reader would be interested in robots and drones (and I have to admit I was and am), but it did not offer much to put a specific trajectory on that interest. The result is a lot of information, about what robots are (and are not), what computers are (and why they are not robots), and how drones fit into these configurations as well. The lack of narrative thread that left me wondering at times why things were being discussed in the order they were. I just felt like the book was hopping from topic to topic without much context (kind of like this review, eh?).

Still, I learned lots from it, like when the first robots were created (in the 1600s in Japan, in case you were curious), how the Mars rover maintains itself and its power supply, and the fact that an automatic coffee maker is in fact technically a robot. The opening vignette is a tale of the book's narrator, a fun little proto-robot named Pouli (the invention of Archytas in the the fourth century BCE), which added a playful touch to the proceedings and a much needed sense of continuity. There were also a few other impressive features, like a refresher about simple machines and a great timeline of notable robot/drone inventions over history that closes out the book. If you want to learn more about robots and drones, or if you know a young person who is into them, you could do a lot worse than select this book. It was fun to read; I just felt it was not overall as well composed as other volumes in this series.

Robots & Drones is a collaboration between writer Mairghread Scott and artist Jacob Chabot. Scott writes animated series and comics, and she has another original graphic novel The City on the Other Side in the works. Although he's got lots of credits on licensed characters' comics, Chabot I know best from his work on The Mighty Skullboy Army, which I feel is an excellent and funny series. It stars a cantankerous and sneaky robot, so I was hopeful that his artwork in this book would be equally as charming. I am glad to report it is as good, if not better, than I expected. For those interested in learning more about this book and its creators, you can read an interview with Scott here and an interview with Chabot here.

The reviews I have read about this book have been mixed. Johanna Draper Carlson was lukewarm about it and wrote, "There’s good information here, but I felt as though a lot of space was wasted on irrelevant information, leaving me confused as to just what the purpose and message of the book was." Kirkus Reviews summed it up, "A lighthearted, enjoyable introduction to a fascinating subject."

Robots &  Drones was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Roller Girl

I have had this book on my shelf for a little while now. I bought it at my local independent book store after I had read Comics Squad: Detention and thought that Victoria Jamieson's entry in that anthology was the best part of the book. Roller Girl was a 2016 Newbery Honor book and has a slew of other honors as well. The story here follows a girl named Astrid who is at a crossroads, growing up and becoming more at odds with her mother as well as tenuous with her best friend Nicole. One day the trio attend a roller derby match, and Astrid is completely blown away.

 

Soon after, they learn that there will be a roller derby camp that summer, and Astrid cannot wait to sign up. Nicole is not so keen on joining and opts instead to attend dance camp, where she has a different set of friends, one of which is very much at odds with Astrid. Complicating matters, she lies to her mother that Nicole is at camp with her, so she does not worry about her getting a ride home everyday. And adding even more to this drama is Astrid's realization that roller derby is very challenging, taxing, and tiring.

What I loved about this book was how it approached all of the physical and emotional adversity Astrid has to face in very real and relatable manner. Over the course of the book, she learns much about friendship, stamina, and herself. I felt that the characters and relationships were complex and nuanced, and that this book was done in a smart way that would appeal both to young people and adults, without insulting either audience. The ending, which focuses around Astrid's first competitive match, does not go exactly as she intended but it's a great learning experience. The conclusion was mostly sweet and just a little bitter, and I'm not going to lie but it made me tear up. I am a total sucker for a story told this well, where all the disparate narrative threads come together in such an artful manner. This book deserves all the accolades it has received (and then some!).

This book's creator Victoria Jamieson is a children's book illustrator and graphic novelist who has since published a few others since this debut. One is the stand-alone volume All's Faire in Middle School,  the other two entries in her Pets on the Loose! series The Great Pet Escape, and The Great Art Caper. She speaks more about her work on Roller Girl in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been celebratory. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review and stated that "readers will want to stand up and cheer." Kirkus Reviews also gave it a starred review and wrote that it was "Full of charm and moxie." Esther Keller summed up, "This is a great summer or all-year read that will thoroughly be enjoyed by middle-grade readers."

Roller Girl was published by Penguin Random House, and they have more info about it here.

Nightlights

Although it is not a finalist in the middle grades category, Nightlights is another stand-out book I read while judging for the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. It tells the story of a young girl named Sandy who every night when she goes to sleep  travels to incredible worlds full of strange and wonderful creatures and each day while she is awake depicts those worlds and creatures in her artwork. These activities make her an outlier in her school. She does not have many friends and gets picked on frequently. The nuns who teach her do not appreciate her spacing out and staring out windows. Nor do they like that she is constantly doodling in her notebooks instead of taking notes or doing schoolwork.

All of this changes one day when she meets the new girl in school, Morfie, who loves her drawings and wants nothing more than to see them all. Soon afterward, however, Sandy begins to wonder if Morfie is even real, and things take a pretty dark turn.

This book tackles multiple themes, chiefly how creativity and imagination work as well as how people socialize and are socialized. I feel the story is surprisingly complex for what is a relatively brief text, and the artwork is exquisite. I had never seen the work of this book's creator Lorena Alvarez before, and I have to say I am very impressed by it. Her characters are vibrant, expressive, and relatable, and she is adept at creating fantasy scenes that are simultaneously gorgeous, breath-taking, and terrifying. I loved going to this site here where I could look at her previous and current projects. Go check out her fabulous artwork! Also, for more about her work and inspirations for Nightlights, check out this interview (but be aware that it does contain spoilers).

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. In a starred review Publishers Weekly called it "a deliciously hair-raising story that thoughtfully explores themes of isolation, creativity, and how social pressures can encroach on individuality." April Spisak wrote that "Alvarez has achieved something special and unforgettable with her first authorial outing." In a starred review from School Library Journal Abby Bussen opined that "Alvarez’s artwork is gorgeous, alternating between traditional panels and, in the dream sequences, vibrant spreads that spill from page to page with grace and fluidity."

Nightlights was published by NoBrow Press, and they offer a preview and more information about it here.

As the Crow Flies

I read As the Crow Flies as an entry in the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards, and I have to admit I went into the text with a chip on my shoulder. From the onset, I thought "young girl goes on a wilderness hike with a church group, not going to be my cup of tea." Boy, was I wrong. Much like the theme of this book, which deals with people's preconceived notions of specific experiences and social groups, I felt transformed by the insights and events depicted in its pages. As the Crow Flies is the best kind of book about identity, where it forces you to look outside of yourself and question your thoughts, values, and prejudices in a real manner. It turns out that this book was totally my cup of tea and one of the best graphic novels I have read this year.

The main story in this graphic novel follows 13-year-old Charlie Lamonte, a black, queer child, who attends an all-girl, all-white Christian summer camp. The centerpiece experience of the camp is an extended hike where the counselors teach them about the history of the place in terms of an exceptional band of independent women. Of course, their messages are replete with assumptions about religion, gender, and some race, which Charlie bristles at.

 

She feels isolated, alone, and often offended, but she comes to look at things somewhat differently over the course of the hike. Some of this change comes from getting to know Sydney, a fellow camper who has issues of her own, but some of it comes from Charlie's reflections while out in the wilderness.

I have to admit that this book, which collects the narrative of an on-going webcomic, started out pretty slowly, but about halfway through it had me hooked and totally engaged. What I like about it is that it tackles many identity issues with candor and sincerity, offering a complex look at them without offering easy or pat solutions. This book maintains a difficult balance between offering experiences that are relatable while also presenting a nuanced take on identity politics. It turns out to be both compelling as a story as well as engaging as inquiry, which I feel is no easy feat. I am very much looking forward to the follow-up book that continues this story/conversation.

As the Crow Flies is the creation of Melanie Gillman, who has been running this webcomic since 2012. It is a celebrated work, nominated for Eisner and Ignatz Awards, and the recipient of a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators. I very much admire the unique artwork in this book, done with color pencils. The characters are very well rendered and expressive, and the scenery and tone are very well suited to this tale. Gillman talks extensively about their work on this webcomic and book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been overwhelmingly positive. In a starred review from the School Library Journal, Mahnaz Dar called it "heartfelt, stimulating, and sure to spark discussion about feminism’s often less than inclusive attitudes toward marginalized groups." Caitlin Rosberg concluded, "It’s a story that embraces the truth of how bad things can be without abandoning kindness, and that’s something comics could use a lot more of." Publishers Weekly also gave it a starred review and called it a "brutally honest and wrenchingly beautiful story of friendship."

As the Crow Flies was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign and published by Iron Circus Comics. They offer a preview and some more info about it here. It was originally published as a webcomic, which you can read here.

REMINDER: Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards Nominations Livestreamed TODAY

Just a reminder that Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards nominations from Pop Culture Classroom will be streamed live TODAY on KidLit TV at 1PM ET. I hope you can join in the fun!