An enlightening guide for aspiring adventurers.
Scout is hiking in the mountains when her hapless older brother loses their way on the trail.
After he runs off, Scout is left to fend for herself and figure out how to make her way back to civilization. She must make a series of choices, including where and how to set up camp, how to make her water drinkable, how to preserve her food supplies, and how to stay safe from numerous dangers. In each scenario, Scout breaks down her options with the help of a friendly talking skunk and decides on an answer for her predicaments. Competent and clearheaded Scout’s problem-solving is instructive both because of the breadth of information found here and because of Eaton’s methodical approach. This is more of a how-to than a narrative, and readers will learn not only camping and survival skills, but also how to calmly cope with a difficult situation. Comics prove a good medium to relay these skills to their intended audience. Colorful, energetic, cartoon illustrations rotating among wilderness panoramas, close-ups of Scout’s gear and tools, and more character-focused images with frequent humorous asides help convey both the basics and plenty of expert-level information like how to use a signal mirror, read a topographic map, or make a fire bow. Scout and her family present White.
An enlightening guide for aspiring adventurers. (appendix, further reading, author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781250790477
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Cathartic proof that childhood provides lessons for a lifetime and that change is possible.
From the day baby Daniel arrives, crying so loudly that it hurts Charise’s ears and absorbing her mother’s attention, Charise starts growing into her role of bad sister.
The popular children’s author highlights rough-and-tumble episodes from their childhoods that scar her and her brother, literally and figuratively. Charise plays wildly, tricks her little brother, and enjoys her power. Often Daniel gets hurt, and her parents insist she should know better. The selected stories and details shared here reveal volumes about the family’s dynamics. The siblings’ escalating antics are captured in clean, colorful panels that often end with moving illustrations in moody blues conveying Charise’s isolation, frustration, and guilt. Readers will relate to the rivalry, ambivalent feelings, and raw honesty—and they, unlike Charise’s parents, will see the full picture: It takes two to tango; sometimes four, counting their parents’ roles in exacerbating everything. As Daniel grows and Charise matures, the dynamic changes as well. Charise admires Daniel’s social skills which she feels she cannot match, partly due to her undiagnosed prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Over time she begins to treat Daniel better, especially after reaching a turning point when she clearly sees the lasting consequences of her behavior. By the end, they become partners, with the power to forgive. This is a powerful story of growth, self-awareness, and genuine insight into family relationships. Most characters read as White.
Cathartic proof that childhood provides lessons for a lifetime and that change is possible. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-21906-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
Readers will want to dig deeper into this true story of canine heroes and lifesaving science.
This graphic novel tells the story of an idea that saved countless children’s lives—but it required sacrifices from some of man’s best friends.
In 1920, juvenile diabetes was a death sentence. A young Canadian surgeon, Dr. Frederick Banting, worked with children dying of the disease and had a hunch that pancreatic secretions could be used to make a lifesaving treatment. However, in order to test his hypothesis, Dr. Banting would need to experiment on dogs, and most of them would die as a result. Banting’s hunch would eventually turn into the development of insulin, a lifesaving treatment for diabetics and a world-changing medical advancement, but at what cost? Poon’s delicate, empathetic illustrations help readers see that Dr. Banting is an animal lover who struggles with attachment to his stray-dog subjects and is heartbroken when they die as a result of their time in the lab. One in particular, Marjorie, captures his heart. Marjorie becomes the most long-lived test subject, proving that insulin treatments were ready for testing on a human patient, and dies a hero in Banting’s arms. Ethical issues are addressed in a concluding note in which readers are encouraged to think critically about the use of animals in lifesaving research; an author’s note and list of sources attest to Kerbel’s own research. Dr. Banting and his colleagues present White.
Readers will want to dig deeper into this true story of canine heroes and lifesaving science. (Graphic nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77147-411-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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