An exquisite piece of journalism imbued with care.
From the Middle East, Kenya, Tajikistan, Eastern Europe, and Myanmar, Butler shares stories of migration that put a human face on a global phenomenon.
The book is organized into 12 illustrated stories of people on the move. While some seek refuge from war, others migrate in search of better livelihoods. In a story about Tajikistan’s migrant workers, Butler writes, “it struck me that human migration is often thought of as one-directional, but this movement of people is on a continuous loop—an enormous, annual commute to work.” On the Balkan route during what some have termed Europe’s recent “refugee crisis,” he recollects that “on one side [of a new fence] armored police patrolled with batons, while groups of refugees and migrants, carrying their lives and children on their backs, were on the other.” The spare, penetrating ink sketches portray facts and convey emotions in a way that allows readers to see through the artist’s eyes. They are supported by contextual narrative recounting what was happening when it was drawn. The range of migration experiences covered is impressive. In addition to displacement across borders, it includes less-discussed topics—internal displacement; refugees who return to still-struggling home countries; and a section on Palestine and the right to movement—all without failing to note that migration has existed for centuries. Together, text and art portray their dreams, the burdens they carry, and the uncertainty they experience.
An exquisite piece of journalism imbued with care. (Nonfiction. 10-adult)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1775-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Candlewick Studio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.
Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.
Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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