Kids Lit
Books and More for Children and Teens

The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

I had expected to see this honored by the Printz Committee, but that was not to be...  I consider this one of the top graphic novels of the year for two reasons.  First, I heard buzz about it from those in the graphic-novel know.  Second, I personally loved it.

The Arrival is a wordless graphic novel that tells the story of a man who is forced to leave his wife and child behind and head to a new country.  The land he leaves behind is shadowed with long reptilian tails filled with spikes.  The world he finds when he lands is filled with strange beings, machines that make no sense, and a society he cannot comprehend.  But he struggles on, his small white alien-like being at his side, until he can bring his family to be with him.  The girl is astonished at the new world, but soon learns her own way around and finds herself able to lend a newcomer a hand.

The beauty of this book is in the discovery.  It reads as a science fiction/fantasy graphic novel at first until the reader slowly realizes that the strangeness of the world is really revealing aspects of the universal struggle of immigrants to a new land.  There is a moment where readers will suddenly comprehend the book, and if they are anything like me will gasp and sigh in great satisfaction. 

The illustrations are wondrous, creating a world of astonishing detail, different enough from our own world to make the confusion universal.   Done in black and white and sepia, they combine an old-world quality with science fiction subjects. 

Highly recommended for teens and late elementary students ages 11-17. 

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Comments

The Printz was a puzzlement to me this year, since I fully expected to see Sherman Alexie's book there, and possibly some others as well - this one included. As you know if you read my blog, I concur with you on this being a truly marvelous book. And it's on multiple ALA lists, including Great Graphic Novels, BBYA, and Children's Notable Books.

Posted by: Kelly Fineman | January 21, 2008 4:33 PM

A favorite of my mom's.

Posted by: Wendy | January 21, 2008 9:53 PM

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