TWO JAPANESE INTERNMENT GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEWS

 In my search for graphic novels to help me understand the genre, I came across these two books in my local library. Although totally different from each other, they both share the common element of Japanese internment camps during WWII.

DISPLACEMENT by kiku hughes

The first page of this YA time travel novel provides a backstory to equip the reader for the coming story. Written in first person, the character Kiku, explains that it is 2016 and she's been trapped in the past for over a year.

She's in San Francisco with her mother who is searching for the house where her mother grew up in. They didn't find the house.

Instead, Kiku found displacement.

She is taken back to the 1940s to the Japanese internment camp to which her grandmother, Earnestina and her parents, were taken. The story interweaves Earnestina's story with fictional elements of Kiku's time travel.

Through expressive images and dialogue, the author shows Kiku's loneliness, confusion, helplessness, and gratitude when she makes a few friends. She overhears Earnestina speaking Japanese in the rooms next to hers, but can't understand the language. Her roommate, Aiko, doesn't encourage her to learn Japanese. Kiku thinks,

But seeing how she and other Nisei (second generation) shied away from the Issei's (first generation) outdated traditions made me understand a little more just why there was almost no connection to Japan left by the time I was born. (p. 96)

Life is physically and emotionally difficult in the camp and Kiku vacillates between waiting to return home and making the best of the situation. When a neighbor gives her a small carving with her name on it, she recognizes a similar item that her mother had that belonged to Earnestina. I felt an intense connection to my grandmother in that moment. We were linked through this community, and I held the proof in my hand." (p. 128)

She moves to the Topaz relocation center in Utah and hears that a friend's father was taken to an army camp. They fear that they might not hear from him because they took his books and maps which made the government suspicious. Being from the future meant very little when my education on the past was so limited. (p. 154)

The illustrations are drawn with clean lines and the character's emotions are clearly portrayed. A palette of aqua and brown provide a calming effect for the turbulent story that unfolds.

I thought that the author depicted the conflicts of this time and place extremely well. Although the time travel aspects and resolution to the story were also well constructed,  I didn't like that the protagonist fell in love with another girl. As a conservative Christian, that aspect of the book detracted from the book's overall appeal. After googling kiku hughes, I realized that the protagonist reflects the author's orientation. 

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY  by Kevin C. Pyle

Although this is also a graphic novel about the Japanese internment camps (with a surprisingly similar palette to Displacement), it is handled in a totally different manner. As you might assume from the cover, this is two stories in one book. The brown illustrations show the life of Mr. Himitsu as a young man in the Tanforan Assembly Center and then later in the internment camp in Manzanar, California in 1942. The blue illustrations depict six months in the life of Kyle, a young teen who recently moved into a Chicago suburb in 1978. Both stories progress through the book. Sometimes several pages are given to the Japanese internment camp, and sometimes several pages show Kyle choosing to go deeper and deeper into vandalism and shoplifting. 

At first, I didn't like that there was no dialogue in Mr. Himitsu's story, only illustrations. But the second time through I was able to "read" the illustrations better and saw how Kevin Pyle showed parallels between the two stories--thirty-five years apart. 

• Each boy was in his own type of prison. 
• Each boy faced teasing and ridicule.
• Each boy faced unwelcome relocation.
• Each boy experienced trauma that left them feeling powerless.

But, there are a lot of differences too.

In Mr. Himitsu's story, a mentor provides an opportunity for him to vent his anger--on a piece of wood. He carves and carves and by the time he leaves the camp, his suitcase is full of wooden birds. 

In Kyle's story, he has moved into a brand new neighborhood. He starts hanging out with some other boys they are a negative influence on each other. Kyle ends up destroying property and shoplifting--just for the thrill it gives him. The ending perfectly brings the two stories together.

Here are some pages that show you how the author juxtaposed the two stories.

I asked Kevin what his connection was to this story. Here is his answer:

"The most obvious is that I was caught for shoplifting when I was 11 or 12 and I worked for the storeowner as restitution. It really made me see the consequences of my actions. As an adult I did illustrations for the national law journal and once did one on alternatives to sentencing for youth and it made me think back on the experience. I realized I never knew if it was my father’s idea or the storeowner’s that I work off my debt and that sent my imagination rolling.

My other connection is that I had a painting teacher in college who was interned as a child. I wrote him while I was working on the book and he gave some good leads on research. He also read it before it was published and his comments were very inspiring and reassuring as to the accuracy. While the book was not intended as a straight history, I of course wanted to make sure it rang true."

Both authors drew from personal life events when writing and illustrating their graphic novels. As I plot Nightmare in Nuremberg, I'm aware that I'm doing the very same thing.

If you are interested, here is my review of Gaijin, another graphic novel about the Japanese internment camps. And my review of Red Berries, White Clouds, and Blue Sky. 

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Congratulations to Sarah Johnson who won Southpaw Sully from last week's blog.

Don't forget to check out Greg Pattridge's MMGM blog with lots of other middle-grade book reviews!

 

Three Mentor Middle-Grade Graphic Novels

When I first started thinking about my WIP, Nightmare in Nuremberg, I envisioned it as historical fiction. 

After a recent trip to Europe, where centuries of hidden inside churches, city streets, bridges, and town walls, I started imagining something different. 

It began like this. I walked by a stone ramp in Belfast, Ireland (not far from where fellow blogger, Valinora Troy lives!) that looked something like this--steps down into the Moselle River in Cochem, Germany.

I started thinking. What would happen if two kids went down a ramp that led them to a mysterious boat that took them back in time? 

That's how my idea for writing my story as time travel began.

I had already signed up for the Children's Book Academy course on Graphic Novels. But I knew NOTHING about time travel books. Or fantasy.

Mentor Texts to The Rescue!

THE WRONG WRIGHTS 

by Chris Kientz and Steve Hockensmith. Illustrations and Color by Lee Nielson. Original research byAnthony Bellotti.

I was very happy to find my first time travel mentor text at my local library. Four middle-grade students go back in time to prevent evil investors from ruining the Wright brothers famous flying machine. 

Observations:

• A knowledgeable adult guides them into the past and then disappears.
• Once the four characters enter the past (which is just shown as an opening in a wall with a different world on the other side), the kids immediately are dressed in period-appropriate clothes. (Later on, this is explained as a hologram).
• The kids are each given a tool--a Siri-like wristband (this book was published in 2016-- right after Apple watches were released. Who had the idea first?) that answers their questions, tells them where they are in history, and gives them an idea of their mission.
• The kids discover that history is going to be irrevocably changed by the bad guys unless they intervene. 
• Interesting twist to the story: the bad guys are also time travelers, although the story doesn't explain where or when they came from.
• When they arrive back in the Smithsonian Museum after their adventure, the hallway they had been in has disappeared. 
• Lots of STEM ideas as well as history are included, along with an explanation on the last page as to what was fiction and what was fact. 
• Very engaging, fun, colorful, and relatively short book. 
• Five stars as a mentor text.

THE MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPT 

by Lars Jakobsen (Time travel)

Like THE WRONG WRIGHTS, this graphic novel is also short (48 pages including several pages of back matter). 

Observations:

• A "forward" explains that a new technology for time travel--a time gun--has been developed but is falling into the wrong people's hands. Secret agents are fighting a dangerous crime wave as these criminals are taking artifacts out of their own time. 
• Although it is clear from the header that the story takes place in Denmark in 1929, I had to read the entire book a few times to understand what was going on. 
• The hero, Mr. Mortensen, is summoned into the past because of his time travel abilities. His mission is to make sure that time doesn't get rearranged and save a young mute woman who is being accused of being a witch.
• In my mind, there wasn't enough dialogue or clear action to make the story make sense. The transitions from one panel to another weren't very clear. I frequently got confused over what was happening. 
• Illustrations (a light blue color was used) show the characters shifting into a different time period.
• Moral of the story for me: make sure that the reader has a clear idea of what is taking place on every page. Time warps must be clearly shown from panel to panel. Dialogue must support action. 
• Two stars as a mentor text.

THE STORM IN THE BARN 

by Matt Phelan (historical fiction plus fantasy)

I can see why this book won the Notable Children's Book Award in 2010. The simple text and poignant illustrations with limited but perfect use of color made this a five star mentor text. 

Observations:

• The setting, a dust storm in Kansas in 1937, is a character and an antagonist. 
• Jack Clark, the young main character, is picked on by the town bullies and  disapproved of by his father. Most of this is seen in action panels without text and by the author/illustrator showing Jack's visceral reactions to how he is treated.
• A secondary character, Jack older sister, is very important to Jack's story. She suffers from "dust pneumonia" and escapes into the world of books which she shares with Jack. The two feed on these stories and their mother's stories of her childhood--which are colored with vivid hews, so different than the grey, black and brown of the dust storm. 
• Jack's inner conflict over his role in the family and whether or not he has "dust dementia" is acutely portrayed. 
• The sequencing of events is very clear in text and pictures. 
• Fantasy is intertwined with the history of dust storms in the midwest. 
• An excellent middle-grade read.

Do You Use Mentor Texts?

What mentor texts have you used when you are writing? Please share in the comments and let us all know what you have learned from them.

Congratulations to Antoinette Martin who won Linda Phillips' book, BEHIND THESE HANDS. 

Be sure and check out other great middle-grade books on Greg Pattridge's MMGM blog.

GAIJIN, BOMB, MAUS and I SURVIVED THE NAZI INVASION : Four WWII Graphic Novel Reviews

When a writer begins a work of historical fiction, she must start with research. For me, that means hours of reading Holocaust websites and books.  

As I mentioned in my first blog about Escape from Nuremberg, I decided to try my hand at writing a graphic novel. So, of course, that meant reading them to understand the genre. Here are the first few that I found at my library. 

GAIJIN by Matt Faulkner

Matt Faulkner's story of a Japanese-American boy is based on Faulkner's great-aunt's experiences. 13-year-old Koji Miyamoto faces prejudice and persecution after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He worries that his father might be fighting for the Japanese but doesn't receive word from him. 

Koji is put into an internment camp and his mother chooses to go with him. There he faces even greater pressure from the other boys who call him "Gaijin" (foreigner); he is a stranger and alien in his own country. He is pressured into committing petty crimes but eventually chooses to do the right thing. 

In the end, six years later, Koji is reunited with his father in Japan.

Since this was my first WWII graphic novel, I was interested to see how the passage of time is shown simply through small text boxes on the page and how much of the story is communicated through the illustrations.  It made me appreciate the art behind the graphic novel genre--a book told through vivid images and sparse text. 

In the Author's Note, Faulkner describes his great-aunt's trauma of being sent to an internment camp.

BOMB written by Steven Sheinkin and illustrated by Nick Bertozzi

This graphic novel adaptation of Steve Sheinkin's novel, BOMB: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, was hard to put down. The recommended reading level is from 10-14, but it's a complicated story with flashbacks and multiple characters. I think it would be challenging for the average ten-year-old although it would show him the immense story behind the bomb's development, and probably demand a second read for true comprehension. Full of science such as physics and chemistry and history, I think it's suitable for older readers and adults as well.

BOMB is a story within a story. The "bookends" of the book are images of the FBI coming to arrest Harry Gold in May 1950 and then showing him put in prison. The story of the bomb's creation is set within the context of Harry telling the FBI agents how he leaked atomic secrets to the Soviets. 

A ton of information is included: world politics and politicians,  prestigious scientists who played different parts, places where the bomb was tested, the spies and unsung heroes, and the men who dropped the bomb are all mentioned. Although Sheinkin clearly shows why the bomb was developed and detonated, he and Bertozzi also show the devastation and destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

In keeping with the serious nature of the book, the colors are dark and foreboding. 

BOMB_Excerpt_p62.jpg

MAUS by Art Spiegelman

Although MAUS: A Survivor's Tale, was not written to be a graphic novel, it has become a classic that tells the Holocaust story from the perspective of a survivor (William Spiegelman) as told to his son, Art Spiegelman. Notably, it is the first comic book to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 and is graphic in its portrayal of the Holocaust and its effects on victims and their children. 

Like BOMB, this story is also bookended by the narrator and there is the same story-within-a-story motif. The reader gets a brief glimpse into Art's childhood which foreshadows what William experienced in the war. The books moves quickly to Art's adulthood in which he is estranged from his father. The book shows Art's desperation in capturing his father's story. Was this so he can write and publish it? Or is it because he longs for reconciliation with his father. One can only wonder. 

The reader views William's trauma as the Polish Jews are terrorized and murdered, but we also see Art's trauma following his mother's suicide, his conflicts with his father, and his feelings of worthlessness and despair.  The multi-generational effects of the Holocaust are disturbing. 

Spiegleman's art is very different than Bertozzi's. His panels are in black and white as seen from a scene in the opening of the book. (I found it on this Pinterest board).

I SURVIVED: The Nazi Invasion, 1944 from the novel by Lauren Tarshis, adapted by Georgia Ball, illustrated by Alvaro Sarraseca, and colored by Juanma Aguilera.

This book follows Max and his younger sister, Zena, who live in a ghetto in Esties, Poland. Their father was taken away by the Nazis and they're on their own. Finding a chance to escape, they hide in a hayfield where a sympathetic farmer gives them shelter. 

Much to their surprise, they find their aunt hiding in the same farm. She is a member of a partisan group that is resisting Hitler and conducting raids against Nazi factories and trains. 

Max and Zena are led to their hideout in a swamp, but their journey is filled with peril as the Nazis spot them. 

The ending is satisfactory as the children are reunited with their father, but the devastating effects of war are not minimized. 

The graphic novel is adapted by Georgia Ball from the award-winning novel by Lauren Tarshis. The text and illustrations (by Alvaro Sarraseca and colored by Juanma Aguilera) move the story along quickly. I had read about the partisan effort in Germany, but particularly appreciated learning more about their work in Poland. The book includes back matter about the Holocaust. 

All of these powerful books would be great curriculum resources in either middle school or high school. 

Everything You Wanted to Know about Graphic Novels...BUT Didn't Know Who To Ask. PLUS THREE GIVEAWAYS

Now that I have your attention, let me introduce you to Snow Wildsmith, author, book reviewer, and former teen librarian. Snow was a recent expert for the Talking Story newsletter on graphic novels. In this interview she answers a few more questions about her recent book, A Parent's Guide to the Best Kid's Comics: Choosing Titles Your Children Will Love. 


At the end of this blog, you'll find directions on how you can win a personally autographed copy of Snow's book, or one of Katie Monnin's ebooks about using graphic novels in the classroom. All three of these books are practical for parents, teachers, and homeschool educators. 

Carol: Why do graphic novels appeal to you?

Snow: I love graphic novels because I'm a visual person. For roughly 25 years, I studied ballet and modern dance using my sight to read physical movements. Graphic novels offer something similiar: visual elements combined with text.

Today's kids are being raised and educated in a highly visual world. Computers, smart phones, and tablets all require a good amount of visual literacy. For this generation of learners, graphic novels are an easy and familiar way to process information. 

Carol: As a librarian, what place do you think graphic novels should have on a child's bookshelf?

Snow: For kids who are building their reading skills, graphic novels offer an extra way of understanding language. They’ll see a picture and text combined in a way that reinforces the meaning of the words they’re reading. But it’s not just reluctant readers or less proficient readers who connect with graphic novels. Many comics offer a wide range of vocabulary, some of which can be very advanced. The visual component helps readers expand their vocabulary without feeling as if they are being forced to read a book full of SAT words.

Many readers like graphic novels for the same reason they like prose titles – they are good stories created by talented storytellers. The titles that kids (and teens and adults) are beloved because they are well written, beautifully illustrated, and deeply engaging.

Carol: What is the difference between graphic novels and comic books?

Snow: Graphic novels are comic books with sturdier bindings, larger page count, and more complete story lines. Many graphic novels combine several comic books into one volume, such as releases of Batman or Spider-man comic books. Other graphic novels have never been released in comic book format. Babymouse, for example, allows the creator to tell a longer and/or more complete story in one sitting.

Carol: What about Manga and anime. What are they?

Snow: Manga is Japanese for comics. Like Batman comics, manga series are released in Japan in serial format and published in one magazine. (Sort of like having a magazine made up of one Batman comic book, one Superman comic book, one Wonder Woman comic book, etc.) Once a manga series is popular enough, then the individual chapters from the manga magazine are combined into a graphic novel volume. Anime means animation in Japanese.  

Carol: How do you classify a book like Hugo Cabret?

Snow: I think of it is as a "graphic novel hybrid." Other graphic novel librarians like myself use those words to cover titles that aren't full graphic novels -- with only panels and text bubbles and other comic elements -- but also aren't titles that are only prose. In Hugo Cabret and other titles like the Frankie Pickle series, the Dragonbreath series, and the Wimpy Kid series, the art is an essential part of the story -- you cannot skip over the images or you will not understand the story. That makes them like a graphic novel and unlike an illustrated novel, such as my edition of Peter Pan which has a few illustrated pages that are pretty to look at, but do not have to be viewed in order to follow the story. But in those same graphic novel hybrids, the prose sections are not formatted like a graphic novel, making the hybrids more like a prose novel in that section. Hence the term "graphic novel hybrid," because it is a mix of formats.

Carol: For my readers who are writers, can you tell us about your path to publication?

Snow:  Maggie Thompson, one of my editors, is a long-time comics promoter and co-founder and editor of the Comics Buyer's Guide, had the idea to do a guide to kids' comics. She began asking around to see who might want to work on such a guide and Michael Martins, a Vice President at Dark Horse, gave her my name. He knew me through the American Library Association and because of my work as a book reviewer. She contacted me and I was interested, but since I was currently in the middle of doing a nonfiction series, I didn't want to tackle another project on my own, so I asked if I could add a co-author. They agreed and I asked my friend and fellow librarian, book reviewer, and kids' comics expert, Scott Robins.

Carol: Thank you Snow!  Here is a list of graphic novels which Snow recommends.  

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AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAYS!

#1 An autographed copy of Snow's book, A Parent's Guide to the Best Kid's Comics.

#2 Katie Monnin's ebook, Teaching Early Reader Comics and Graphic Novels (courtesy of Maupin House).

#3 Katie Monnin's ebook, Teaching Graphic Novels: Practical Strategies for the ELA Classroom (courtesy of Maupin House.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow this blog (if you are not following yet), or:
2. If you are already a follower--thank you!--then just post a link on your favorite social network site and,
3. Leave me a comment with your email address indicating which you did and which book you prefer. I will try to honor requests!


I'll select a winner on June 4, so start tweeting, following, and commenting now!

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Next week look for Snow's blog post on her other recently published books. More giveaways too!

Monday Morning Mini-Blog

After my last blog post on Incognegro, my editor informed me that Maupin House has started a new blog for teachers for the forthcoming book, Teaching Graphic Novels by Katie Monnin. If this is a genre you use in your classroom, be sure to check out the blog and the book.

Last night I was moseying around on the internet and checked out my friend Joyce Hostetter's blog to see her latest post. She is my co-author for the newsletter Talking Story, and I was delighted to find a terrific summary of our latest issue. I hope you'll take a minute to visit her blog and then decide to subscribe to our newsletter. Our goal is to provide information about books as well as writing resources for teachers, media specialists, homeschool parents, and writers. Let us know how we're doing!

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Incognegro

Researching an historical novel can take you many different places. Looking to expand my understanding of my young, light-skinned African American character, I searched my local library for books on multi-racial issues. One of the books which popped up was Incognegro, a graphic novel written by Mat Johnson and illustrated by Warren Pleece (DC Comics, 2008).

I am new to this genre, and admittedly brought a dose of skepticism to the book. I wondered if it would really be anything more than a glorified comic book. My embarrassment aside, I can now unequivocally say that yes, this illustrated novel is far different than the Archie comic books of my elementary school years.

Johnson tells the story of a light-skinned Harlem journalist, Zane Pinchback, who reports on lynchings. Zane can easily “pass” and publishes under his pseudonym, Incognegro . But he longs to “come out” and be a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Before he has a chance to do that, his boss asks him to investigate the arrest of a black man in Tupelo, Mississippi, accused of murdering a white woman. The black man is his dark-skinned brother Alonzo, and Zane has no choice but to go undercover again.

The short novel portrays the dangers he and his light-skinned friend Carl experience as they fool the “crackers” they meet in Mississippi. There are multiple twists and turns in this short 134-page book which surprise and confront the reader. Through realistic dialogue and vivid pictures, the time period is explicitly portrayed--including sub-plots depicting rural southern white prejudice.

Since Johnson did not hold back on time and race appropriate language or on his portrayal of violence and sexual liaisons, I would recommend this book for mature teens. My main issue with the book is that I found transitions between events difficult to follow; I had to reread sections to totally understand what was happening.

Incognegro’s portrayal of historical events will be an asset in the social studies and American history classrooms.

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