The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

It’s Halloween and thirteen-year-old Moth Hush has given a lot of thought to the costume that she will wear to school. She decides that she will definitely ​be a witch. Black dress. Pointed hat. Nothing unusual about that. ​The girl who doesn't fit in decides that a traditional Halloween costume is a great way to assimilate. Maybe not. ​While trying to help the new kid in school, she discovers that she has extraordinary powers. Her mother confirms that she is, in fact, a witch. Moth learns that she comes from a long line of witches, both her mother and maternal grandmother are witches. I’m a witch... Everything finally DOES make sense. I always thought I was just weird. Local lore tells of a witch colony that disappeared centuries ago. Each year students reenact the story. In a strange twist of fate, Moth the costume assistant and her friend Charlie assume the roles of their ancestors in the production. Will they follow the script, or will they choose to reject the town’s traditional witch mythology and create a new reality?

This wide-eyed thirteen-year-old navigates the perilous life of middle school while simultaneously exploring Hecate, a witch’s realm existing in a parallel universe. It's new and exciting but strange and frightening. When history collides with the present, old wounds are reopened and past injustices exposed. Three generations of witches. ​Three manifestations of Hecate: maiden, mother, crone. Three different perspectives on the practice of witchcraft. Mothers try to protect daughters. Daughters seek to break away and create a new life. Who is right? Magic is an integral story element. Moth explores the past by jumping into her mother’s diary with a cat who is the reincarnation of a family friend and benefactor. Moth's mother, who appears ageless, reveals that she was born in 1675. Mommy looks a lot younger than she actually is. And it's not just because she moisturizes regularly.

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

Uber-talented Raina Telgemeier has done it again. She has created a companion volume to her endearing and enduring classics Smile and Sisters. Guts is also autobiographical. It recounts Telgemeier’s bouts with stress and the mental, social, and emotional costs of anxiety. This may be her most personal book to date, detailing her childhood panic attacks, phobias, and anxiety. She opens up about the distress that she experienced and her body's responses to these fears. ​ Beginning in the fourth grade, Raina begins worrying about vomiting, an experience that assaults all of the senses: sight, sound, taste, and smell. The possibility of throwing up, even hearing the word vomit becomes a trigger, sending her to the bathroom. ​Stress-provoking factors multiply. They include crowded living conditions, fear of speaking in public, the possibility of contracting the flu, and eating contaminated food. The result: this young girl spends her days and nights in a state of continual turmoil.

Raina brilliantly uses the graphic novel format to tell her story. She knows when to over-fill a panel or page with people and actions, reinforcing her suffocating claustrophic feelings. Panel placement is an integral part of the story, at times horizontal bands move from the top of the bottom of the page.  Full page panels set the scene and provide important background information.  A full page is a significant statement which invites readers to pause. One of my favorites is the full-page image of her sneakers.  As readers pause to consider what it feels like to look down at shoes and become "grounded" they can experience the value of this technique. Facial expressions and body language are a hallmark of her work. She effectively captures fear, frustration, and eventually, self-confidence. Panels which are predominantly green signal her moments of extreme distress. A swirling mass of worry and doubt encircle Raina in various shades of green.

​ ​Thanks Raina. It takes courage to relive painful childhood experiences. It takes talent to accurately record your experiences in comic format. It takes empathy to share your journey through dark moments with young readers. It takes intention to seek help through therapy. You are a woman of courage, talent, empathy, and guts. Readers are fortunate that their beloved author has shared her story. Thank you.

Telgemeier Treasures

Lunar Landing July 20, 1969

Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing by Chris Gall From childhood, Chris Gall has always been fascinated with rockets and space exploration. Go for the Moon: A Rocket, A Boy, and the First Moon Landing chronicles the parallel stories of the Apollo 11 launch and a young boy’s attempt to replicate the event on a personal and considerably smaller scale. His rocket is a water rocket that he transports via a little red wagon. He builds a lunar module from cardboard boxes and climbs inside. He and his brother replicate the difficulty of precisely reaching the moon with a soccer ball and a stone. Gorgeously illustrated and chock full of fascinating facts, the generous trim size invites readers to experience the Apollo11 mission from a kid’s point of view. Grab a glass of Tang and share in the adventure. ​Copy provided by publisher ​Pub date: June 11, 2019 Publisher: Roaring Brook Press ISBN: 978-1250155795 Rocket to the Moon!:  ​Big Ideas That Changed the World ​by Don Brown Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world." Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in Don Brown's Big Ideas That Changed the World series This volume recounts the history and development of rockets. ​A substantial portion of the book is devoted to the United States' space exploration, including the "space race" with Russia. The narrative culminates with the successful Apollo 11 lunar landing. ​Line drawings, and link wash are clean and straightforward, moving the narrative along. The full-page panel of the moon's surface appropriately gives readers pause. Pacing shows the module’s slow descent to the Sea of Tranquility with a series of jagged-edge panels. Horizontal panels zoom in on one footstep as it descends the ladder to the moon's surface.

T-Minus: ​The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani ill Zonder Cannon Kevin Cannon Jim Ottaviani’s fictionalized retelling of the race between the USA and the USSR to reach the moon is a gripping, emotionally charged saga. T-Minus: The Race to the Moon chronicles the development of space exploration and the back stories of key players such as Robert Goddard and Sergei Korolev. The failures, successes, political intrigue come to a climax when Apollo 11 reaches its destination and NASA's astronaut takes the first steps on the moon. Hard to put down. Read the author’s notes for information on his storytelling process as well as suggested bibliography. Inventive placement of rockets which break out of rigid panel frames and span the entire vertical space is noteworthy. The black and white line art is well-suited to the subject matter. Public library copy. ​Pub date: May 9, 2009 Publisher: Adallin ISBN: 978-1416949602 Countdown: ​2979 Days to the Moon  by Suzanne Slade ill Thomas Gonzales Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon chronicles events leading up to and concluding with the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. The narrative begins with the challenge uttered by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961. ​Suzanne Slade, a mechanical engineer who worked on several space projects including the development of Saturn V rocket, is well qualified to write this superlative work of nonfiction. Her lyrical text vivifies the marvel of space exploration. The free verse is accompanied by direct quotations, systematically describing each of the eleven Apollo missions. ​Gonzalez' paintings are enhanced with infographic spreads located between chapters. Generous trim size (10.3" x 11") while accessible and easy to handle, gives added emphasis to the grandeur of this achievement. The book's text, with clear clean font is thoughtful placed, awarding the narrative added significance. For contrast, pages describing the Apollo 8 expedition as it moves to the far side of the moon are black with striking white text. ​

Video Resources

Field Trip

Sea Sirens: A Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure
​by Amy Chu & Janet K. Lee

California surfer Trot spends her summer days with Cap’n Bill, a one-eyed rescue cat wearing a tiny red life vest who joins her on the surfboard and her Vietnamese grandfather who is in the early stages of dementia and sometimes wanders off.   One day Trot and Cap'n Bill sneak away to catch a big wave. Her board capsizes, sending them into a magical world in the briny deep. When sea serpents threaten a bevy of lovely sea sirens, Cap'n Bill lashes out, sending away the serpents. In gratitude, the seahorse-riding sirens give Trot and her cat the ability to breathe underwater and transport the duo back to their mother Queen Aquareine and her opulent kingdom, or more accurately, queendom. They are honored with a lavish celebration. A special guest arrives for the festivities: grandpa!  He slipped into the ocean and wandered into this enchanted aquatic paradise. ​

More Underwater Adventures

Rocket to the Moon!: Big Ideas That Changed the World
​by Don Brown

Big Ideas That Changed the World, a series created by Don Brown, "celebrates the hard-won succession of ideas that ultimately remade the world."  Rocket to the Moon! is the first book in the BIG IDEAS series, exploring the development of rockets. ​Rodman Law, a New Jersey daredevil parachutist in the early 1900's, is the character who narrates the chronology. He provides commentary and adds his own witty asides.  I bet I'm the first guy to try flying in a rocket. OK, OK, there's a sketchy story about a Turkish guy who did it in 1633, but come on, 1633? I'm not buying it, so I'm claiming the title. Briefly mentioned are the Chinese invention of gunpowder, as well as fifteenth and sixteenth century experimentation with rockets. The narrative progresses with greater detail when detailing the research of twentieth-century Russian, American, and Romanian scientists and the work of American-German aerospace engineer Werner von Braun. His association with Hitler's Germany is mentioned. ​​

They lightened Eagle by discarding an impressive pile of junk: boots, a camera, canisters, scoops, a shovel, space suit parts, and an empty storage container. They left a bag of barf, too, so watch your step if you're ever on the Sea of Tranquility.

Don Brown Comics

Rocket History 

For two decades Laurie Halse Anderson has been speaking out, giving voice to teens who have experienced horrific trauma. Speak has brought the shame and humiliation experienced by rape victims out of the dark recesses of suppressed memory. Acknowledging the suffering, the rage. Initiating the first steps to healing. In my early years as a youth librarian, Speak was constantly requested, always checked out. The story is as relevant to a fourteen-year-year-old girl from a small Texas town in 2000 as it is to a teen living in urban New York in 2019.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson It all started in 1999. Laurie Halse Anderson published her first book: a ground-breaking young adult novel chronicling the story of fifteen-year-old Melinda Sordino. Beginning her freshman year, this young student is ostracized by her former friends and classmates. She is singled out at a school pep rally for calling the police at a summer party. What Melinda cannot say is that she was raped at that party. School becomes unbearable. She is constantly confronted with the shame and agony of that night, as the boy who raped her is a student at her school. Shunned by her friends,

Speak: The Graphic Novel ​by Laurie Halse Anderson ill by Emily Carroll Publishing a graphic novel version of Speak is both an obvious choice and a brilliant decision. This visceral narrative translates to striking visual imagery. Anderson chooses to update the original story, including references to cell phones and Instagram. This gives the narrative a fresh, contemporary vibe. Her Author's Note serves as an introduction. A helpful list of organizations which support victims of sexual assault contains descriptions and contact information can be found in the back matter.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson Told primarily in verse, this memoir covers a wide range of events and emotions. Part One shares moments from Laurie’s difficult and conflicted childhood, her rape at age thirteen and subsequent reliance on drugs to mask the anguish, the slow ascent from depression during tenth grade, her year as a foreign exchange student in Denmark, and her foray into writing for teens. Part Two explores the publication of Speak and the impact it has had on her and a world-wide audience. Part Three returns to recurring symbols and themes: trees, blood, family, and stories. She acknowledges her parents’ personal troubles, but is willing to maintain a relationship with each. What a generous heart!

Bonus: Additional Resources

Since my early draft of this post, a twentieth anniversary edition of Speak​ has been released. It includes a new introduction by Ashley C. Ford as well as an afterword by Jason Reynolds. This edition also features an updated Q&A, resource list, an essay, and poem by Anderson. I look forward to reading this updated edition. I’ve Talked With Teenage Boys About Sexual Assault for 20 Years. ​This Is What They Still Don’t Know  Laurie Halse Anderson Time January 15, 2019

Laurie reads "Me,Too" from Shout. Laurie reads "Listen" from the 20th edition of Speak.

Lowriders Blast from the Past
by Cathy Camper ill Raúl the Third

One look at the Lowriders Blast from the Past cover and it is evident that readers of this series are in for a totally different experience. The first two covers feature dark backgrounds synonymous with outer space and inner earth. Lupe's sweet ride, the modified Chevy Impala, cruises proudly across the cover.  This third book cover features a warm light tone. The signature lowrider automobile has been replaced. This ride is pedal-powered. Equally striking is Lupe Impala. Her distinctive facial feature, her nose, is much smaller and her hair is a mass of short curls. With this episode Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third take us the back in time. We meet young Lupe, traveling on a bike, similar to her transportation at the beginning of Lowriders in Space.

Initial pages introduce the backstories of the threesome.  Young mechanic Lupe Impala, her Mamá Impala owns of a junk store and Mamá Gazelle creates tissue paper decorations. Elirio Mararia mosquito, an artist whose father helps him collect words. El Chavo Flapjack octopus, cleaning expert whose family are talented performers. The trio encounter Los Matamoscas (The Flyswatters), who destroy Flappy’s bike and deface Elirio’s outdoor murals. The new friends team up repair the damage and then prepare Lupe’s moms’ car for a Lowriders competition. Los Matamoscas impose a series of bizarre rules that will disqualify Impala and Gazelle. The youngsters jump into the fray and triumphantly meet each obstacle. Their car enters and wins the competition. Even better, they enlist the help of their former tormentors and together create a stunning mural.

Riding with Lupe, Elirio, and Flappy

Bonus Discussion: Code Switching

In recent years, however, scholars have found there is sophisticated brain work behind code-switching, or CS, the linguistic term for switching between two languages in one conversation.

Drawn Together by Minh Lê  ill Dan Santat

Minh Lê has created a tribute to the miraculous power of art, imagination, and love. Readers meet a young Asian American boy sent to spend time with his grandfather. This is difficult for both because they appear to have little in common. Grandfather speaks only Thai. Grandson speaks only English. Using a graphic novel format, Dan Santat opens with a series of wordless panels, as the young man is unwillingly deposited on his grandfather's doorstep. Images highlight the contrasting cultures, with wordless panels progressing into panels with separate speech balloons in Thai and English. Things are not going well for either one. Until... The boy gives up talking and begins to draw. Observing what is happening, Grandfather hurries to find his own drawing implements. With his first brush stroke, a new world opens.

In the process of drawing together, the two form a connection that is able to break down barriers and overcome obstacles. The narrative is beautiful and satisfying on many levels.  It's the story of bridging the divide between cultures and generations.  It is also a story of the power of shared creation and exploration.  The story of a willingness to try.  A desire to find common ground.  A story of love. A story of hope.

All Summer Long by Hope Larson

Thirteen-year-old Bina is devastated when her best friend Austin decides to spend a month at summer soccer camp. She wonders: What will become of her? Will there be no fun adventures for her this summer? With mom and dad away at work, Bina descends into a funk. Austin is pursuing his passion for soccer. Her two older brothers have moved on and created independent meaningful lives, including the imminent arrival of a birth to bless the family. Not Bina. She feels trapped. A chance encounter sets her off in a new direction. She begins to hang out with Austin's older sister Charlie. Initially they connect because they share a love of music. Charlie needs someone to help with some chores and babysitting jobs. Bina is happy to be noticed by older-sister Charlie and begins to tag along. Eventually she determines that Charlie may be using her. Bina must decide what she want she is willing to do to maintain the relationship. Bina wants a friend. She also must to be true to herself. The month becomes one of self-realization.

Characters are presented with a deft hand.  Each is fleshed out with a distinct personality. Readers can readily identify with each one.  There are no "good guys" or "bad guys," just real people in real life struggling to define themselves. "Lots of people spend forever looking for something they care about. Sometimes they never find it. But you already have, and you're doing it, and you're gonna be great." "You're more you every day."

Many of Larson’s books have a mystical element and so I expected a bit of magic in this graphic novel.  All Summer Long offers a magical scene, but with a distinct difference. Readers witness Bina's transformation as she responds to music. It's subtle, but her joyful rapture is evident.  ​Bonus: Larson uses fingering for guitar chord progressions to signal the beginning of each new chapter. Clever touch. Savor the delights of coming-of-age in this touching homage to power of family, friends, and music.

Weird and Wondrous

Mercury

A Wrinkle in Time

Who is AC?

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

It begins with the cover. All the trauma, drama, insecurities of summer camp are perfectly captured in this image. She’s got the gear, all the gear. She’s got the uniform with requisite badges. She’s got the wilderness setting, complete with flags and tents and little critters. ​But wait.  She's got a look that seems to cry out "Help!" ​This is NOT at all what she signed up for. Not. At. All. Vera had heard the stories of camp and was sure that a summer experience was what she desperately needed. With a great deal of coaxing, her mother relented and signed Vera and brother up for Russian camp. Certain that this would be the experience she envisioned, she set off with high hopes.

In a strange twist of fate, her brother who initially protested the idea of summer camp, instantly took to the experience and dived right in.  Vera, on the other hand was having a miserable experience. No friends, mean girls, unfamiliar routines: this just wasn't working out. Unfortunately, it is too late. Mom has deposited the siblings and Vera is stuck at a summer camp for children of Russian heritage.

Exploring camp, Vera finds a directional sign for Hollywood.

Further investigation brings her to the horrifying conclusion: a ​visit to Hollywood is a dreaded necessity.

Look at her face. It captures the range of her emotions and sensations.

Kudos to Brosgol for predominantly featuring Russian culture. From occasionally use of Cyrillic alphabet, depictions of Russian Orthodox services and icons, and traditional foods, she brings her heritage to the forefront. It was a little pocket of Russia, a familiar place in a strange land. Russian camp setting notwithstanding, this dramatic recreation of real-life youth camp transcends a specific culture. Vera's story will resonate with all youngsters who feel different but want to be accepted and included.  So you're making some friends, huh? ​...be careful how you make them.

Graphic Novels Go Camping

Brain Camp by Susan Kim, Lawrence

Camp Midnight by Steven T. Seagle Jason Adam Katzenstein

Chiggers by Hope Larson