Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Comics: Tales of the World’s Wildest Beasts.

Tulien, Sean, Blake Hoena, et al.  Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Comics: Tales of the World’s Wildest Beasts.   Capstone Young Readers  2013  144p       ISBN 978-1-4342-4880-0        ms/hs     Hardback    VG-BN Graphic novel

Rudyard Kipling has written the stories of some of the animal world’s most intriguing creatures.  This book contains the stories “How the Leopard Got His Spots”, “How the Elephant Got His Trunk”, “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin”, and “How the Camel Got His Hump.”  This is a very good graphic novel for young readers.  The colors are bright and simply blended in dramatic drawings.  The drawings themselves are simple yet effectively portray the content of the story. The format of the paperback and the visual layout within the pages add variety and insight into the world of the animals.  This book is recommended for any high-school library and will appeal to many young-adult and reluctant readers.   

Summary: A collection of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories in graphic-novel format.

Legends and myths                                                 --Linda McNeil

Despeyroux, Denise. Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allen Poe.

Despeyroux, Denise.     Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allen Poe.    Enslow      96p $25.26  978-0-7660-4086-1       ms/hs Series: Dark Graphic Novels (Enslow)  VG-BN           Graphic novel    

The essential elements of the creepy nature of Poe’s tales are retained in text and darkly illustrated with attention to background detail.  The tales include “The Gold Bug”, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether”.      This is an English translation of a book originally published in Spanish in 2009.  The illustrations are indeed dark in color as well as tone, and there is great attention to detail regarding the interiors of houses and things found in the countryside.  The inmates of an asylum in the lesser-known tale of “Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” are deftly drawn.  The collection is suitable for students in upper-elementary school as well as older students, who will be drawn into telling of these early horror stories.  This is a perfect book to share on a camping trip under the stars or read by flashlight at home on a night when the electric power fails.  It is just spooky enough to thrill but not enough to give younger readers nightmares.  Some American readers may bristle at the use of words such as “idiot” and “moron” in the “Gold Bug”.  The author keeps the text faithful to the broad context of the original tale, thus bringing the stories into contemporary times and a new generation of readers.   

The series Dark Graphic Novels contains three books, featuring stories by Poe, stories by Shelley, and a collection of many horror stories by various authors.  The graphic-novel format features text that is faithful to the original stories and illustrations that are dark in color and mood, increasing the sense of impending dread.   It is strongly recommended for school libraries to introduce students to classic horror stories and novels in an easy-to-read graphic-novel format.   --  Lois McNicol

Macabre – Fiction, Ghost stories, Short stories        

The Silence of Our Friends

Long, Mark, et al.      The Silence of Our Friends    

 Macmillan/ First Second 2012 198p   $16.99      978-1-59643-618-3    

 ms/jr Historical fiction   E-BN   Graphic novel    

This graphic novel takes place in Texas in 1968.  A black professor and a white journalist meet at a Civil Rights rally and slowly become friends as the reporter learns firsthand about the injustices done to people because of the color of their skin. 

                                                                 

The lessons of this book are not so much about what is done to a person of color as what is allowed to happen to a person of color.  Even as the white reporter struggles to get the story behind the Civil Rights Movement and tries to understand why it is happening, the professor struggles with the ignorance of cruelty done to his people simply because their skin is black.  The reporter's children and wife also struggle with the ugly truth.  Their white neighbors are outraged that they socialize with the people of color and begin to ostracize the family, which stands its ground and refuses to be intimidated.  The professor continues to fight for justice and to teach about equality and human rights for all people, especially people of color.

This is a truly excellent graphic novel depicting the rawness and ugliness of racial prejudice.  The children learn a valuable lesson as they learn how nice the professor’s family really is, and eventually they do not even notice that they are different.

This is a must-read for all ages.        

E-BN  Magna Diaz        Graphic novels, Civil Rights movement

 

The After Hours.

Kneece, Mark The After Hours.
Walker & Co 2008 293p 9.99 978-0-8027-9717-9 ms/hs

Rod Sterling's The Twilight Zone This graphic is adapted from Twilight Zone television series episode of the same name. The eerie panel illustrations draw the reader into the story of a woman who is in actuality a department store mannequin. The twisted tale takes on a new life in this popular genre. This title will be popular with graphic novel fans as well as Twilight Zone fans. It could be used as a high interest title for reluctant readers. This graphic is adapted from Twilight Zone television series episode of the same name. The eerie panel illustrations draw the reader into the narrative of a woman who is in actuality a department store mannequin. The use of color fits the story perfectly. This twisted tale of the supernatural, first broadcast in the early 1960's, takes on a new life in this Twenty-first Century adaptation. For those who remember, Rod Sterling's voice can be heard in the text. For those too young to remember Sterling's popular show, his imaginative style will still terrorize. This title will be popular with graphic novel fans as well as Twilight Zone fans. It could be used as a high interest title for reluctant readers in both middle and high school libraries. T. Weinraub