Almond, David. Half a Creature From the Sea: A Life in Stories.

Almond, David.  Half a Creature From the Sea: A Life in Stories.  Candlewick Press  2015  222p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7877-7      ms/hs  Short stories    E-BN 

British author David Almond takes childhood memories, infuses elements of fantasy, and produces a captivating story collection.  Each story begins with the real events that inspired the story.  Angels, poltergeists, sea people, bullying, and grief are some of the themes of the stories.  The cover art is beautifully done, in color with a black-and-white illustrated sheer overlay, and it inspires interest in the book even before one reads the summary.  Eleanor Taylor’s black-and-white illustrations add emotional elements to the story.  This collection is a must-have for any middle- or high-school collection.  It would also be useful in a writing class as a tool to demonstrate how to take personal experiences and create works of fiction.

Summary: David Almond blends fantasy and realism in a collection of short stories inspired by childhood events.  

Friendship-Fiction, Fantasy-Fiction             --Stephanie Pennucci

Flight Comics. Flight Volume Seven

Flight Comics Flight Volume Seven
Villard Books/Random 2010 282p 27.00
978-0-345-51737-1 ms/hs Graphic Novels - Short stories E-BN


Flight, Volume seven is an excellent collection of open ended graphic short stories. Each one is better than the last. Students will enjoy all the stories. An excellent graphic novel. It has 16 short stories. It is an imaginative book full of "what ifs..." for students and adults who enjoy reading the graphic novels. The writing is poetic storytelling. Precise and to the point but open ended promising possibilities of alternative endings. Some are well grounded and funny. Still others focus on special focus words (that need to be learned) without marring the whole presentation.

One piece that stands out is "Sustain This song" A poetic view of a soldier coming home from war but the soldiers are from across the world and across the ages! Not many words but a powerful visual story all done in lime green color with a touch of red and dark grey/green.

If you have never tried a graphic novel this book might be the best selection as it contains stories that are fantasy, myth like, science fiction and cartoons, some with moral stories and others without.

This book could be consider as a classroom sets to have students study the techniques and style of art and writing of the graphic novel.

Graphic novel Diaz, Magna