I haven’t posted book reviews in a while. Check out what I’m reading from my local library!
I’ve been taking Rivkah La Fille’s Graphic Novel Writing Workshop via NE SCBWI. She has loads of good information. I highly recommend her courses.
We learned that for the graphic novel genre, authors focus on page count instead of word count. Graphic novel-picture books can have +32 pages. Most picture book authors aim to limit their manuscripts to 32 pages and 500 words.
Another great graphic novel course is from Ken Lamug via Storyteller Academy. This is a pace-yourself-style class that is great for busy people.
Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann and Janet Lee
Welcome to Anorev, a land where time has no meaning. Robots work and children play, but the play is no fun and the work is no use. A curious boy named Ayden and his robot friend Zoe know that something's missing, but they can't imagine what it might be… until 314 identical men in green bowler hats fall from the sky. At last, our heroes have a chance to discover what happened to their world, what might start the clocks back up again, and what tomorrow really means. Blending clockwork whimsy with majestic art-nouveau visuals, Jim McCann and Janet Lee present a hand-crafted fairy tale that feels both familiar and entirely new in this prestige reprinting!
146 pages, 9-12 years, Trim 9.81 x 11.38 inches, August 2017, ISBN 978-1603094139
The Wanderer, by Peter Van Den Ende
Without a word, The Wanderer presents one little paper boat's journey across the ocean, past reefs and between icebergs, through schools of fish, swaying water plants, and terrifying sea monsters. The little boat is all alone, and while its aloneness gives it the chance to wonder at the fairy-tale world above and below the waves, that also means it must save itself when it storms. And so it does.
96 pages, 8-14 years, Trim 9.4 x 12.35 inches, Oct. 2020, ISBN 978-1646140176
THIS IS NOT MY STORY, BY RYAN Uytdewilligen and David Huyck
The brave captain of a tiny spaceship is surrounded by flying saucers. Though the situation appears dire, he knows just what to do … um, wait! The brave captain - ahem, boy - tells the author to stop the action: He’s got it all wrong. This is not the boy’s story. He belongs in a different story.
40 pages, 6-9 years, Trim: 8.85 x 11.3, June 2023, ISBN 978-1525303432
MAd Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster, by Matthew McElligott
Welcome to Mad Scientist Academy! The first day of school is always exciting, and Dr. Cosmic’s new students can’t wait to get started. After their teacher reveals that their school pet, Oscar, is a dinosaur, they quickly realize Dr. Cosmic has an unusual teaching style. To find Oscar, the class has to follow the clues through the realistic dinosaur exhibit Dr. Cosmic designed and built over the summer. But when a malfunction causes the robotic dinosaurs to come alive, this prehistoric exhibit feels a little too real!
40 pages, 5-8 years, 8.6 x 11 inches, July 2017, ISBN 978-0553523782