I hope that everyone enjoyed the great visit from Chris Grabenstein during the book fair week. If you have not had a chance to read
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library try to make some time to read it soon! It really is a great book, and I am looking forward to the new book about Mr. Lemoncello planned for the future.
Fans of
Smile and
Drama rejoice! Raina Telgemeier has just published the next book in the series,
Sisters. Once again, she brings her unique artwork and storytelling ability to this book, and I liked it just as much as the others. Even if you don't think that you like "graphic novels" you will still enjoy these books. Mostly autobiographical,
Sisters is a fun read and a very accurate depiction of the very complicated relationship between siblings.
Booklist starred (June 1, 2014 (Vol. 110, No. 19))
Grades 5-8. Telgemeier’s follow-up to Smile (2010)—possibly the only
universally embraced graphic novel on the planet—offers the same
thoughtful perspective while also creating a slightly more mature and
complex tone. Raina boards the family minivan traveling from California
to Colorado to visit relatives, sharing a charged and eventful trip with
her mother, sister, and younger brother. Cleverly, the trip is
interspersed with flashbacks that flesh out the emotional background and
neatly dovetail with Smile. While the focus of the story explores
Raina’s combative relationship with her younger sister, Amara, it is in
some sense about families themselves, the tensions they breed, the
unspoken worries that swirl through households, and the ways an older
generation’s unintended example echoes through younger generations. This
may sound dark and heavy, but it actually exists only as an underlying
reality. Telgemeier keeps the surface story popping and zippy, even
through the constant sparring between the awkwardly adolescent Raina and
her firecracker younger sister, a relationship that will prove
profoundly familiar to many readers. Telgemeier’s art complements her
writing to great effect, offering a cheerful, vivid cartoon simplicity
that allows readers to instantly engage even as it leaves room for
deeper truths to take hold. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: New York Times
best-selling Smile continues to be one of the most widely loved kid’s
graphic novels in recent history. With a sizable first print run,
Telgemeier’s publisher is counting on a repeat performance.
