All the Water in the World by G. E. Lyon

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
The World

Lyon, George Ella. All the Water in the World. Illus. Katherine Tillotson. New York: Atheneum Books, 2011. Print. A gorgeous synthesis of poetry and illustration, All the Water in the World imbues complex environmental science concepts with an intense personal immediacy, full of sentiment and expression. The text follows water’s cyclical passage through different levels of the global climate, as it permeates all facets of life on earth. Science and aesthetics are used in inspired collaboration to create a realistic depiction of natural phenomena and an evocation of the innately lyrical and metamorphic quality of water in its diverse and omnipresent manifestations. Lyon’s adept use of emphasis and repetition perfectly captures the rush and cadence of moving water. She creates a clear discourse focusing on the morality of water conservation and its implications for human equality and preservation of the natural world. Tillotson employs oil paint manipulated through collage, printmaking, and digital techniques to capture the many moods of water, transitioning between cartoonish representation and dynamic, impressionistic imagery. The charm and immediacy of All the Water in the World comes from its depiction of familiar manifestations of water that will evoke a visceral response in a young audience. The book seamlessly associates those common experiences with the larger natural patterns that water follows, as it interacts with the earth, ocean and atmosphere. All the Water in the World is an emblematic example of how talented writers and illustrators are integrating engagingly vivid non-fiction into young children’s libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

Junonia by K. Henkes

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
The Individual

Henkes, Kevin. Junonia. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2011. Print. Henkes’ carefully considered novel for young adults, Junonia, showcases his ability to convey depth of emotion very clearly and intuitively. Going against the truism that children’s book illustrations have to represent the characters, the beautiful and restrained illustrations evoke the archetypal woodcut illustrations of vintage children’s books without descending into nostalgic kitsch. Both word and illustration contribute to Henkes’ candid and clear-eyed depictions of the natural world and the exterior manifestations of the characters’ inner lives. The story unfolds as Alice Rice returns with her parents to Sanibel Island in Florida for their annual winter holiday and to celebrate her tenth birthday. Henkes has a deft narrative grasp of the unknowability of the individual, both to themselves and others; an aspect of the human condition that young people experience particularly acutely. In Henkes’ books for younger readers, there are gentle and empathetic adults present to help children negotiate the complexity of the world and their own feelings. However, Junonia is for older children and its protagonist is beginning the process of learning to navigate and master her own feelings and expectations. While supportive adults are present, they can only offer Alice a limited degree of benevolent protection from the realities of the passage of time and the vagaries of human emotions. While the subject of the book is transition to, and reconciliation with, a more adult-level of self-awareness, the book never seems maudlin and retains a very lucid and almost austere tone. Junonia is an immersive and lovely introduction to literature created with the intent to closely follow the interior monologues of its characters. One could imagine moving on to Mrs Dalloway rather effortlessly. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals I Must Have Bobo! by E. Rosenthal

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
The Family ◽  
Visual Text ◽  
One Year ◽  
Page Design ◽  
The University ◽  
Adult Reader

Rosenthal, Eileen. I Must Have Bobo! Illus. Marc Rosenthal. New York: Atheneum Books, 2010. Print. Perhaps I was expecting something more giddily nostalgia-smitten because I initially found the page layouts of I Must Have Bobo! too sparse. I came to realize the effectiveness of I Must Have Bobo! lies in its light aesthetic touch and refusal to indulge in hectic retro-pastiche. The page design could occasionally benefit from more balance between the negative space of the page and the illustrations’ carefully considered spatial dynamics and measured use of colour but it’s hard to begrudge more attention being drawn to the lovely, warm ivory paper on which the book is printed.While an adult reader may be tempted, as I was, to lazily conflate complexity with quality, a clean minimalist visual text can assist younger children in accessing a narrative more autonomously. As my children (two and four years of age) quickly familiarized themselves with I Must Have Bobo! the book’s charm and immediacy became apparent.I Must Have Bobo! restricts its text to dialogue and as children learn the text they can indulge in the gleeful pleasure of repeating the protagonist Willy’s simple but emphatic words. Even a very young child can become engaged in Willy’s endless efforts to keep his beloved stuffed monkey Bobo away from Earl, the family cat who is equally attached to Bobo for his own mysterious reasons. Earl appropriates Bobo at every opportunity and the book centres on Willy’s efforts to retain and relocate Bobo as he migrates around the house with Earl.An astute and playful book that maintains a respectful adherence to children’s sensibilities and narrative interests, “I Must Have Bobo!” is understatedly, intuitively appropriate for very early to late pre-school readers.Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals The Enchantress by S. Michael

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Intrinsic Motivations ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University

Scott, Michael. The Enchantress, New York : Delacourte Press , 2012. Print. Michael Scott's sixth, and final, book in his Nicholas Flamel series crashes to its conclusion with The Enchantress. Credit is due to Scott for colourfully evoking and drawing together many of the very interesting figures and cultural artifacts from history and mythology but in conception his books can be overtaxing. Reading the glib dialogue between Shakespeare and Prometheus as their saucer-shaped air craft, a Vimāna, is piloted into the side of the Yggdrasil tree doesn't strain credulity - this is a fantasy adventure - so much as it tramples vigorously on any sense of cohesive aesthetics. While the essential conceit is fun and entertaining, at this frenetic late stage in the series, many portions of the text read like an over-thought riff on "who I would invite to have tea/mead/drink blood together if I could choose anyone - including anyone imaginary". The strength in this series comes from Scott's characterizations. The women in this series benefit particularly from Scott's ability to combine momentum and brevity with enthusiastically lively and rich depiction. Perenelle Flamel, Virginia Dare and Scatach have genuine presence and the narrative hinges on their impressive abilities and intrinsic motivations. Scott's principals could benefit from a little more corporeal vulnerability. All his characters have trained in their respective arts for millennia and the perils that they face seems less then perilous to such champions, no matter how high the stakes are alleged to be. Scott's carefully structured universes and their integral relationships have always been on a mysterious trajectory and the narrative revelation at conclusion of The Enchantress is resonant and satisfying. It has formulaic elements but Scott has established his characters soundly enough that their presence lends immediacy to the more epic, mythological structures that Scott is simultaneously pursuing. While the quality of pacing and aesthetic of this ambitious and lengthy series have fluctuated over the course of its six volumes, the conclusion is cohesive, action-packed and worth the journey. The Enchantress is the sixth and final book in Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. Recommended with reservations:  2 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON GEOMORPHOLOGICAL FIELDWORK: EXPLORATION OF NEW INITIATIVES AND DIMENSIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Temitope D. Timothy Oyedotun
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Natural World ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Field Training ◽  
Signature Pedagogy ◽  
The World ◽  
Site Field ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has already changed the world in many respects, and its impact cuts across many fields of human endeavours. An area of temporary setbacks in geomorphological research posed by the pandemic is in the restriction placed on fieldwork exercise. Apart from bringing a lot of constraints to fieldwork, the need to meet the learning outcomes ensured that the already in-use technologies were easily adapted to simulate the necessary fieldwork in evaluating dynamics in geomorphological environment and the natural world. Despite the success, however, the fieldwork remains ‘signature pedagogy’ for geography, geomorphology and any other Earth Science disciplines. The dynamic nature of landforms, the serendipity of on-site field training and exercises, the ability to have a first-hand experience of field phenomenon, etc. are some of the expected rewards that could not be simulated remotely. Hence, when COVID-19 pandemic is over, the aspects of fieldwork should not be jettisoned for the simulated alternatives embraced in the pandemic. The two should work hand-in-hand for the diverse fields of geomorphological research.

scholarly journals The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan by M. Eaton III

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Visual Navigation ◽  
Environmentally Conscious ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Developing Readers ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Early Reader

Eaton, Maxwell, III. The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan is a new contribution to the tremendously popular genre of comics for developing readers (Captain Underpants, Wimpy Kid and their ilk).Eaton's artwork is very clean with little line variation, giving the pages a very open and spacious quality, which enables visual navigation. The simple colour scheme - clear, bright blues and gray tones - is a welcome variation on the standard black and white comic and this restrained palette supports the clean, cartoon-y style, further facilitating ease of reading by avoiding complexity and over-design.The Beaver Brothers' training for a beaver community surfing competition is interrupted when they stumble upon a secretive penguin community. The penguins have hatched a scheme to alter the natural wilderness the beavers call home to their own penguin specifications. The bumbling and mildly dysfunctional beavers must thwart their plan before it is too late.The narrative in The Flying Beaver Brothers is almost completely conveyed through imagery and dialogue – no lengthy, wordy asides impede the plot - and this gives the story a rewardingly quick pace and congenial accessibility. The beaver brothers are likeable doofuses and the penguins, though diabolical, are very cute (as penguins can be expected to be).Compared to other early reader comics, The Flying Beaver Brothers lacks the slightly outré humour and scatological content that seems intrinsic to this genre's appeal. It’s nice to think that readers would appreciate an occasional break from the diaper and underpants jokes and narratives that hinge on public humiliation to enjoy this easy going and earnestly environmentally conscious beaver brother’s adventure.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals Bird & Squirrel On The Run! by J. Burks

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabelle Pendry
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Minimal Change ◽  
Animation Industry ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Mount Pleasant ◽  
The World ◽  
Winter Food ◽  
The Moment

Burks, James. Bird & Squirrel On The Run! New York: Scholastic Graphix, 2012. Print. After years as an artist in the hallways of the animation industry, author/illustrator James Burks takes an unlikely duo on an adventure of discovered friendship. Timid Squirrel, complete with winter food preparations and a fear of almost everything (“Don’t you know that cats are responsible for 47 percent of all squirrel deaths each year?”), suddenly loses his winter safety net in dramatic fashion, catching the hungry eye of a determined and ferocious cat.  Squirrel has no choice but to grudgingly pair himself with the animal responsible for his loss, an adventurous Bird who brazenly lives in the moment (“The world is our oyster!”) but who attracts trouble with every swoop of his wing.  Together they venture south to find warmth and food, dodging their persistently predatory cat and other natural hazards but find help along the way from a kind family of moles.  A few shared life and death adventures later, Bird and Squirrel begin to appreciate and learn from each other’s ways, discovering new aspects of their own personalities while becoming true friends in the process.   ​ Burks uses clean lines and brightly coloured characters against more neutral backgrounds to frame clear and simple facial expressions that will appeal to younger readers. The fast paced story is presented with minimal change in perspective and timeline which makes this an ideal introduction to graphic novels for younger readers. ​​ Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Annabelle Pendry Annabelle Pendry loves her job as Teacher Librarian at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Vancouver, BC.

My Name is Mina by D. Almond

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Adult Readers ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Page Design

Almond, David. My Name is Mina. New York: Delacourt Press, 2010. Print. My Name is Mina is a prequel to Almond’s award winning book Skellig - a work for young adult readers that is very exceptional and magical. It is understandable that Almond would wish to return to the character of Mina who, while not the protagonist of Skellig, provides the narrative with its essential element of magical thinking. Mina brings to Skellig its intense, idiosyncratic intelligence and comprehension of lived personal tragedy that give the book its substance and its characters' motivational credibility and willing credulity in the face of mystery and uncertainty. Almond explores Mina's unquenchable creative fire and curiosity in My Name is Mina and has created an unstructured and visually dynamic narrative to try to capture and communicate her voice. In the broad field of literature for young adults Almond is somewhat of a "writer's writer" - unafraid of experimentation with narrative structure and continuity and adept with the abstract presentation of challenging subject matter such as death, post-traumatic stress disorder and, perhaps most provocatively for young adult readers, the general helplessness of adults in controlling the world and themselves. My Name is Mina is a very mindfully structured book with excellent page design that takes the narrative to another level of resonance. Mina applies her prodigious imagination, fuelled by her staunch autonomy and her mother's whimsical but always reassuring presence, to coping with her father's death. Her adventures real and (perhaps) imagined are terrifying, ecstatic and revelatory visions, all described by Almond with an incisive clarity. Almond bridges the sublime and the mundane, transitioning with intuitive ease from conveying how truly exceptional Mina is to exploring her shortcomings, vanity and failings. It's an astonishingly adept and very intimate exploration of character that communicates an inescapable sense of universality. Mina is simultaneously both utterly iconoclastic and completely one with the reader.Highly Recommended : 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

Engineering America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Haw
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New York ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Suspension Bridge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Nineteenth Century America ◽  
East River ◽  
The World

John Roebling was one of the nineteenth century’s most brilliant engineers, ingenious inventors, successful manufacturers, and fascinating personalities. Raised in a German backwater amid the war-torn chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, he immigrated to the United States in 1831, where he became wealthy and acclaimed, eventually receiving a carte-blanche contract to build one of the nineteenth century’s most stupendous and daring works of engineering: a gigantic suspension bridge to span the East River between New York and Brooklyn. In between, he thought, wrote, and worked tirelessly. He dug canals and surveyed railroads; he planned communities and founded new industries. Horace Greeley called him “a model immigrant”; generations later, F. Scott Fitzgerald worked on a script for the movie version of his life. Like his finest creations, Roebling was held together by a delicate balance of countervailing forces. On the surface, his life was exemplary and his accomplishments legion. As an immigrant and employer, he was respected throughout the world. As an engineer, his works profoundly altered the physical landscape of America. He was a voracious reader, a fervent abolitionist, and an engaged social commentator. His understanding of the natural world, however, bordered on the occult, and his opinions about medicine are best described as medieval. For a man of science and great self-certainty, he was also remarkably quick to seize on a whole host of fads and foolish trends. Yet Roebling spun these strands together. Throughout his life, he believed in the moral application of science and technology, that bridges—along with other great works of connection, the Atlantic cable, the Transcontinental Railroad—could help bring people together, erase divisions, and heal wounds. Like Walt Whitman, Roebling was deeply committed to the creation of a more perfect union, forged from the raw materials of the continent. John Roebling was a complex, deeply divided, yet undoubtedly influential figure, and his biography illuminates not only his works but also the world of nineteenth-century America. Roebling’s engineering feats are well known, but the man himself is not; for alongside the drama of large-scale construction lies an equally rich drama of intellectual and social development and crisis, one that mirrored and reflected the great forces, trials, and failures of the American nineteenth century.

Graffiti

Art History ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Ganz
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Street Art ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
Time Capsule

Graffiti can be seen as one of the most original art forms of mankind, with origins, according to some scholars, dating back as far as 40,000 years. Probably the best known examples of early graffiti can be found in the caves of Lascaux, France, and Altamira, Spain. The word “graffiti” was first used by archaeologists and antiquaries around the year 1850 to describe scratched inscriptions found at ancient archaeological sites. Indeed, the word graffiti derives from the Italian word graffito (translated as “something scratched”). These early examples of graffiti help to shed light on ancient societies, while contemporary graffiti is considered to be a reflection of urban life. This article focuses on the modern forms of graffiti, with its several subgenres, as well as exploring the way we understand the term “graffiti” as it is used today. Many practitioners have an artistic approach toward graffiti, though some may approach it in a manner that could be construed as vandalism. The modern practice of graffiti in public spaces emerged around 1965–1966 in Philadelphia and New York, although other forms of unsolicited art in public spaces existed in Europe and Arabic countries around the same time. Toward the end of the 1980s, the publications Spraycan Art and Subway Art helped to popularize graffiti all over the world. The rise of the internet also played a major role in bringing this art form into every corner of the world. Today, graffiti can be found almost everywhere, having quickly become a global movement that shares common philosophies, techniques, and roots. There is now a substantial body of popular publications devoted to the subject of graffiti or street art, as it is sometimes classified, though most scholars differentiate the two categories. Many of these publications, as the topic suggests, are illustrated books, focusing on particular artists, different styles of graffiti, and historic backgrounds. Other sources go beyond the visual aspects, including extended texts with commentary, interviews, and quotes from the artists themselves. Each book functions as a sort of time-capsule, because graffiti is ever-evolving, not to mention ephemeral, as many of the works shown in these books do not exist anymore. Scientific research on the social, cultural, psychological, or criminal aspects of graffiti are mainly carried out as dissertations or scientific treatises. Some of these commentaries are presented in this article. Graffiti, as an art, contains various forms of expression and is constantly evolving to accommodate new styles, techniques, and approaches. So too must the scholarship in this field, as illustrated by the sampling of sources included here.

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