'Great Graphic Wednesday' is a weekly blog posting. Check here every Wednesday for reviews of recommended graphic novels, by members of the Tinlids Graphic Novel Book Club.

Lost and Found Written and Illustrated by Shaun Tan

Details: Hardcover, colour illustrations. ISBN 9780545229241

Grade 6-adult

Summary (from the inside cover): A girl finds a bright spot in a dark world. A boy leads a strange, lost creature home. And a group of peaceful creatures cedes their home to cruel invaders. Shaun Tan, with his understated voice and brilliant draftsmanship, has proved that he has a unique imaginative window to our souls, and an unparalleled ability to share that opening with pictures and narratives that are as unexpected as they are deeply true. Originally published in Australia, these three beloved and acclaimed tales were never widely available in the U.S. Now for the first time, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, and the John Marsden classic The Rabbits are presented in their entirety with additional new artwork and authors' notes. Together they tell a tale that will leave no reader unmoved, about how we lose and find what matters most to us.

Review: As soon as I picked this book up, my hand started moving up and down the exquisitely designed cover. The title is perfectly placed and the embossed words and illustration just beg to be touched. The image on the cover is the “thing” from The Lost Thing, one of the three stories in this collection. This is the story that Shaun Tan won an Oscar for last week (for Best Short Film Animated). Open the book and you’ll find gorgeous little pencil drawings on the end pages. And of course that’s just the beginning. Shaun Tan is such a genius with words and images. His first sentence “sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to” is accompanied by an illustration of a girl sitting up in bed staring at her bedspread. It’s like looking through a window at first, but then as the illustrations change, you feel like you’re right there with her. This story is about depression and hope, and unexpected things that sometimes seem to happen or appear out of nowhere.

The second story “The Lost Thing” is about this guy who finds this huge thing that seems to be lost. He feels sorry for it, so he takes it home, but eventually he has to take it somewhere else, because his parents don’t want it in their home. I was struck by how much compassion I actually felt for this object – like it was human. More proof of the author’s incredible talent.

The final story “The Rabbits” is about the conflict between two cultures and what happens when one culture takes over. Again the sparse text and powerful illustrations really capture the emotions and allow the reader to make their own connections and conclusions. These three stories contain so many timeless themes: depression, alienation, belonging, peace, culture, political issues, justice, environment and hope. I highly recommend this for grades 6 to adult.

I can’t wait to see what Shaun Tan does next!

Maria Martella is the owner of Tinlids Inc

To order www.tinlids.ca

Lost and Found ISBN 9780545229241

The Arrival ISBN 9780439895293

Tales from Outer Suburbia ISBN 9780771084027

The Little Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (ISBN 9781553655336)

I want to give this picture book to so many people in my life.  It’s my new favourite, and a must-have for all ages. This is a revised edition of the award-winning  Flight of the Hummingbird, based on a South American indigenous story. 

The story is about a huge forest fire, and what one little hummingbird does to fight it.  The elephant, tiger, beaver and many other animals flee. They’re terrified because the fire is so big and they’re so small. The only one who isn’t freaking out, is the little hummingbird.  She goes to the stream, picks up a single drop of water in her beak,and carries it over the fire, where she drops it.  Back and forth, back and forth – she keeps doing this, never resting, never stopping, just picking up a drop of water and putting it on the fire.  Finally Big Bear asks her “ Little Hummingbird, what are you doing”.  And she says “I’m doing everything I can”. 

In the afterword, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai   “It is not always the largest or loudest that can do the most good.  Little Hummingbird’s efforts are a reminder that the one who is not afraid to act can make the biggest difference”.

I've told this story to five people in the last few days.  It's just that kind of story that you can't help share!   

Lane Smith’s new picture book “It’s a Book” is perfect for discussing the impact on print in the digital age. The three main characters are a monkey, a jackass and a mouse. Monkey is reading a book, but Jackass just doesn't get it. He won't stop asking questions like "How do you scroll down?" "Where's your mouse?" "Can it text? Tweet? Wi-Fi?" Monkey’s response is always the same "It’s a book.” Finally, he lets Jackass look at it, but then he can't get it back! And when Jackass tries to reassure Monkey by saying he'll charge it up when he's done, Mouse speaks up - "It's a book, Jackass".

The above book trailer leaves out that last word, “Jackass.” I wish they had left it in, since that’s really the way the book ends. I love this book but I know not all customers will feel comfortable with that last word. As a bookseller, I try to give my customers as much info as possible to help them with their selection. So there you have it. Some of you might think the ending is rude or inappropriate, and feel the need to get out your markers. Others will leave the word in and perhaps have a discussion about it. It’s a book that’s fun to read and junior/intermediate students will enjoy the tongue-in-cheek humour.

Thoughts anyone?

Meet Isabella. She was our youngest customer this week and she thought Marthe Jocelyn’s board book “Eats” was so good, well, she kind of took it literally. 

      Lucky for Isabella, Marthe Jocelyn has written several exquisite books for babies and preschoolers. "Eats" also comes in picture book format and Marthe and Tom Slaughter (illustrator) have also created "Same Same" and "Over Under".  The illustrations are amazing, high quality design.  A great introduction to art and concepts.  And we're so lucky they are Canadian.  Marthe has also written many novels for older children.

This week I received an interesting email from Lisa Brown, (System Teacher-Librarian for the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board). Apparently some of the students at Holy Family School in Sault Ste. Marie have discovered that Chester the cat has been leaving notes all over the school, and their teacher’s red marker has gone missing! They have alerted the police and posted this notice:

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down

by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

“A double dose of peace, with nonviolence on top. Hold the hate. Leave off the injustice.”

In 1960, following Martin Luther King Jr’s powerful words of peaceful protest, four black college students sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter, bravely challenged the WHITES ONLY sign and ordered “a doughnut and coffee, with cream on the side”. Soon the sit-ins grew until the demonstrators were arrested for loitering – but still, they remained peaceful and calm.

I love the expressive colour pallet and the way the illustrations tell us even more about what’s happening. A perfect combination of text and images. What’s your recipe for making the world a better place?

(9780316070164 February 2010 $19.99, published by Little, Brown)

order from www.tinlids.ca