"The Arrival" by Shuan Tan

"The Arrival" 

by Shuan Tan

128 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: In an imaginary world, a man must leave his wife and daughter behind to create a better life for them. Through illustrations only, Shuan Tan tells us an inspiring story of immigration and a man's love for his family. We follow the man's struggle of not knowing his new country's language, and finding a place to live and sleep. After some time, the wife and daughter and reunited with the man in the new country and build a new life together instead of isolation.

Evaluation: A beautiful story of immigration that captures the emotions of arriving in a new place with no knowledge of the language, culture or people. Shuan Tan uses an imaginary world, with imaginary text for the man to read, which makes the reader feel alien just as much as the protagonist in the story. The illustrations allow us to look into the mind and backstories of the characters in the story to help the reader realize that everyone in the imaginary land is an immigrant too. This book is a great way to introduce a unit on immigration. The artwork is captivating, Tan uses different dark shades to signal to the reader different passages of time and perspectives. We are to believe that every immigrant has left their country to escape some dark force, or make their life better. The book reads like a filmstrip, which makes for a very interactive reading experience.

Appeal Terms: adventure, graphic novel, historical, science fiction, engrossing, dark, hopeful, mystical, melodramatic, episodic, plot centered, resolved ending, family centered, life like, vivid, multiple point of view, imaginary, introspective

"Unspoken: A Tale From The Underground Railroad" by Henry Cole

"Unspoken: A Tale From The Underground Railroad" by Henry Cole

40 pages /  Print / Historical

Summary: :A farm girl hears a noise from the harvested corn stalks in the barn. It is a runaway slave that has found a secret hiding place at her family's farm. The girl sneaks food to her each night. Some men come looking for the runaway slave, but the girl keeps quiet. Their secret friendship is a light of hope for the other runaway slaves.

Evaluation: "What would you do if you had a chance to help a person find freedom?"(Henry Cole). This wordless book speaks much more for the humanity that some felt for runaway slaves during the Civil War era. Sympathetic southerners hosted "safe-houses", or houses where runaway slaves could hide. The underground railroad is something everyone should know and appreciate. A gloomy mood is helped my the pencil drawings in the book, each shade and shadow shows the darkness of these times in American history. This book makes us reflect how our actions effect others lives and what sacrifices we need to make when we are faced with difficult situations.

Appeal Terms: historical, realistic, problem, measured, hopeful, sad, heartwarming, inspirational, issue oriented, lifelike, introspective