SheHeWe (Three-Story Books)

Nordling, Lee

ISBN 10: 146774574X ISBN 13: 9781467745741

Publisher: Graphic Universe ™, 2015

Synopsis

Alex hosts a tea party and makes new friends. Drew soars through the sky, searching for adventure. Two kids play in a park, imagining they're somewhere else. In one afternoon, the worlds of imagination and reality collide.

In this clever wordless comic, Lee Nordling's simple storytelling engages young readers and provides a gateway into understanding multiple perspectives and points of view.

About this title

About the Author:

Two-time Eisner nominee Lee Nordling is an award-winning writer, editor, and creative director who has worked on staff at Disney Publishing, DC Comics, and Nickelodeon Magazine. His book The Bramble won the 2013 Moonbeam Gold Medal for Picture Books (ages 4-8), and BirdCatDog, an Eisner Award nominee, was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best children's books of 2014, and won the Moonbeam Spirit Award for Imagination. The third book in his Three-Story Book series, SheHeWe, was a 2016 Eisner Award nominee. His current Game for Adventure series―beginning with Andrew the Seeker, and Belinda the Unbeatable, the latter garnering two starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus―concludes in Spring 2018 with Chavo the Invisible. He lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, Cheri, and numerous pets that earn their kibble by offering inspiration.

Meritxell Bosch is a graphic novel artist and writer living in Barcelona, Spain. Her comic-art short story in the Once Upon A Time Machine comics anthology introduced her to American readers.

Review:

"Alex and Drew are both eager to play in the park. Alex is toting a stuffed rabbit, stuffed Pegasus, and supplies for a tea party, and Drew brings a pet dog. Alex's imagined world is light and breezy―the stuffed toys come to life and enjoy the tea party while smiling clouds look on. Meanwhile, Drew's fantasy world is darker―the dog becomes a dragon, and they both fly around volcanoes and spooky trees. This volume of the Three Story Books series structures the wordless narratives so Alex's story runs horizontally in the top row, Drew's occupies the middle row, and the bottom row shows what's really going on in the park as the two children play together. Readers can follow each story individually or read all three gradually intertwining tales together and imagine their own dialogue and narration. Bosch uses a different color palette for the highly detailed, cartoonish illustrations, while the clouds reveal clever hints along the way. The book ends with a neat twist on gender expectations that could spark meaningful discussions."―Booklist

(Journal)

"Both literally and figuratively a three-story book, this follow-up to BirdCatDog (2014) and FishFishFish (2015) illustrates the fantasy adventures of a girl (she) and a boy (he), along with the real story of their picnic and playtime together (we). As this graphic novel is wordless, this book's design helps with the telling. The top two horizontal panels, edged with wavy lines, delineate the imaginary, gendered stories―hers in deep pink, his in purple. The bottom panel, edged with straight lines, delivers the 'real' story. Hence, the bottom panel illustrates a jolly day of play in the park with the girl's stuffed bunny and the boy's dog. In the girl's adventure, she transforms into a rabbit and serves tea to entertain a strange, long-legged bird (clearly the transformed boy, still wearing his green cap). The purple middle panel, the boy's story, exudes a sinister mood, but it should, since he tells readers in the front endpapers: 'watch me defeat dark forces.' These are everywhere: in the sky, the landscape, and even in the picnic drink he thinks is poisoned. Readers will enjoy trying to make sense of this story while they appreciate just how differently boys and girls play. Fun, adventure, misadventure, dragons, flying fish, and lots of color . . . maybe there's something for everyone in this thrice-told tale."―Kirkus Reviews

(Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: Graphic Universe ™
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 146774574X
• ISBN 13: 9781467745741
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bosch Meritxell