Jackrabbit McCabe and the Electric Telegraph by Lucy Margaret Rozier and Leo Espinosa

My students were glued to this one. Even though it took place more than one hundred years ago. A fictionalized text based on history, this is a fabulous read for folks who want to know more about the Morse code, about historical transmission of messages, of the trials between man and machine.

Being a picture book, the illustrations bring this book to life in ways words can't quite do. The double-page spreads make all the difference at times, the main character obviously has some long legs, and the outcome is a happy one. Seek this out if you feel drawn to the images. The words will only buoy you as well.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

What a  sweet surprise this book was! I know how folks raved about The Invention of Hugo Cabret and some of his other texts, but I never got around to reading them. If The Marvels is anything like his other books, I will indeed search his work out.

The first half of The Marvels is all sketchings, the second half mostly text. Amazingly, brilliantly the author must have intended for my brain to connect pictures to words and words to pictures over and again because that is what it did. The basic storyline surprised me, and the ending blew me out of the water. I like graphic novels, but I have never read one like this, this combination of written and drawn messages. At least not like this.

Are you searching for an unpredictable book? Are you hoping to find a blending of young-coming-of-age and life-can-be-really-important-and-amazing-and-worth-the-struggle novel? Are you seeking a text that will create a story in your mind and your mouth at the same time, all launching you into knowing in your very being? Read The Marvels.