Written by Daniel Nayeri, Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller
The very first picture in this book made me tear up. A boy and his father are sitting together grieving for his mother. The drawings are stunning, they reminded me of a really beautiful fantasy video game or anime, and I think students will connect to that. The story is mostly told through the art; it’s detailed and vast and beautiful like the best picture books, but also has action panels like a graphic novel. Halfway through the book I realized that the whole thing is a palindrome! the title, the story, and even the little onomatopoeias are all the same backwards and forwards- it’s so cool! In the story the boy goes on some kind of magical quest through an enchanted forest. The words are sparse and the story is vague. which leaves lots of room for imagination to fill in the space of what might be happening. I could see this book working for lots of different grade levels; it might just be a pretty picture book for younger grades, but a deep, meaningful adventure for the bigger kids.
Reviewed by Lana Gukeisen, Librarian, Farnsworth Elementary School
Review shared in 11/18/2024
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 2-6
Drawn Onward
Written by Daniel Nayeri, Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller
HarperAlley, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
40 pages
Release Date: October 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780063277168
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
