Pushing the envelope

SAFEKEEPING by Karen Hesse. Feiwel and Friends, 2012.

Hesse explores what, for some readers, will be familiar terrain in her new novel. She does so, however, with an interesting twist. Radley is out of the country helping out in an orphanage in Haiti. While she was overseas, her own country experienced a massive transition in power. All was not peaceful, and all is not yet well. When Radley returns to the US, she is not met by her parents. She manages to make her way to her home only to find it empty, too. All Radley can think to do is to flee north to Canada hoping that her parents have safely escaped from the clutches of the new government. It is a dangerous journey to be sure. Radley learns a great deal about herself and her inner strength as well as who and what to trust in her journey to find her parents. Hesse's own black and white photographs break the pages of text into smaller portions, if you will. Their sometimes grainy quality mirrors what Radley is learning: not everything is clear cut. <542>

A WRINKLE IN TIME: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson. FSG, 2012.

For many, myself included, A WRINKLE IN TIME is a landmark book in our reading development. Hope Larson's adaptation of this classic into the GN format will now make the book even more accessible to readers of a new generation. Now, they can see Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. They can see the darkness as it closes in on planets and people. I think I found this reading even more chilling than the original one oh so many years ago. The abridgement of the text has been done meticulously, too. Here is one way to bring new readers to the novel. I also recommend the audio recordings of this series by Madeleine L'Engle. <543>