CITY UNDER THE CITY: Sharing the Secret!

 I'm a longtime fan of work by author/illustrator Dan Yaccario (whose books can be found if you click on his name, but I'll just mention THE LONGEST STORM, BOY + BOT, and EVERY FRIDAY.) Whether Yaccarino is illustrating stories for others or creating both text and visual narratives, he produces heartfelt and touching characters and relationships while eliciting smiles, even grins, unfolding stories in lively and even ludicrous scenes that feel somehow familiar and connected to our own lives. 

Mineditions (ASTRA BOOKS) 2022

CITY UNDER THE CITY,  written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, was released back in November, 2022. I was provided an examination copy from the publisher at that time with no promise of a review. My delay in writing about it (YIKES! Six months!) has been due to a variety of commitments and personal demands, not a lack of interest in this remarkable and exciting new graphic/picture book. This powerful little gem has been keeping me company at the top a revolving stack of other titles, many of which I shared here during those months. 

Now, finally, I'll shine a spotlight on it in the way that cover character BIX manages to enlighten her family and world to realities they have been conditioned to ignore. In its stack-shifting time near my laptop, I have reread this book multiple times and love it even more with each reading. I also discover distinct and important visual details each time, tiny twists in the minimalist/intricate blend of foreground and background, in minute shifts of expressions, in developing moments to dwell on, as when  BIX and the rat snuggle to sleep on a library shelf.

In this allegorical portrait of life today, BIX and family are residents of a society in which the EYES "help" each human to ...live? Every want or need is provided by a personal EYE, from transport, to feeding food, to directing activities, to channeling content into the ubiquitous lightbulb-like screens that occupy the sole attention of every person of any age. 

BIX hates life with the EYES. In her techno-digital society, BIX is ignored by the humans with whom she wants to play, is limited in what and how she reads, is isolated in a pod for instruction, all while the eyes WATCH. There is no place to escape their watching, until a little yellow rat leads BIX into a crack in the foundation of a building. That daring move leads drops them into a new/old "somewhere" that turns out to be a city under the city. There, real LIFE exists, although nnot people. Those intricate background images shift from digital-chip-circuitry to organic and unpredictable green-line life.

Thus begins part 2, having achieved part 1 of this complex story in very few pages and equally few words. The deeper they go, the more life appears, including mushrooms, greenery, and evidence of a prior city (and people) that functioned on its own human choices, not those of the EYES and screens and isolation bubbles. With freedom to choose, BIX learns about BOOKS, and finds that choices allow her to LOVE reading, not hate it. Music, art, history, sharing dining spaces, a FRIEND, and so much more make BIX wonder- where did the people go?

The tug of family love and longing lead BIX and her new friend back to the surface, bringing with them some of their discoveries to provide a highly dramatic conclusion in part 3 of this slim volume. There is great satisfaction in that resolution, but also ample opportunity to imagine what a part 4 or 5 might provide. Throughout all pages and parts the page turns are filled with surprises, including double gatefolds, in which the expansive urban landscape sprawls in variety and specificity, starkly contrasted to the uniformity and isolation of each life, even family lives, in the city ABOVE this city!

The story line and language are entirely inviting to even the youngest, perhaps especially to the youngest, who often see the world more clearly than we adults do. Despite that approach, the story as a whole and in discreet elements poses questions for older youth and even the oldest audiences. Moving from the obvious parallels of our wired world, there are so many subtle aspects to explore and discuss. Yes, we live with many all-seeing eyes, we have digital managers (smart appliances and cars?) that guide our purchases and practices. But ask yourselves, before you dismiss this as heavy handed nonsense, how dependent you may be on feeds you receive in any form of social media, the reminders you get about standing up or moving more, the reliance on your/our digital calendars to remember special occasions of loved ones and even suggest/arrange messages or gifts to send to them? How often have you mentioned something in casual conversation, perhaps about your insurance renewal coming due, then received links to various insurance options, even though you haven't actually keyed in a search? I refer to that all-hearing digital device at home as "The 'A' WORD", but my smart watch qualifies from such annoyance, too. An all-hearing EAR character is one that fits well with this entertaining and exciting story.

Please do NOT follow my example and wait six months to give it this your careful attention. Put your device down and get your hands on the physical book, then enjoy! After which, share it and have some remarkably deep conversations. One topic I'd like to chat about relates to the sign in a window in the under-city, VOTE. That minor detail made me wonder about whether the people in BIX's city have an option to or interest in voting?  When all choices are made for you, would you be conditioned to not even WANT to choose your leaders?  And speaking as  someone whose psychology classes all featured behavioral conditioning of rats, how ironic is it that it's a free-thinking, curious little rat who brings BIX the key to discovery and uncontrolled choices. Please give this book the close reading it deserves.

Personal Stories of Escape: Bringing History and Current events to Life: THE PAPER BOAT

 As Afghanistan scrolls across our screens and into our lives during these troubled days of exit and ending a two-decade war, we've been reminded that half the population of that troubled country is under twenty-five, with little-to-no personal experience with or memory of the ruthless Taliban control that existed from the late nineties until the battles began following 9/11/2001. Even so, their oppressive legacy makes the resulting panic and desperation to escape understandable, to say the least. (Link is to a short video clip from THE GUARDIAN).

Another wartime comparison that is being referenced across most media involves the final days of the Viet Nam War (one that was never actually declared a war) and the subsequent frantic escape by those who were well aware of potential consequences for anyone who was left behind. (Link is to a short documentary from WBUR/NPR). In that case, the vast proportion of Americans and global audiences are too young to have clear (if any) memories of those events as they actually occurred, even if they've gained s bit of information through subsequent movies, books, etc. Sadly, these are not lived experiences that might trigger intense empathy and urge actions to support Afghan refugees. 

A recent post featured three picture books created by individuals who lived those refugee experiences, books that allow readers to immerse themselves in a virtual experience and connect more fully than through most other media. As this current situation plays out in Afghanistan, I have no doubt that books of all kinds, including picture books. will emerge. Even in the accelerated publishing world, these will take time to reach us. Begin now to achieve that empathy with a look back at the titles I recommended HERE, and also at this remarkable picture book, created in wordless graphic-story format, with a single page author note at the end that is a must-read. 

Owl Kids, 2020

THE PAPER BOAT: A REFUGEE STORY is the work of THAO LAM. Thao resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she arrived with her family when she was only three. They escaped Viet Nam through a death-defying and lengthy process that is summarized in that concluding note. 

Her success as an author and artist has produced several picture books that are worth exploring, utilizing an art style that is appealing and powerful. In the case of her most recent work, THAO (Owlkids, 2021), she addresses the impact of having a name that elicits mispronunciation and other identity-denying patterns that undermine self-acceptance and community connection. I hope you will check it out HERE, especially if you are a teacher, coach, or other adult leader of children of any age. In it, she incorporates  childhood photo images into her characteristic collage-and-more illustrations. 

So, finally, I have reached the part of this post that discusses the featured title, THE PAPER BOAT: A REFUGEE STORY. Trust me, it is worth the wait. Other than the text on newspaper front pages that she illustrated in opening and final endpapers, this is a wordless story that tells readers all they thought that would want to know, and more. Those headlines, dates, and simplified photo images deserve as much careful attention and reflection as the body of the visual narrative panels and illustrations. They set the stage for readers, even those without the slightest sense of how the Viet Nam War unfolded and ended. When an ant appears on the title spread, a sheet of newspaper is rolled and used to swat it. There are symbolic and literal elements to that opening, even though the surface story is easily "read" as literal. In fact, I took that approach once I had my hands on the book. One mindful read-through produced a powerful and emotional journey of escape, a reading filled with high-stakes tension, characters I cared for, and complexity of circumstances that required sustained attention and interpretation.

After reading the graphic visual narrative, I read the author note and related content at the back, with a first response of diving right back into the full storytelling visual content. That led me to an entirely enriched experience, which made me wonder why the note had not been at the start. 

That thought led me back into the book yet again, this time to wonder at that question. This, to me, was a learning experience about the remarkable talent of Thao Lam, not only as an artist or storyteller. My appreciation of her creation in this work focused on the extent to which her intent and design produced a picture book for many ages: one that informs, sparks curiosity and empathy, and could also be studied in adult history and literature classes. As mentor text, her control of symbolism, sequence, and emotional connection can inspire and inform teachers, readers and writers across time. At the same time, this books serves as a passport to join Lam's personal journey, to learn by becoming a virtual traveler at her side, and to marvel at the discreet memories and experiences that remain significant in her life. 

That's a lot, right? 

For me, it also drew me into an intense consideration of current news though imagined individual lenses, wondering how each will fare, how those who survived would register the experiences, and how their stories might, eventually, be shared. They must be. And we, as well as readers to come, must read them thoughtfully and eagerly, seeking deeper awareness that  everyone in the human family, each and every one, is our closest relative. To never forget, we could be them.