Age: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic novel; historical adventures
A friend purchased a copy of Around the World for me because she remembered how much I enjoyed
another of Matt Phelan’s works, The Dust
in the Barn. I am glad to say that I enjoyed Around the World just as much. It is actually three different
stories told in one graphic novel. The stories follow Thomas Stevens (a cyclist
or “wheelman”), Joshua Slocum (a mariner), and Nellie Bly (a news reporter) on
their individual journeys around the world. Each trip was a real adventure and
took place in the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Travel was very
different in those days since people didn’t yet fly in airplanes. For example,
to cross an ocean, you had to take a boat – a long and sometimes perilous mode
of travel. If you were working against the clock, as was the case with Nellie
Bly, waiting for boats to even leave harbor sometimes added not just hours but days to your travel. Stevens wasn’t
going for any type of speed record during his trip around the world, but he was
the first to do so on the newly-invented bicycle. Slocum sailed his way around
the continents, struggling with the perils of the sea as well as loneliness.
Phelan does an excellent job of showing what made each individual’s trip unique
and exciting. He is a very talented illustrator and tries to make every panel
meaningful for the story. I especially enjoy the expressions he gives his
characters as they display a lot of emotion. This book was more light-hearted
than The Dust in the Barn due to the
different subject matter, and young readers should enjoy the adventures of the
three people portrayed.
Bibliographic
Information:
Phelan, Matt. Around
the World. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011.
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