I love hard-to-categorize books…books that cross over between age ranges and genres, books that sound as if they wouldn't make sense but somehow they gloriously do. The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, by John Hendrix, is wonderfully hard to categorize. Readers from advanced middle schoolers (ones who have already read The Lord of the Rings and Narnia) to young adults to adults will all love it. It's not a comic or a graphic novel or a traditional biography, but a blend of the three (I guess you could call it a highly-illustrated biography with sections told in comic panels, and also a heavy dose of beautiful hand-lettered sections). It's not a book specifically for Christian audiences, but it does not shy away from describing how faith was an intrinsic part of Lewis' and Tolkien's lives. The narrators of the story are a cartoon wizard and anthropomorphic lion, yet the subject matter is often dark and serious.

But it works. All the unlikely combinations of genres and styles and audience actually make this book shine.

Here's the brief publisher's description:
From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks

I have been a fan of Lewis and Tolkien for years, so much of the info in their biography wasn't new to me, yet several small tidbits that I didn't know were crucial in bringing their friendship to life. And I loved that the focus of the story really was about that friendship itself, allowing the other biographical details to serve that story instead of taking over. Lewis and Tolkien both wrote so beautifully about the love and fellowship between friends in their stories (and also non-fiction works) that it made this approach even more fitting. 

The comical narrators helped lighten the tone of a story that is riddled with sadness—ultimately I think they were a brilliant choice for many reasons. They paved the way and made a style allowance for a truly wonderful ending (no spoilers), they enabled the author to dive into a few fascinating literary sidetracks (which, incidentally, would make this book a perfect addition to a high school literature class—I wish we'd had it last year when I taught my high schoolers a course on Modern Fantasy and its Inspirations!), and they helped the readers keep Lewis' and Tolkien's styles and philosophies clear from once another.

And the style/illustrations. You guys. It's just amazing. John Hendrix is a genius and I loved every page. This is definitely one to own if you can. 

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, as always, visit Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com

By popular demand! Mainly the demand of my own children. :) Today I'm reviewing the new graphic novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle See Nutter, Squished. Because it's about a large family (not a blended family, but several siblings with the same parents), of course I had to read this as soon as I could! I read with some trepidation, as the description (below) sounded somewhat negative about big family life, but overall I loved this!  

From the publisher:
Eleven-year-old Avery Lee loves living in Hickory Valley, Maryland. She loves her neighborhood, school, and the end-of-summer fair she always goes to with her two best friends. But she's tired of feeling squished by her six siblings! They're noisy and chaotic and the younger kids love her a little too much. All Avery wants is her own room -- her own space to be alone and make art. So she's furious when Theo, her grumpy older brother, gets his own room instead, and her wild baby brother, Max, moves into the room she already shares with her clinging sister Pearl! Avery hatches a plan to finally get her own room, all while trying to get Max to sleep at night, navigating changes in her friendships, and working on an art entry for the fair. And when Avery finds out that her family might move across the country, things get even more complicated.

Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter have once again teamed up to tell a funny, heartfelt, and charming story of family, friendship, and growing up.

While Squished didn't shy away from some of the hard parts of big family life, it did an excellent job of showing how much joy and love and growth and companionship can be squished into life right alongside the squabbling and jealousy and bedroom sharing.

My three oldest kids all read this as well, and I was surprised that they didn't like it as much as I did. My 11-year-old wondered why Avery cared so much about having her own room (she, perhaps, related more to Avery's younger sister who always wanted someone else around). My teens thought it strange that Avery's friends would tease her about her family size. I realized that my children, with their support system comprised of so many other big families, don't think of us as anything strange. Their homeschooled peers don't fall into teasing about family the way school children can be more likely to. This is all a bit different from my own childhood, where my family of five children was often looked at askance. The themes of moving away and starting a new life in a new state also felt (sometimes painfully!) familiar.  So I suppose it makes sense that we'd feel differently about this story, with so many different parallels to our own lives. And even where we disagreed, we absolutely loved talking about it!

Bottom line: we all recommend this graphic novel, whether for large families looking to see themselves in a story, or those curious what big family life might look like. My favorite part was seeing the way all the children worked as a team to take care of the most important thing in their life: their family. The Lees were loving, supportive, creative, and just very normal, and I really appreciated seeing that!

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, check out Always in the Middle!