At Booklist, Terry Hong gives Nie Jun’s My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, my latest children’s graphic novel for Lerner, a starred review, calling the adventures it recounts “magically empowering”. She also singles out my work on the book (an exceedingly kind gesture given the extremely tight word count on these capsule reviews–thank you!):
Gauvin’s buoyantly translated speech bubbles exude youthful excitement and energy, with occasional explanatory asterisks that explain how Yu’er’s name translates to “fish girl,†or the literary significance of the Ming Dynastic classic, Journey to the West. Presented in sumptuous full color, Jun’s exquisite graphics—from perfect realism (a cancelled stamp) to comical specificity (Grampa’s exaggerated backside) to the “natural simplicity†of Yu’er’s own drawings—offer nonstop merriment and whimsical delight.
My Beijing, a Junior Library Guild selection, will be available in September, but paperbacks are available for preorder at Target and Amazon.
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