Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield

A short but hard-hitting graphic novel which shows the transition of a young girl from healthy to close to death and her struggle to return to healthy again. Tyranny is the “other voice” telling her she must lose weight – that she is not skinny enough when she  is actually skeletal.

In the shadow or no towers by Art Spigelman

From the title to the cover where you have to look carefully to see the shape of the Twin Towers that were the target of a terrorist attack in 2001. Most people will be able to tell you what they were doing at the time when the planes went into these massive towers in New York City and how they watched in awe and fear as the fires started and eventually both buildings totally collapsed.

Art Spigelman is well known for his graphic novels, his most famous one being “Maus” – his parents’ story during the Holocaust. Art lived in New York in 2001 and his daughter had just started in a school at the foot of the towers three days before the event. But this is not just Art’s story – it is the story of so many people in the city, and of the city itself. Each double page includes so many different pieces of information on them that you need to spend time to take it all in.

This is an amazing work of art, and an incredible insight into an event which changed the Western world forever.

A.D. New Orleans after the deluge by Josh Neufeld

Amazing comic form story of what happened to people during the floods resulting from Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans in 2005. We see the stories of 4 family groups who are trying to decide if they should remain in the city or evacuate.

Not having seen a disaster of such proportion in Australia, it is difficult to understand the government mishandling of the situation – how so many people had to live in such dreadful conditions waiting to be evacuated. The comic form is clever – with not too much text in each picture as sometimes happens, and almost a colour coded system to show different families.

It’s a great way to find out this disaster, especially from the human side.

The Kites are Flying by Michael Morpurgo, ill. By Laura Carlin

Set on the West Bank, a photojournalist from London meets a young Palestinian boy with his herd of sheep. They connect but the boy does not speak. Rather, he spends his time making kites and is fascinated with the journalist’s camera. Alternate chapters are narrated by the boy.  Events lead to the journalist getting more of a film than he expected. A beautifully told novella by the master of story.

http://www.michaelmorpurgo.com/home/ his website – all about the books as well as activities and videos about his writing