Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Illustrated by Jim Kay

 

4 Star

Harry was raised by his aunt and uncle.  Never realizing he was special or how his parents died.  When he finds out his parents were killed by a wizard and now, he is going to go to a wizard school.  He expects to learn new

The Story: What can I say about Harry Potter other than it was a good story liked by most.  It has an interesting plot that has a good flow.  There are moments that the kids in it are very stupid that make no sense but overall, it makes sense that kids would do that.  I loved seeing the relationships form between Harry and his friends and teachers.

The Illustrations:  The pictures are on almost all the pages and combines the wonderful words of Harry Potter with pictures that enhanced the story.  They took the images of the actors who played them in the movie but illustrated them with a little bit of a twist.  One of my favorites is on page 55 where Harry is being taken across the water to school for the first time.  It has Harry and Hagrid in a boat and there are water drops and birds and you can see the strokes of the water on the page.  I really enjoy this adaption of the book.  I think the only version I liked more was the audio book narrated by Jim Dale.

Book 1 Harry Potter

Manga Classics Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Po Tse

 

4 Star

This is just a graphic novel rendition of the classic novel by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice.  I love this book to begin with and I like reading graphic novels so I thought I would give it a shot to see if it was as good as the original book.  I actually enjoyed it a lot.  The pictures enhance story and will probably make it easier for someone to read the classic via drawing.  I didn’t notice anything big missing.  The hardest part for me was with Manga you read back to front so when I picked it up, I would start like normal and then have to remind myself it was the opposite.  The artwork was beautiful, and the artist gets so many details in the drawings it surprised me.  The biggest issue really was the layout of the story in the book.  Otherwise it was totally worth the read.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Illustrated by Harmony Becker

 

5 Star

This is a graphic memoir of George Takei’s childhood during World War II when his family was transported to an internment camp for the Japanese.  It shows the joys and terrors those being held went through.  The issues of legalized racism.  As well as the choices his parents had to make to keep themselves safe and together.

First the story.  I picked this up for my job and when it came in, I ended up not being able to put it down.  The story was well written and heartbreaking.  The more I read the angrier I became.  I don’t really remember learning much about the internment camps other than a foot note so seeing it laid out in this graphic novel was stunning.  If there was a number bigger than five this book would get it.

Now the graphics.  I’ve never seen anything else illustrated by Harmony Becker but her pictures were amazing.  There were so many details in her pictures even when it was just an individual in the panel.  The images enhanced the story and made it that much better.