Resistance: Book 1
Here is a review I found extremely helpful. It describes the book extremely effectively, and though it does not mention the criteria by name, it discusses the book just as if the criteria were part of it. It's great.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25297
Resistance: Book 1 is a graphic novel about the French Resistance movement during World War II. It is the first in a series of three books by Carla Jablonski. The main character is a boy named Paul Tessier who lives with his family in Vichy, France. He is an artist, and carries is sketchbook absolutely everywhere with him. Paul has an older sister, Sylvie- about 18 or 20, and a younger sister, Marie- about 8 or so. His father was captured and is a prisoner of war. He lives with his siblings and his mother, taking care of the house. Paul also has a best friend, Henri Levy, who is Jewish. Before the story starts, there is an illustrated explanation of what was happening in France at the time of the book. The Nazi Party had taken over the Northern region of France, while the much smaller southern region was still being run by the French government. Vichy, where the story takes place, is in that southern region that is holding onto freedom. When Henri's parents disappear, Paul and Marie know they need to help him get back to his family. They hide him, and eventually they find out that their family and friends are part of a Resistance movement. The family plans to takes Henri to his parent's hiding place in Paris.
Henri is restored to his family, and it is time for Paul to say goodbye. They realize that they might never see each other again, but the reader is left with an uplifting feeling that they would all find each other again one day when the war was over. The book ends with Sylvie, Paul, and Marie getting back on the train for home, suspecting aloud that their adventures—and dangerous sacrifice—are only beginning.
The book definitely fits with YAL criteria. Paul and Marie are young, and they are the main players of the story. Their mother, though a beloved and appreciated figure, is in the background. She purposely steps back in the book to allow them to make these very adult decisions, but the reader still knows that she is a solid force of love and support. It also shows incredible growth in the main characters. At first, Paul and Marie are regular children like their friends. They must deal with hearing these other children discuss the Jewish people in degrading ways, repeating rumors about them and acting like kids do when they believe someone is weird and wrong. However, the Tessier children rise above that by not only rejecting that, but by making a very difficult decision to protect Henri. Issues such as belonging, prejudice, uneducated hatred, fear, and unconditional love are present throughout. Teens could definitely relate to Paul and what he is going through, despite the fact that few of them will ever experience anything like what he goes through. Paul, Marie, and Henri act just like kids- fighting with siblings, other kids, and learning to cope with the world around them. They can connect with the essence of the feelings he has, and draw it to their own lives. Jablonski does a great job of writing the story in such a way that Paul is totally relatable.
The book was incredibly creative. It was a little slow and could have been clearer. Maybe tightening up the story in the beginning would have helped. However, I loved how relatable the characters are. It relates to the ever-popular teen issue of cliques, where all of your friends are saying something about someone else that is completely untrue. You can sense Paul’s frustration. I also loved how Jablonski uses Paul’s art to convey how he is feeling. Some of the frames of the story are sketches out of his notebook, and they speak what he feels and experiences very clearly. For instance, at the story’s beginning, there is that explanation of the state of France at the time. The first frame of the story is a drawing of Paul’s—the French countryside with a dark cloud rolling over it. The cloud eventually transforms into a monster crawling across the land—a sign of present and impending danger. The drawings also convey Paul’s feelings about other people. When he hears the other children making fun of Jews, he draws one of them in a little Nazi uniform. Also, after Paul and Marie become Resistance fighters, they are nervous about being caught. As they walk through the village, the reader can see the ever smiling faces on everybody the children face. However, in Paul’s book, the people are drawn with monster-like features, dark faces, and suspicious eyes. The reader can see Paul’s fears, hopes, convictions, and real mood through those drawings.
I loved the cover to the book as soon as I saw it—a boy’s slingshot aimed directly at the back of a Nazi soldier’s head. It gave a feeling that would even further connect with young readers—a feeling that young kids are capable of great things. The Nazi soldiers are such feared figures in history, and this book gives the feeling that these young kids are part of a major movement that will really screw them up. Though the slingshot cover gives the idea that these kids are going to fight the Nazis in their own little raid of water balloons and spitballs, that is not what it’s really about. Because of the connection to younger children, the book would probably be best taught to Jr. High through sophomore year. Older kids could definitely appreciate it, but they might need something a little more mature in nature.
Thumbs up for this one.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25297
Resistance: Book 1 is a graphic novel about the French Resistance movement during World War II. It is the first in a series of three books by Carla Jablonski. The main character is a boy named Paul Tessier who lives with his family in Vichy, France. He is an artist, and carries is sketchbook absolutely everywhere with him. Paul has an older sister, Sylvie- about 18 or 20, and a younger sister, Marie- about 8 or so. His father was captured and is a prisoner of war. He lives with his siblings and his mother, taking care of the house. Paul also has a best friend, Henri Levy, who is Jewish. Before the story starts, there is an illustrated explanation of what was happening in France at the time of the book. The Nazi Party had taken over the Northern region of France, while the much smaller southern region was still being run by the French government. Vichy, where the story takes place, is in that southern region that is holding onto freedom. When Henri's parents disappear, Paul and Marie know they need to help him get back to his family. They hide him, and eventually they find out that their family and friends are part of a Resistance movement. The family plans to takes Henri to his parent's hiding place in Paris.
Henri is restored to his family, and it is time for Paul to say goodbye. They realize that they might never see each other again, but the reader is left with an uplifting feeling that they would all find each other again one day when the war was over. The book ends with Sylvie, Paul, and Marie getting back on the train for home, suspecting aloud that their adventures—and dangerous sacrifice—are only beginning.
The book definitely fits with YAL criteria. Paul and Marie are young, and they are the main players of the story. Their mother, though a beloved and appreciated figure, is in the background. She purposely steps back in the book to allow them to make these very adult decisions, but the reader still knows that she is a solid force of love and support. It also shows incredible growth in the main characters. At first, Paul and Marie are regular children like their friends. They must deal with hearing these other children discuss the Jewish people in degrading ways, repeating rumors about them and acting like kids do when they believe someone is weird and wrong. However, the Tessier children rise above that by not only rejecting that, but by making a very difficult decision to protect Henri. Issues such as belonging, prejudice, uneducated hatred, fear, and unconditional love are present throughout. Teens could definitely relate to Paul and what he is going through, despite the fact that few of them will ever experience anything like what he goes through. Paul, Marie, and Henri act just like kids- fighting with siblings, other kids, and learning to cope with the world around them. They can connect with the essence of the feelings he has, and draw it to their own lives. Jablonski does a great job of writing the story in such a way that Paul is totally relatable.
The book was incredibly creative. It was a little slow and could have been clearer. Maybe tightening up the story in the beginning would have helped. However, I loved how relatable the characters are. It relates to the ever-popular teen issue of cliques, where all of your friends are saying something about someone else that is completely untrue. You can sense Paul’s frustration. I also loved how Jablonski uses Paul’s art to convey how he is feeling. Some of the frames of the story are sketches out of his notebook, and they speak what he feels and experiences very clearly. For instance, at the story’s beginning, there is that explanation of the state of France at the time. The first frame of the story is a drawing of Paul’s—the French countryside with a dark cloud rolling over it. The cloud eventually transforms into a monster crawling across the land—a sign of present and impending danger. The drawings also convey Paul’s feelings about other people. When he hears the other children making fun of Jews, he draws one of them in a little Nazi uniform. Also, after Paul and Marie become Resistance fighters, they are nervous about being caught. As they walk through the village, the reader can see the ever smiling faces on everybody the children face. However, in Paul’s book, the people are drawn with monster-like features, dark faces, and suspicious eyes. The reader can see Paul’s fears, hopes, convictions, and real mood through those drawings.
I loved the cover to the book as soon as I saw it—a boy’s slingshot aimed directly at the back of a Nazi soldier’s head. It gave a feeling that would even further connect with young readers—a feeling that young kids are capable of great things. The Nazi soldiers are such feared figures in history, and this book gives the feeling that these young kids are part of a major movement that will really screw them up. Though the slingshot cover gives the idea that these kids are going to fight the Nazis in their own little raid of water balloons and spitballs, that is not what it’s really about. Because of the connection to younger children, the book would probably be best taught to Jr. High through sophomore year. Older kids could definitely appreciate it, but they might need something a little more mature in nature.
Thumbs up for this one.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pam Goble on
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Meghann,
I am teaching the Holocaust now with my 8th graders and will look into this GN. I have library of books for them to supplement their SS readings. Having a GN that tells part of the WW11 story is always very helpful for my viusal learners.
Pam -
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Permalink Reply by Meghann Lothson on
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I'm glad to hear it! The whole time I kept thinking about how it would be good for Jr. Highers to understand the different stories of the war.
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Permalink Reply by Monika Andes on
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It sounds like a great book. Did you enjoy reading it? What makes it unsuitable to teach to older high school kids? What connections can you make to the other characters? I think that you created a really great post, overall. I know that in the book that I read, Pinnochio grows a lot too. He learns something about himself and the people of his town. There's this girl Carlotta that he really likes, and she likes him too. She is the only one that seems to believe him about the vampires. Was there romance in your book? I'm really curious. Let me know!
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Hey you! There really wasn't romance in my book. It wasn't really about that yet. I don't know what the rest of the books are like, but this one was more about friendship than learning about romantic relationships. Paul Tessier reminds me a bit of Pudge--he's very creative and a little shy. He also has that very quiet, but clever, way about him.
Also, there was nothing that made it "unsuitable" for older students. It's just that the book seems like a great way to introduce younger kids to what happened in Europe under Hitler's rule. There are events in the war that are hard to understand or care about because they might seem dry and unrelatable to students. Things like "the northern part of france was the occupied and the southern part was free under a different government, dadada..." are hard to make exciting. "Resistance" is perfect for getting younger students comfortable material in a creative way. It's always good to get in at the ground floor when it comes to getting kids interested.
Also, there is the question of getting those Jr. Highers familiar with the vast atrocities of the war. There is violence in the book, but it is not so disturbing as what they could be reading in more detailed accounts. The Jewish Holocaust is one of the most upsetting and dark events in history, along with a few other public genocides of the same manner. I believe that we absolutely need to expose students to the horrible things that happened to people, and the death in the concentration camps. Really, consider the ways that people died, how they were treated and tortured--children burned, women raped or assaulted in front of their families. How do you present that to a kid? They need to know it happened, but it needs to be presented tastefully. If I have a choice between assigning this book to older students or younger ones, I'd pick Jr. High hands down. The more disturbing work that actually describes what happened to the Holocaust victims would be better for older students. When they're old enough, I would seize the chance to teach them something more deeper and darker because they can handle it. It's more appropriate. This book is perfect for explaining why it happened and who it happened to.
Again, I haven't read the next two books yet, so it could very well get worse. However, it's still a perfect representation for younger students. The way Joblanski is able to tell the story and the facts doesn't hide anything, but it doesn't get so dark and detailed as other books do. Also, there's something different about reading a comic book. When something is shown to you, it's not so easy to let your imagination go wild. I just read "Night" by Elie Wiesel, which is about a boy who loses his family at Dachau. Trust me, when you read something that has no visual representation with it, your mind can go a little nuts. Reading about these things always makes it worse. -
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