Viewfinder

by Christine D U Chung (Author)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

A young space traveler happens upon Earth in the future in this gorgeous wordless adventure for fans of Shaun Tan. 

A young space traveler visits Earth on a whim and finds a planet empty of people. She happens upon a strange contraption that contains images of what the planet used to be like, and using this viewfinder, she sees Earth as it was, juxtaposed against Earth as it is: abandoned, but still full of amazing things.

Her adventure takes her to a museum full of hints about the planet's past and the strange glowing mushrooms that grow everywhere, a library that has become home to a variety of zoo animals, and a beautiful but crumbling space station from which she makes a daring escape. As she wanders, though, she sees signs that perhaps there is still someone here. A time capsule, a friendly cat and a makeshift railcar all add to the mystery . . . is she really alone?

The lush and captivating art and subtle nod to stewardship in this wordless graphic novel will draw readers in and leave them with a renewed sense of wonder for the resilient and extraordinary place we call home.

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Hardcover
$18.99

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ALA/Booklist

Young readers will be transported by this sensitive and imaginative take on the evolution of our planet’s ecosystem.

Kirkus

Starred Review
Beautiful and precisely depicted, a gentle, generous reflection on civilization and community life.

Publishers Weekly

Chung and Majoka's wordless, fluidly rendered debut graphic novel stars a young astronaut, depicted with pale skin and red hair, who leaves their home on an unidentified planet to travel across space looking for a rumored faraway blue world. Upon landing in an open field on the surface of a planet that looks like Earth, the traveler discovers the dilapidated remains of a once-thriving civilization, its people nowhere to be seen. While wandering an overgrown schoolyard, the traveler finds a toy-filled time capsule that includes an item reminiscent of a retro View-Master that contains images of the world's past. The astronaut soon enters a train station overtaken by foliage, where they encounter a cat covered in glowing mushrooms; various other fungi-spotted animals appear as the child explores a museum, a library, and eventually, an underwater cavern. Feeling homesick after viewing space through a telescope, the traveler makes their way home, leaving behind their own window into the cosmos for someone to find. Juxtaposing sepia scenes of the lost world with dream-like colors of nature reclaiming places once bustling with people, Chung and Majoka craft an awe-inspiring adventure tinged with a melancholy sense of loss that imparts a gentle warning to safeguard the planet. Ages 6-9. Agent: Peter Ryan, Stimola Literary Studio. (Feb.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Christine D U Chung
CHRISTINE (DIỄM UYÊN) CHUNG is a Vietnamese-Canadian artist who works on storyboards for animated TV and feature films by day and sketches up the plans for another world by night. She is interested in stories that live in the space between our connection to our planet, our communities and to ourselves -- striving to find collective triumph in our darkest of places. Christine lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family --and a few blocks away from her childhood friend Salwa. Viewfinder is her debut book.

SALWA MAJOKA is a Pakistani-Canadian illustrator and 2D artist for the animation industry. She has worked on both TV cartoons and in film with a focus on painting and color design -- the two things she enjoys the most about visual storytelling. Salwa has a special love and curiosity for the many marvels of the natural world, outer space and the deep sea, which often find their way into her work. She has known her co-author, Christine, since middle school, and this is her first book. She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family.
Classification
-
ISBN-13
9780735268753
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Tundra Books (NY)
Publication date
February 13, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV008140 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Science Fiction
JUV053020 - Juvenile Fiction | Science Fiction | Space Exploration
Library of Congress categories
-

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