The Dam Keeper, Book 1 (Dam Keeper #1)

Kondo and Tsutsuma expand on the world of their Oscar-nominated animated short film of the same name, about a young pig who keeps his town safe from a terrifying black fog. The school-age pig is essentially tethered to the dam that protects Sunrise Valley; designed by his late father, the dam's windmill requires regular winding, isolating the already-lonely pig, who also fears becoming "crazy" like his father. After the surging fog sweeps the pig, his fox best friend, and a combative hippo classmate outside the safe confines of their town, their understanding of the larger world is reshaped by what they discover. Though created digitally, the panels have a rich, painterly quality that never looks away from the story's many moments of emotional turmoil or actual peril, particularly when the pig confronts the spectral presence of his father or the raging fog itself. The tug-of-war between light and dark extends out of the plot and right into the images in a haunting story that contrasts the power of friendship with the weight of responsibility and the capacity for growth. Ages 7-11. (Sept.)

Gr 3-6--Years ago, the fog came over the dam, killing Pig's mother. Pig's father maintained the dam that keeps the fog out of Sunrise Valley, and showed Pig how to do the same, until the day he went through the door he said never to open, leaving Pig alone. Now, every day Pig winds up the windmill that blows away the fog, which always creeps back. The fog is almost its own character as Pig (and readers) tries to understand its mysteries. Sometimes it seems like a gas, sometimes it's more like an ocean. Sometimes it's impenetrable, sometimes it reveals mysteries. Pig thinks that he understands how the fog will behave, but then he, Fox, and Hippo are suddenly swept away from the safety of their town and must find their way back home. Based on the 2015 Academy Award-nominated short film, this book is cinematic and filled with action, movement, color, and light. VERDICT For fans of emotional fantasy stories, artistic graphic novels, and stories about overcoming obstacles.--Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

"A beautifully realized, wonderfully painted tale of courage and mystery." —Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival

"The Dam Keeper is beautiful in every way a graphic novel can be beautiful. A stunner." —Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and author of American Born Chinese

With a startling sincerity and an almost alchemical use of light, The Dam Keeper manages to believably place very cute animals in an incredibly dark and complex world. I've never seen anything quite like it before."
—Brian Selznick, Caldecott winning author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret

"Gorgeous digital art that vividly illustrated the interplay of sunlight and shadow... Intriguing." —New York Times

"Merged with profound and touching coming-of-age themes, The Dam Keeper invites a groundswell of emotion." —Paste