When You Look Up
by Decur (Author)
Visually stunning, tactile, and mesmerizing, this graphic novel is a debut at the summit from a self-taught Argentinian visionary.
Lorenzo isn't happy about moving. But in his new room, he finds an old desk with what seems likes hundreds of drawers. Each even has its own smell! Deep inside the desk, he finds a book and begins to read. When he looks up, he sees all kinds of curious things. Has the book come to life? Or is it something else? This is a graphic novel about observation, imagination, and the many incredible lenses through which everyday experience might be perceived if you read.
Guillermo Decurgez, "Decur," was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1981. He is a self-taught cartoonist and illustrator, and the author of Merci!, Pipí cucú, Semillas 1, and Mi cajón favorito. His work has been published in the newspapers La Nación and La Posta Hoy, and in the magazines Orsai, Fierro, free lyrics, Ineditadas, and Ñ. He has also illustrated "Cents del globe 3," the board game "The Switcher," the "Mrs. Holle" stories, "El poroto mágico," "The almost perfect crime," and "Ivan, the Fool." His paintings have been exhibited in France, Spain, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, La Rioja, Buenos Aires, and Rosario. Decur's English-language graphic novel debut, When You Look Up, will published in 2020 from Enchanted Lion Books.
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Publishers Weekly
Lorenzo, obsessed with his cell phone, barely notices when he and his mother move to a country house: "Do we have Wi-Fi?" he asks. An enormous old rolltop desk reveals a notebook filled with stories illustrated in cut-paper collage, and Lorenzo starts reading. Throughout, artist Decur toggles deftly between Lorenzo's world and surreal episodes from the journal, the crisp, brightly colored pages crackling with circus-like energy, the somber paintings reflecting Lorenzo's slow but steady awakening. In the first journal story, two animals tossing a ball around break a chandelier. A nightmarish sequence shows the broken lamp pursuing them like an enormous grasshopper. The story haunts Lorenzo ("He sat completely still... without understanding any of what he had just read"), who soon notices that the new home's hall chandelier is also broken. More reading prods Lorenzo to explore his new neighborhood, where he finds other places that the notebook twines with real life. His final discovery ties all the story's loose ends together with a moving revelation of the notebook's provenance. Lorenzo's transformation as he explores his surroundings, finds compassion, and learns to create is tenderly drawn in this testimony to IRL authenticity. Ages 7-12. (Apr.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
Gr 3-5--Lorenzo and his mom are moving to a new home away from everyone, and the only way Lorenzo can keep in touch with his old life is through his phone. As he begins to lose signal the further they travel, Lorenzo is forced to pay attention to the world that's directly in front of him. After arriving at his new home, Lorenzo explores an old desk in his new room and discovers that behind a secret door under the desk lies a notebook containing strange but fascinating tales. This Spanish-language translation defies strict format definitions, straddling the line between picture book and graphic novel. Character actions are often described instead of visually depicted, narration is done without boxes, and paneling is often eschewed in favor of full-page or two-page spreads, particularly in the notebook sections. The notebook serves as a device to showcase multiple stories within a story, with the tales read by Lorenzo portrayed in a collage-esque style, using a vibrant mustard yellow that strongly contrasts with the more subdued and ashen sage-based palette of Lorenzo's narrative. There are also subtle traces of visual depth within both styles: The collage pages resemble layered construction with textured materials, and the art of the main story includes visible brushstrokes in layered paint. Lorenzo shows growth as he learns to show interest in others, but the real focus is on the notebook. VERDICT A quirky and imaginative tale for young readers with mature tastes about the rewards of disconnecting from technology to connect with others.--Alea Perez, Elmhurst Public Library, IL
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Chloe Garcia Roberts is a poet and translator from the Spanish and Chinese. She is the author of a book of poetry, The Reveal, which was published as part of Noemi Press's Akrilika Series for innovative Latino writing. Her translations include Li Shangyin's Derangements of My Contemporaries: Miscellaneous Notes (New Directions), which was awarded a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant, and a collected poems of Li Shangyin published in the New York Review Books / Poets series. Her translations of children's literature include Cao Wenxuan's Feather (Archipelago Books/Elsewhere Editions) which was an USBBY Outstanding International Book for 2019, and Decur's When You Look Up (Enchanted Lion) which was named a Best Children's Book of 2020 by the New York Times. Her essays, poems, and translations have appeared in the publications BOMB, Boston Review, A Public Space, Kenyon Review, Spoon River Poetry Review and Gulf Coast among others. She lives outside Boston and works as managing editor of Harvard Review.
JUV008040 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Action & Adventure
JUV008080 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Fantasy
Books and reading
Graphic novels
Moving, Household
Cartoons and comics
Comics (Graphic works)
Perception
