Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi

Explorer: The Lost Islands
Edited by Kazu Kibuishi
Published October 15th, 2013 by Harry N. Abrams

Goodreads Summary: The highly anticipated second volume to the critically acclaimed Explorer series, The Lost Islands is a collection of seven all-new stories written and illustrated by an award-winning roster of comics artists, with each story centered around the theme of hidden places. Edited by the New York Times bestselling comics creator Kazu Kibuishi, this graphic anthology includes well-written, beautifully illustrated stories by Kazu (the Amulet series), Jason Caffoe (the Flight series), Raina Telgemeier (Drama and Smile), Dave Roman (the Astronaut Academy series), Jake Parker (the Missile Mouse series), Michel Gagné (The Saga of Rex), Katie and Steven Shanahan (the Flight series), and up-and-coming new artist Chrystin Garland.

My Review and Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I am a huge fan of Kazu Kibuishi. His artwork and his stories are so beautiful, so I know when he pulls together an anthology it is going to be phenomenal and this one does not disappoint. Each story revolves around an island although every story is very different. And I’ll be honest for a second, most of the time when I read short story anthologies, there is at least one story that is just “EH” for me, but I really liked each of these and they all fit a different purpose: Rabbit Island by Jake Parker was fun but had a great message, Loah by Michel Gagne was an artistic masterpiece, Radio Adrift by Katie and Steven Shanahan is so different from the others, etc.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: What I love about anthologies is that each story is different and can be used to discuss different narrative aspects. For example, Kazu Kibuishi’s story can be compared to Moby Dick and can also be used for cause and effect, Raina Telgemeier’s story would be great to use for inferencing and Carapace by Jason Caffoe can be compared to other fantasy stories (and these are just what I thought of off the top of my head). And, of course, on top of all of this, it will be read and loved by kids.

Discussion Questions: Which story out of the anthology is your favorite and why?; Which island out of the anthology would you like to live on? Which would you avoid?; How is the captain in Kazu Kibuishi’s story similar to Captain Ahab?; In Carapace, the boy lands on a fantastical island. What fantastical island does it remind you of?

We Flagged: 

(Desert Island Playlist by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier, p. 58)
Shared by Raina Telegemeier on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/5048366-explorer-the-lost-islands-out-now

Read This If You Loved: Flight series edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Teen Boat! by Dave Roman, Smile and Drama by Raina Telgemeier, Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

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