Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

Global
Authors: Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Illustrator: Giovanni Rigano
Publishing April 11, 2023 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

Summary: Time is running out for Sami and Yuki. Sami and his grandfather live in a village along the Indian Ocean. They earn their living by fishing. But the ocean is rising and each day they bring back fewer and fewer fish. Yuki lives in the far north of Canada where warming temperature are melting the ice. Polar bears have less food to hunt and are wandering into town looking for something to eat. Yuki is determined to do something to help the bears.

Extras:

• • Four pages, written in graphic novel format, that summarize the history of global warming and the climate change movement
  • An author letter
  • Character sketches

Plot Synopsis as put by the authors: 

Book Trailer:

About the Creators:

Eoin Colfer is the author of Illegal as well as the internationally bestselling Artemis Fowl series. Eoin lives in Ireland with his family. Learn more at eoincolfer.com

Andrew Donkin is the author of more than sixty books and graphic novels for children and adults. He lives in London. Learn more at andrewdonkin.co.uk.

Giovanni Rigano is an artist and illustrator who has illustrated many graphic novels, including the Artemis Fowl series, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Illegal. He lives in Como, Italy.

Review: Just like in Illegal, Colfer, Donkin, and Rigano do a beautiful job putting a narrative to a crisis to make it more accessible to children who may not understand how something so big is affecting their life and their world.

In Global, the two stories that are told are half a world apart but are tied in the young people who are willing to fight to make the world a better place amidst what many would find truly unlivable and treacherous times.

These three creators obviously have a mission that they have taken on in spreading information to young minds about about “man-made disaster(s) that most impact vulnerable children who had no hand in causing it,” and they do it so well. I look forward to their next collaboration.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would be a great text to read in conjunction with the teaching of climate change because it gives a face and story outside of science to the problems our world is facing. Students could also write their own story in the vein of Global (see below in discussion questions) to connect the science to their life.

Discussion Questions: 

• How do the two stories told in Global relate to each other? Why would the authors choose to tell these two specific stories?
• How do the authors tell the story of climate change without writing a informational nonfiction book?
• What did you learn about the two settings that you didn’t know before?
• How is climate change affecting your home? If there was a story like Global about you and your home, what would it be about?

Read This If You Love: Illegal by the same trio of creators, learning about plights faced in our world, graphic novels about serious topics

Recommended For: 

 

**Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing a copy of the book to review!**