CommonBookSense: Book Review: Marcy Meets An Alien (James Eves )

Marcy Meets An Alien

by James Eves

Genre: Children's, Graphic Novel

Out on a picnic in the countryside, a young girl discovers a strange creature in the nearby woods. Initially frightened, the creature soon strikes up a friendship with her, bonding over a game of football, an unusual drink called 'orange juice' and a butterfly chase (that takes a perilous turn!).

It is only when the girl is called back to the family camper van that we realise things are not what they seem...

Marcy Meets an Alien is a story that crosses the boundaries of race, culture and even the galaxy! Told completely through vivid, dynamic pictures, without any words, this adventure demonstrates how being from different worlds is no barrier to fun, friendship and danger while twists and revelations make us consider what we think of as 'alien'.

Marcy Meets An Alien is a book described as "A children's 5+ graphic novel".
Now, when I read the term "graphic novel" my brain immoderate starts to yell "COMIC BOOK, COMIC BOOK!!!!!" Marcy Meets An Alien wasn't really a comic book. When I was younger, I would have called it a picture book, because, you know, it had pictures in it.

We've had this talk before, I know. We had it when I reviewed "A Boo-Tiful Halloween" and "Bees in Loretta's Bonnet", but I feel like we should have it again.
I never feel qualified to read and review children's books. Am I supposed to read the book with a critical eye, or am I supposed to read it as though I'm a small child (I am small in height, but not in age)? How do I write a good, meaningful review of a book written and designed specifically for a child? I guess I can give you both sides of it here. Let the child in me review it, and then let the 16 year old me review it. Onward!

Child Kailei (5+ but still small):
I really liked Marcy Meets An Alien! The colors were pretty, and I really like that there weren't any words. I really liked the ending, how you didn't think that was going to happen, but it did!

Teen Kailei (16 but still short):
Child me isn't very articulate. As Child Kailei stated, there aren't any words. I imagine that's why it's classified as a "children's 5+ graphic novel". The artwork was beautifully done. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I enjoy dabbling in the art myself...if it wasn't apparent by my many posts featuring my own artwork, so I appreciate good art when I see it. I'll have to ask James if he did it himself.

The way the story progressed was actually very clever. I'm a strong believer that children's books shouldn't be "Jake can run. Jake likes dogs", but rather they should be approached with the same mindset one has when writing a short story, full-length novel, or any other work of literature.

James made a story, only using pictures, that pulled someone like me, a very seasoned reader, in. He wrote...drew?...in such a way that the plot twist made me say "WOW! That was so clever!".

If I wished, I could go into this long rant about the deeper meaning that the book represents, but this review is already long. Also because I feel as though it's important for you to come to that conclusion yourself. The deeper meaning for me may not be the same deeper meaning that you find. (Note: I also think it's important that children's stories have a deeper meaning. A moral, or a lesson of some sort, maybe?)

That is all, my loves. I'm sorry I've been MIA. Sickness has returned, and with it, headaches and nausea when I try to read. So, for the last three weeks, I've been stuck with Netflix. So much for being ahead on my reviews!! As always, you can find all of the important links below! I hope you enjoyed <3.

Keep your noses in the pages, and I'll blog you lovelies later!