A sophisticated and original graphic novel, about a young boy's reaction to his father's death.
Harvey and his little brother are playing in the slushy streets of early spring when they learn, out of the blue, that their father has died of a heart attack. Everything changes and Harvey’s favorite movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man, suddenly begins to dominate his fantasy life. When relatives try to get him to look at his father in his coffin, Harvey finds himself disappearing.
Brilliantly illustrated, emotionally true and devastatingly sad, this book is an artful and utterly convincing study of one boy’s response to great loss.
Key Text Features
speech bubbles
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
A sophisticated and original graphic novel, about a young boy's reaction to his father's death.
Harvey and his little brother are playing in the slushy streets of early spring when they learn, out of the blue, that their father has died of a heart attack. Everything changes and Harvey’s favorite movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man, suddenly begins to dominate his fantasy life. When relatives try to get him to look at his father in his coffin, Harvey finds himself disappearing.
Brilliantly illustrated, emotionally true and devastatingly sad, this book is an artful and utterly convincing study of one boy’s response to great loss.
Key Text Features
speech bubbles
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — May 1, 2017 |
| Specifications | 168 pages | 6 in x 8 in |
| Keywords | grief and loss; death and bereavement; loss of a parent; family and family issues; sibling relationships; childhood; funeral; father; brother; adaptability; child as narrator; figurative language; simile; connecting; inferring; Common Core aligned; grade 4; CC Literature Craft and Structure; CC Literature Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; grade 5; Governor General's Literary Award; graphic novel; speech bubbles; French translation; award winning author; |
| Written By | Herve Bouchard is a professor of literature at the Cegep de Chicoutimi and a novelist. He lives in Saguenay, Quebec. |
| Illustrated by | Janice Nadeau is an award-winning young illustrator. She lives in Montreal. Visit Janice Nadeau's website: http://www.janicenadeau.com/ |
| Written By |
| Herve Bouchard is a professor of literature at the Cegep de Chicoutimi and a novelist. He lives in Saguenay, Quebec. |
| Illustrated by |
| Janice Nadeau is an award-winning young illustrator. She lives in Montreal. Visit Janice Nadeau's website: http://www.janicenadeau.com/ |
| Audience | ages 10 and up / grades 5 and up |
| Reading Levels | Lexile 630L |
| Key Text Features | speech bubbles |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2 |
“...emotionally intelligent and aesthetically resonant.” —Quill and Quire
“A sparse, evocative look at a father’s death...Harvey's child’s-eye perspective is flawlessly conveyed.” —Kirkus Reviews
“...a great graphic novel to give to a younger child trying to understand the pain of bereavement.” —School Library Journal
