Superman Smashes the Klan, by Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru

     As one of the first named National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature by the U.S. Congress, graphic artists and writer Yang is one of my go-to writers/artists whenever he releases something new. He is a strong advocate for diversity in books for young people (like you!) and for reading in general. We sure do need more people like him in this crazy world of book challenges and bans, right?

    Superman Smashes the Klan is Yang's latest graphic novel release, and along with artists Gurihiru, this book tells the story of an early Superman character who was first created way back in the early 1940s, and whose storylines often followed what the world was facing in World War 2. In fact, according to Yang in his author notes at the end of this book, Superman started as a radio show character before becoming a drawn character in comic books, and in both he was fighting the racism that Nazi Germany was trying to spread across Europe. Germany was only one of the Axis Powers, along with Italy and Japan, and fear of Japanese Americans is also part of our nation's less-than-admiral past. The history of the Ku Klux Klan is intertwined with the racism behind WW2, as well as the history of slavery that the United States was built upon.

    Readers of this blog know that I don't read nearly as many graphic novels as I should, or as many of you do! But as I mentioned, anytime Yang releases a new book, my tail wags, and I make sure my human brings that book home from the library! Superman is well written, well drawn, and really informative. It has all the elements of a good superhero comic plus the addition of the historical background of how Superman came to be, and his role in our nation's history. 

    Sometimes I'll hear discussions about who is the greatest superhero, but my money is always going to be on Superman! After you read this one, he may be yours, too! 5 paws! 

Mascot, by Charles Waters & Traci Sorell

  Silver medal winner of the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, Mascot tells the fictional story of a class of 8th grade middle school students in an advanced English class who are grappling with the school's mascot - an "Indian Brave". Not a new topic, of course, but one I don't see a lot in the books I read. In fact, Native American perspectives are still pretty hard to find in teen and young adult literature, although Joseph Bruchac has been writing some great books for years, and newer authors, like Eric Gansworth, are adding some newer books as well.

    Mascot takes place at Rye Middle School near Washington D.C., and real world mascots like the Redskins (now the Commanders), the Atlanta Braves, and many lesser-known mascots around the country are referred to in the story. Authors Waters and Sorell do a nice job of presenting many different takes on whether mascots such as "Braves" are discriminatory and hurtful or honoring cultures such as Native Americans. 

    What I thought they missed was that their characters seem to old for the actions and thoughts throughout the story. If the students in this story were in high school, I would have liked this much more. I know it's a small difference, but when the story mentions that a character was looking forward to high school, I had to reset my thinking, because the messages in the book seemed a little too mature for middle school. Not that middle school students are immature - I don't think that! But the ideas that are explored in Mascot fit better with slightly older teens, in my opinion.

    I also thought a few of the viewpoints presented, and there are several, were a little too "easy". The authors tried to muddy them up a little, but mostly the opinions were pretty black and white, not grey, like I think they are in the real world. But these didn't take away from the story totally! It is a good book, and one that you should read, if for no other reason than to examine your take on the issues surrounding mascots. Are they discrimination? Racist? Or tradition? Good questions. A good book.

3 paws and a wag!