Science Comics: Elephants | Review

Science Comics: Elephants: Living Large
written by Jason Viola, Illustrated by Falynn Koch
First Second, $21.99 (hardcover), $12.99 (paperback)
Publisher’s rating: Ages 9-13

Another excellent entry in the Science Comics series. That’s not surprising, as Viola has previously written Science Comics: Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice, while Koch has written and illustrated, among many other titles, Science Comics: Bats: Learning to Fly (as well as the animal-related History Comics: The National Parks: Preserving America’s Wild Places). In other words, both are experienced in telling these kinds of stories in ways that both entertain and inform.

The structure is elegantly simple. We follow an eight-year-old elephant named Duni as she introduces her matriarchal family and the behavior of her older brother, who’s old enough to leave the herd. Readers learn how the largest land animals in the world live, the differences in various species (as well as their historical relatives), how trunks and tusks are structured and what they’re used for, how elephants cope with predators, and mating rituals.

It’s all fascinating and well cartooned. These animals come alive. Sometimes they’re shown engaging in realistic behavior, or alternately, they might evoke the characters from the Babar books to make a point in a memorable fashion. Overall, by following several years in the lives of these magnificent beasts, the reader gets a great introduction to how they survive, what threatens them, and what makes them special. It’s heart-warming and affecting.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews, Young Adult