My Own World

Description

Nathan is always alone. Stuck with four siblings and bullies he can't shake off, being alone shouldn't be as easy as it is. But his sisters think he's a pest. (That doesn't bother Nathan-the feeling is mutual.) All Nathan wants to do is spend the summer with his big brother, Ben, but something always gets in the way. With only his vivid imagination as company, Nathan creates worlds and hideaways just for himself, with no siblings or bullies to bother him. But when he finds a real portal to another world, will Nathan finally find the happiness he always wanted? Or will his loneliness find him there too?

Mike Holmes is an illustrator and author whose work includes the graphic novels Wings of Fire, Secret Coders, and Animal Crackers: Circus Mayhem. He's also drawn for the comic book adaptations of Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors and was a regular contributor to MAD Magazine. He and his wife Meredith live in Philadelphia with their son Oscar, Heidi the dog, and Ella the cat.

Holmes judiciously uses wordless panels to tell much of the story, relying on shading and perspective to illustrate how small and insignificant Nathan feels much of the time, and how much turmoil he is experiencing as he carves wild swoops and slashes in his second world. - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB) Holmes's expressive, energetic art renders Nathan's excitement about his new world, one that readers can't help but get lost in. --Publishers Weekly Holmes paints an exquisitely realistic portrait of a troubled boy's real life, grounding the fantastic in the urgency of Nathan's heartache and anxiety. -- Booklist, starred review A lot of emotion is subtly packed into this quick read about loneliness and escapism, and perceptive readers may enjoy poring over details and forming their own ideas of what is real.--Kirkus Holmes skillfully captures the joy of escape as scenes of Nathan's imaginary world convey the delight of exploration, with his explosive, saturated crimson illustrations evoking the joy of creation, exploration, and life--School Library Journal