The Great Antonio (Toon Books Level 2)

When wrestler Antonio Barichievich (1925-2002) emigrated from Croatia to Montreal as a young adult, his huge, Paul Bunyan-like physique drew attention. He weighed 460 pounds--"which is as heavy as a horse!" Gravel (I Want a Monster!) points out--and she draws him picking up a telephone pole with a dozen men hanging off it ("This is easy!" he says). Like Sampson, Antonio didn't cut his hair, and he used to let children hang on to his braids and whirl them around, "a gigantic human merry-go-round!" Though successful for a time as a wrestler, he "mostly lived on the street" after a mysterious heartbreak, spending his days at a Montreal doughnut shop; when he died, neighbors left flowers there. Gravel draws Antonio's story with an easy, loopy line, including both playful and haunting moments. Early on, he sits down to a dinner of 25 roast chickens; later, a cat follows him, playing with his dragging braids as he walks the streets alone. What's to be made of lives that don't go the way they were supposed to? Gravel shows that they're worth paying attention to. Ages 4-8. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Oct.)

Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 2--Antonio Barichievich (1925-2003) was a Croatian-born strongman who lived a fascinating life. Antonio weighed 460 pounds, could eat 25 chickens and a dozen doughnuts in a sitting, and pulled trains and busses--with his hair! He wrestled bears, sang opera, and, in the end, lived at a doughnut shop. Author and illustrator Gravel highlights this little-known, real-life person in an imaginative and engaging way. The comic book-style format provides emerging readers with many opportunities to explore the relationship between text and image. As with all Toon Books, this title offers educators and caregivers concise tips on how to read and use comics with kids. VERDICT A fine addition for chapter book and early graphic novel collections.--Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Elizabeth Bird's A Fuse #8 Production 2016 Fictionalized Non-Fiction for Kids

TD Summer Reading Club's Top Recommend Reads for 2017

"A tribute as heartfelt as it is joyous" - Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

"Gravel gives us a funny, very kid-friendly story about a gentle giant, someone who twirled children around on his braids, turning himself into a human merry-go-round for their amusement." - School Library Journal Good Comics for Kids

"What's to be made of lives that don't go the way they were supposed to? Gravel shows that they're worth paying attention to." - Publishers Weekly

"Kids will be taken by this larger-than-life figure, who is still beloved in Montreal, the city the Great Antonio called home." - Booklist

"Gravel's cartoonish art is graphically sophisticated." - Montreal Gazette

"In this innovative portrait—not quite a biography yet not quite a legend—Gravel affectionately places Antonio in the Paul Bunyan tradition of mighty men." - Horn Book Magazine

"A modern tale for a new audience." - Mom Read It