Little Monarchs
by Jonathan Case (Author)
This graphic novel adventure tells the story of 10-year-old Elvie and her crucial mission to save humanity from extinction after a sun shift has changed life on earth as we know it.
It's been fifty years since a sun shift wiped out nearly all mammal life across the earth.
Towns and cities are abandoned relics, autonomous machines maintain roadways, and the world is slowly being reclaimed by nature. Isolated pockets of survivors keep to themselves in underground sites, hiding from the lethal sunlight by day and coming above ground at night.
10-year-old Elvie and her caretaker, Flora, a biologist, are the only two humans who can survive during daylight because Flora made an incredible discovery - a way to make an antidote to sun sickness using the scales from monarch butterfly wings. Unfortunately, it can only be made in small quantities and has a short shelf life.
Free to travel during the day, Elvie and Flora follow monarchs as they migrate across the former Western United States, constantly making new medicine for themselves while trying to find a way to make a vaccine they can share with everyone. Will they discover a way to go from a treatment to a cure and preserve what remains of humanity, or will their efforts be thwarted by disaster and the very people they are trying to save
Little Monarchs is a new kind of graphic novel adventure--one that invites readers to take an intimate look at the natural world and the secrets hidden within. Elvie and Flora's adventures take place in real locations marked panel-by-panel with coordinates and a compass heading. Curious readers can follow their travel routes and see the same landscapes--whether it be a secluded butterfly grove on the California coast or a hot-springs in the high desert. Through both comic narrative and journal entries, readers learn the basics of star navigation, how to tie useful knots, and other survival skills applicable in the natural world.
Creator Jonathan Case acquired the fact-based portion of Little Monarchs through intensive research and several expeditions to study monarchs across the western United States. Scientific support also came from the Xerces Society, the world leaders in monarch preservation.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
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Gr 6 Up--It's 2101, and a solar apocalypse has killed most of humanity; those who survive must stay underground to avoid getting sick from sun exposure. Elvie, an endlessly curious Black preteen, lives with her guardian Flora, a scientist who has found a way to turn monarch butterfly scales into an antidote to sun sickness. During the day, Elvie and Flora forage for food and supplies, study monarch medicine, and avoid other humans, who are either rivals or outright enemies. Hoping to develop a vaccine, Elvie's scientist parents have traveled to Mexico to gather materials from the monarchs that flock there at the end of their migration. They haven't returned, but Elvie believes they are still alive, so she and Flora set off to Mexico to find them, relying on a dwindling supply of the antidote to keep them safe. Case's artwork showcases the strong relationship between Flora and Elvie through detailed body language and expressions, and each has a unique voice. Excerpts from Elvie's naturalist journal bookend important discoveries the pair make on their journey and show her to be quick-witted, scientifically-minded, and intuitive. Vibrant colors spread from page to page, mirroring the monarch butterfly's sunset orange hues. Each panel is filled with detailed drawings and text, which at times overwhelm the page. However, this graphic novel packs a punch, expertly balancing science fiction with the looming environmental crisis, highlighting the delicate balance of every aspect of our planet's relationship with the sun and our ecosystem. VERDICT Meticulously researched biology and environmental science make this a unique addition to any library serving teens.--Elise Martinez
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Publisher's Weekly
Review quotes
JUV002300 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Butterflies, Moths & Caterpillars
JUV008140 - Juvenile Fiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Science Fiction
Butterflies
Dystopias
Cartoons and comics
Comics (Graphic works)
Environmental disasters
Migration
Monarch butterfly
Global environmental change
Dystopian comics
Pacific Coast (America)
