Sylvie, by Sylvie Kantorovitz

Sylvie, by Sylvie Kantorovitz (February, 2021, Walker Books US), is an autobiographical graphic novel for kids that I really loved. Sylvie's an artistic kid growing up in France in the 1960s/70s. She lives at the school (a teacher training college) where her father's the principle. The campus is a great place for a kid to grow up (and I loved the map!). She and her little brother and a few other kids who also live there know all the best places to play, and all the ins and outs of the buildings, and when she's a teenager, she gets a tucked away, unused room in the school for her own domain.  

Being an intelligent, sensitive child, there are lots of things on Sylvie's mind--being the only Jewish kid in her school, the state of her parent's marriage, and the complexities of childhood and adolescent friendships.  And as she gets older, she starts wondering what she will do with her own life--is art, which she loves, something that an adult can make a living from? And how could she follow such a path when her parents won't support that choice?

It's a peaceful, though not facile, journey toward growing up, with (what for me) was just the right mix of happiness and worry. (The bit I found most worrisome was how her parents basically washed their hands of her little brother and packed him off to boarding school--sad).   Even though I read an ARC of the book, in which the illustrations are not as final as the finished edition, I found the art charming and the mix of pictures and words friendly and easy to follow.  It was perfect single sitting bedtime read for me, and since Sylvie's concerns are fairly universal, I bet lots of readers will relate lots, and find this look at a childhood different, but still similar, to their own an absorbing read.

Those looking for Action and Adventure will not find it here, but those who like reading about small bits of ordinary life will be satisfied.  Although Sylvie is a teenager by the end of the book, with a young romance in the works, it's appropriate for kids as young as 8 or 9.

disclaimer-review copy received from the publisher