In the opening chapters we meet Buddy, the leader Sunny, the brave one Horace, with PTSD Sugar, damaged yet sweet and finally Reginald, the sage.

In the wide acceptance of graphic novels for children, in the inclusion of more art in books for elementary readers transitioning to novels, illustration is once again being championed beyond picture books.ĭaniel Kraus’s THEY THREW US AWAY (Henry Holt, 256 pp., $16.99 ages 10 to 14) is the first book in The Teddies Saga, a trilogy for middle grade readers. It makes me smile to see a change starting to ripple through the industry. In my own work I have found myself looking backward for inspiration, writing and illustrating to fill a gap on today’s shelves. It wasn’t as if illustrated novels didn’t exist when I was growing up - who doesn’t have fond memories of “Winnie the Pooh” or “The Wind in the Willows”? - but it seemed they’d fallen out of fashion since the heyday of A.A. To read a book with pictures is to place oneself in those images, connecting more deeply to the characters and their world. They also offer a space in the story to pause, to reflect on the meaning of what one has just read. Illustrations can arm apprehensive new readers with confidence, particularly if they’re visual learners. But as I became more comfortable with the words and moved on to chapter books and novels in upper elementary school, I missed that extra layer of story the art had provided. Images provided a bridge to comprehension when words were little more than mysterious hieroglyphs.

Like most children learning to read, I leaned heavily on illustrations to help me understand and enjoy stories.

Skunk and badger