Mup: a graphic novel

by Raea Gragg

Overview

Adventure awaits and Mup is ready for it. But with one bad wish, a creeping disaster unfolds and Mup finds herself trapped in the future, face-to-face with the one person she never wanted to become: her teenage self.

 

With the world's plants dying all around them, the girls must overcome their differences and work together to uncover the secret to the planet's survival - which may have something to do with a forgotten mystery of the earth's prehistoric past. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780991626953
Publisher:	Alexandria Gragg
Publication date:	09/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	282
File size:	1011 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 12 Years

About the Author

Raea Gragg is a writer, illustrator, and animator specializing in stories for children and teens. She wrote her first book at age 15 and now works developing projects for the film industry. Mup is her first graphic novel. Raea graduated from Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television with a BA in animation in 2020 and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Editorial Reviews

Raea Gragg's fresh and dynamic art combines with her storytelling talent to deliver a rollicking adventure that explores the themes of environment disaster, stewardship, and rejuvenation - all layered on top of a poignant tale of the inner struggle for identity caused by growing up. A must read for graphic novel lovers of all ages!

- Jennifer Overaa, Librarian, San Anselmo Public Library

From the Publisher

★ 2020-12-03
In this graphic novel, an adventurous girl and her future self collaborate to save the planet.

At 6 years old, olive-skinned Arianna Theresa Machado, called Mup, has a wonderfully vivid imagination. At home, Mup’s affectionate botanist father supports her love of “the wild places,” promising to take her to them when she’s older. But at school, Mup’s happy confidence runs up against the conventional. Other girls dream only of becoming popular, beautiful teenagers, not explorers who discover dinosaurs—and Mup never wants to grow up if it means turning into that. But after entering a glowing portal to the future, Mup meets her 16-year-old self, now called Arianna, who’s everything she feared; just as disturbing, the Black Dread disease has killed all the plants. There’s hope, though, when Mup’s father discovers a still-green African valley that could hold a cure. He, Arianna, and a stowaway Mup travel in search of that valley, but the villainous White CEO of Leopold Enterprises also wants to find it and exploit its resources. Waasi, a 12-year-old African girl, knows the way, and it’s up to her, the Machados, and a helpful dinosaur to save the last forest, the whole Earth, and Mup’s future. Writing and illustrating her first graphic novel after two conventional YA works and three children’s offerings, Gragg blends a comic-book style with beautifully rendered, richly colored landscapes. Her artwork expressively captures characters’ personalities and uses panels to convey both action and states of mind vividly. The story offers an urgent environmental message but doesn’t seem preachy thanks to the overarching personal question of staying true to yourself. Clever touches abound, such as in-group friendship necklaces and the CEO’s understated connection to King Leopold II of Belgium and his African atrocities.

A bold, entertaining, and intelligent environmental tale with great emotional resonance—a winner.

Kirkus Reviews