Operatic

by Kyo Maclear, Byron Eggenschwiler (Illustrator)

Overview

A story of friendship, first crushes, opera and the high drama of middle school told by award-winning Kyo Maclear in her debut graphic novel.

Somewhere in the universe, there is the perfect tune for you.

It’s almost the end of middle school, and Charlie has to find her perfect song for a music class assignment. But it’s hard for Charlie to concentrate when she can’t stop noticing her classmate Emile, or wondering about Luka, who hasn’t been to school in weeks.

Then, the class learns about opera, and Charlie discovers the music of Maria Callas. The more she learns about Maria’s life, the more Charlie admires her passion for singing and her ability to express herself fully through her music. Can Charlie follow the example of the ultimate diva, Maria Callas, when it comes to her own life?

Key Text Features
speech bubbles
captions
bibliography

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554989720
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	04/01/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	624,500
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	GN480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

KYO MACLEAR is a beloved author of books for children and adults. Her recent children’s books include Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli, illustrated by Julie Morstad, Yak and Dove, illustrated by Esmé Shapiro, and The Liszts, illustrated by Júlia Sardà. She lives in Toronto with her two sons, two cats and a singer.

BYRON EGGENSCHWILER is an award-winning illustrator whose recent books include The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason, Operatic by Kyo Maclear (starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal and Quill & Quire), Coyote Tales by Thomas King and Beastly Puzzles by Rachel Poliquin (starred review from School Library Journal). Byron's work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Walrus, GQ and O, The Oprah Magazine. He lives in Calgary, Alberta.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for author Kyo Maclear, illustrator Byron Eggenschwiler and Operatic:

Finalist Red Maple Award, 2020

Finalist, Joe Shuster Award — The Dragon Award, 2020
Finalist Cybils Award for Elementary/ Middle Grade Graphic Novels, 2019

Nominee Black-Eyed Susan Book Award — Graphic Novels, Grades 6-9, 2020

Quill & Quire Books of the Year for Kids, 2019

The List — Toronto Public Library, 2020

"Operatic displays a beautiful, poetic and subtle interplay between text and image. A sensitively written, and knowing portrayal of early teen life, highlighting the formative and identity-forming role that music plays in those years. The illustrations are loose and lovely, pairing quiet, realistic portrayals of the awkwardness of everyday life in high school, with metaphoric, imaginative images of inner worlds.” — Julie Morstad, award-winning illustrator of Bloom; Julia, Child; and This Is Sadie

“Maclear and Eggenschwiler cleverly weave together story, visual art, andmusic. . . . Clever and contemplative, with music history readers might find unexpectedly fun.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Opera is an unusual but pitch-perfect match for that swell of overwhelming feeling, and Maclear and Eggenschwiler fold it into the story perfectly. A poignant, pithy, and arrestingly illustrated story.” — Booklist, starred review

“Operatic reveals an optimism that I find generally missing from comics. I loved Byron Eggenschwiler’s flowing, layered illustrations and I was hit in the gut by Kyo Maclear’s story about the magic and frustration of art and adolescence. Like all of Kyo’s work, this book is not only an invitation to read, but to create.” — Matthew Forsythe, two-time Eisner Award–nominated illustrator and Emmy Award-winning designer of Adventure Time

“Operatic is a sweet read. Maclear’s charming, understated writing and Eggenschwiler’s inventive cartooning are a perfect match.” — Hope Larson, Eisner Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling creator of A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

“Operatic is stunning; reading through it reminded me why I love comics. The atmosphere is tantalizing and rich, and the story is not one I will soon forget.” — Tillie Walden, two-time Eisner Award nominee and Ignatz Award–winning creator of the graphic novels Spinning, On a Sunbeam, and Are You Listening?

Praise for author Kyo Maclear, illustrator Julie Morstad and Bloom:

“An exuberant fictionalized rendering of designer Elsa Schiaparelli’s early life.… Not only a gorgeous portrayal of this 20th-century creative genius, but an empowering tale encouraging readers to ‘dare to be different.’” — Kirkus, starred review

“It’s a dramatic tribute worthy of its audacious subject.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for author Kyo Maclear, illustrator Esmé Shapiro and Yak and Dove:

“Odd-couple friendships are nothing new in children’s literature, but seldom is one portrayed with the grace and sly humor Maclear and Shapiro bring to this story.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Author Kyo Maclear and illustrator Esmé Shapiro … make a dynamite, inventive pair and they infuse the tried-and-true odd-couple premise of Yak and Dove with bursts of irresistibly sweet weirdness.” — Quill and Quire, starred review

“A much-needed favor to humanity in reminding us of what it takes to find, keep and take good care of true friends.” — Peter Reynolds, New York Times

Matthew Forsythe

Operatic reveals an optimism that I find generally missing from comics. I loved Byron Eggenschwiler’s flowing, layered illustrations and I was hit in the gut by Kyo Maclear’s story about the magic and frustration of art and adolescence. Like all of Kyo’s work, this book is not only an invitation to read, but to create.

Tillie Walden

Operatic is stunning; reading through it reminded me why I love comics. The atmosphere is tantalizing and rich, and the story is not one I will soon forget.

Julie Morstad

Operatic displays a beautiful, poetic and subtle interplay between text and image. A sensitively written, and knowing portrayal of early teen life, highlighting the formative and identity-forming role that music plays in those years. The illustrations are loose and lovely, pairing quiet, realistic portrayals of the awkwardness of everyday life in high school, with metaphoric, imaginative images of inner worlds.

Hope Larson

Operatic is a sweet read. Maclear’s charming, understated writing and Eggenschwiler’s inventive cartooning are a perfect match.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/27/2019

Taking on friendships, crushes, cliques, and music culture, Maclear offers an honest, deeply respectful look at what is at the core of belonging and isolation for teenagers. Charlie Noguchi narrates her middle-school existence through the lens of her music teacher’s assignment to “choose a song for this moment in your life and write about it.” She pines for Emile, a quiet aspiring entomologist, and wonders about the mysterious prolonged absence of Luka, a femme boy who sings like an angel and once disturbed kids and adults at school with his unapologetic fabulousness (“All the boys who acted like they didn’t care about anything saw him singing like he cared about everything,” Charlie observes). Lush illustrations by Eggenschwiler (Coyote Tales) are color coded—yellow for Charlie, blue for Luka, and red for Maria Callas, the singer Charlie claims for her own and whose biography is threaded through the present-day story. When Charlie, Emile, Luka, and friends find the courage to express themselves together, their music creates a rainbow. With poetic words and pictures, Maclear and Eggenschwiler create a synesthetic experience that captures all the high and low notes of youth. Ages 10–14. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Opera is an unusual but pitch-perfect match for that swell of overwhelming feeling, and Maclear.

Booklist

Operatic offers a deft look at adolescence, rich but subtle, accessible but beautifully complex. . . . Maclear has created a setting and a cast of characters that feel extraordinarily fresh, alive, and, above all, very real. . . . Eggenschwiler’s visual metaphors create their own network of social, emotional, and sensory connections. . . . This book will delight not only young people and graphic-novel aficionados but anyone who believes that art — especially opera — is a powerful force in the world.

Quill & Quire

Packed with music references and evocative illustrations, Operatic is a graphic novel that students will easily relate to and identify with.

Vancouver Writers Fest

Operatic offers a deft look at adolescence, rich but subtle, accessible but beautifully complex. . . . Maclear has created a setting and a cast of characters that feel extraordinarily fresh, alive, and, above all, very real. . . . Eggenschwiler’s visual metaphors create their own network of social, emotional, and sensory connections. . . . This book will delight not only young people and graphic-novel aficionados but anyone who believes that art — especially opera — is a powerful force in the world.

Quill and Quire

★ 04/01/2019

Gr 5–8—Two months before middle school graduation, Charlotte (Charlie) Noguchi and the rest of class 8C have one final assignment—to find the soundtrack of their lives, a song that has meaning for them. Their music teacher Mr. K introduces them to different styles, including metal, pop, rap, jazz, emo, and opera. Yellow tones dominate these sections of the book with realistic, detailed, eye-catching art and cross hatching that adds dimension. Breaking up the main plot, Charlie shares her story from behind the empty desk in her class. Yellow switches dramatically to blue for flashback scenes. A lone desk is shown in the middle of the panel framed by Charlie's hair, giving it the appearance of theater curtains parting. Luka, with his long shiny hair and beautiful singing voice, left school after singing a song to Emile. Charlie seems to like Emile but is also worried about Luka and hopes he'll come back to school. Colored in red, Charlie also discusses famed opera singer and diva Maria Callas. Drawn to her music and life story, Charlie researches Callas for her final project. A bibliography with further reading about the singer is included at the end of the graphic novel. VERDICT Brimming with raw emotion, music references, and gorgeous art, this memorable and relatable graphic novel will linger with readers.—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2019-02-17

The rules: "Do not draw too much attention." And "always look bored."

Using spare, well-chosen words and muted primary colors, Maclear and Eggenschwiler cleverly weave together story, visual art, and music. Charlotte "Charlie" Noguchi, one of three Asian girls in her school, navigates the everyday, hormonal-driven drama of middle school by these rules until a new, white transfer student, Luka, joins their music class and she is introduced to the opera diva María Callas. As she observes and learns more about these individuals, Charlie is forced to question if it is better to be a nobody or to face criticism and rejection for standing out. The primary colors not only deliberately separate storylines (yellow for spring, blue for the previous fall, and red for María Callas' time), but also serve as visual cues to highlight things left unsaid in text, such as an empty blue desk or a choice of red lipstick. Quite a bit of music history is explored here as well, as the students learn about different music genres while gearing up for the year-end performance showcase. Other than explicitly pointing out Charlie and her friends as Asian, race and ethnicity are not central to this story. Casual homophobia, however, is touched upon as Luka boldly draws attention and slurs with his long hair, outré fashion, and unselfconscious singing.

Clever and contemplative, with music history readers might find unexpectedly fun. (bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews