Title: Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addicition
Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Date read: January 20, 2019
Two Snaps.
I didn’t mean to finish it in one go… but I couldn’t stop! A graphic memoir that had me riveted, engaged and in tears. A must read.
You have not read a memoir told like this. Krosoczka’s story telling is doubly powerful as you connect with the characters both through the text and his wonderful illustrations.
This book has been widely touted for YA audiences, but it is not to be dismissed as only for teens.
You will want to watch Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s TED Talk: How A Boy Became an Artist.
In his talk, Krosoczka tells his own back story and illuminates how powerful and life-changing it was to use the power of his words and drawing to tell his story. He describes some of his own first comics thusly: “…it was a story that was told with words and pictures, exactly what I do now for a living, and sometimes I let the words have the stage on their own, and sometimes I allowed the pictures to work on their own to tell the story.”
Watch the talk now:
TED Talk: How a Boy Became an Artist
If you have young children and want some snappy choices for bedtime reads, take a look at the TED Blog, where Krosoczka recommends his favourite children’s books.
TED Blog: 10 Great Children’s Books That Will Become Classics.
If you liked Hey, Kiddo may I suggest:
Title: An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
After reading Amy Krause Rosenthal’s heart wrenching NY Times piece: You May Want to Marry My Husband, I couldn’t wait to read her Autobiography– and it did not disappoint. This memoir is told in a wholly unconventional way, and I love her for it. Where Krosoczka adds illustrations to strengthen his story– Rosenthal approaches her memoir writing with an individual organizational structure. Using the format of an encyclopedia, Rosenthal retells snippets of her autobiography in short entries from A through Z. This unique episodic approach makes for an entirely marvellous exploration of what makes us tick. She details the moments, the emotions, and the observations of contemporary life. Great fun for the bedside table.
