Be among the first to read Little Monarchs, a Shelf Awareness Galley Love of the Week. Presented on Mondays, GLOW selects books that have not yet been discovered by booksellers and librarians, identifying the ones that will be important hand-selling titles in a future season.
It’s been fifty years since sun sickness wiped out nearly all mammal life on Earth, and the world is slowly being reclaimed by nature, except for roadways here and there maintained by autonomous machines. The few communities of people who survived keep to themselves in underground sites, only able tocome out at night. But now there are two humans who can live and travel freely in the daylight: 10-year-old Elvie and her caretaker, Flora, a biologist, who has made an incredible discovery. Using a few scales from monarch butterfly wings, Flora has created an antidote to sun sickness. If only she can make enough to help others!
Following the monarch migration through what was once the western United States, Elvie and Flora are determined to develop a vaccine to share with everyone. Will they succeed? Or will they fall to natural disaster, illness, or even the very people they’re trying to save?
In this unique graphic novel adventure, readers can travel along with Elvie and Flora using coordinates and compass headings that mark their route. They will learn about star navigation, how to tie useful knots and forage for food, and other survival skills applicable in the natural world.
Jonathan Case is an Eisner Award-winning cartoonist whose works include Dear Creature, The New Deal, Batman ’66, and two volumes of Over the Garden Wall. He lives in Oregon with his family.
PRAISE FOR LITTLE MONARCHS:
“A masterfully-painted, pitch-perfect balance between tension and tenderness,
Little Monarchs is all I want comics to be.”
—Vera Brosgol, Caldecott Honoree for Leave Me Alone, Eisner Award winner for Anya’s Ghost
“Little Monarchs is gorgeous in every way. It’s an amazingly generous work full of beautifully inkedwatercolor artwork, hilariously genuine characters, unexpected twists, real emotional sincerity, survival tips, nature facts, and even a recipe for blackberry pie.”
—Patrick McHale, Emmy Award-winning creator of Over the Garden Wall, writer/director for Adventure Time
“This book is PHENOMENAL. Jonathan Case has brought to life a post-civilization world that’s as wondrous as it is tragic, immersive and fascinating. His is a unique voice, daunting yet inspiring for other comics creatives. Take Little Monarchs home, you will love it.”
—Jeff Parker, writer of X-Men: First Class, Spider-Man, Batman ’66
