Borders

by Thomas King

On Sale: 09/07/2021

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Borders

by Thomas King

illustrated by Natasha Donovan

On Sale: 09/07/2021

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Amazon Indigo

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About the Book

A stunning graphic-novel adaptation based on the work of one of Canada’s most revered and bestselling authors

On a trip to visit his older sister, who has moved away from the family home on the reserve to Salt Lake City, a young boy and his mother are posed a simple question with a not-so-simple answer. Are you Canadian, the border guards ask, or American?

“Blackfoot.”

And when border guards will not accept their citizenship, mother and son wind up trapped in an all-too-real limbo between nations that do not recognize who they are.

A powerful graphic-novel adaptation of one of Thomas King’s most celebrated short stories, Borders explores themes of identity and belonging, and is a poignant depiction of the significance of a nation’s physical borders from an Indigenous perspective. This timeless story is brought to vibrant, piercing life by the singular vision of artist Natasha Donovan.

Critical Praise

"A simple yet powerful story . . . An important and accessible modern tale about the ongoing lack of recognition by colonizers for the Indigenous communities who continue to exist on their ancestral lands." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The story highlights both the universal feelings of a family moving apart and a very specific Indigenous experience. . . . Brilliant." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In this sparsely worded, moving graphic novel . . . the team adeptly captures the dilemma of Native Nations whose homelands were split by political borders. This sobering yet inspiring tale effectively spotlights a Native woman who quietly demands that her voice be heard and her identity recognized." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Product Details

ISBN: 9781443460675
ISBN 10: 1443460672
Imprint: HarperCollins
On Sale: 09/07/2021
Pages: 192
List Price:22.99 CAD
Ages: 10 to 14
BISAC1 : JUVENILE FICTION / Comics & Graphic Novels / General
BISAC2 : JUVENILE FICTION / Comics & Graphic Novels / Media Tie-In
BISAC3 : JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / United States / Native American

Thomas King

Biography

THOMAS KING is an award-winning writer and photographer. His critically acclaimed, bestselling books include Medicine River; Green Grass, Running Water; One Good Story, That One; Truth and Bright Water; A Short History of Indians in Canada; The Back of the Turtle (winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction); The Inconvenient Indian (winner of the RBC Taylor Prize); Indians on Vacation; Sufferance; and the poetry collection 77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin. A Companion of the Order of Canada and the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, Thomas King lives in Guelph, Ontario. Black Ice is the eighth book in the DreadfulWater series.

Other Works by Thomas King

Black Ice

By Thomas King
Double Eagle

By Thomas King
Deep House

By Thomas King

See all

Natasha Donovan

Biography

Natsha Donovan is a self-taught illustrator from Vancouver, British Columbia, with a focus on comics and children’s illustration. Her work has appeared in two anthologies: The Other Side, edited by Melanie Gillman and Kori Handwerker, and This Place. She illustrated the award-winning children’s book The Sockeye Mother by Brett D. Huson and the graphic novel Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett. She has a degree in anthropology from the University of British Columbia and has worked in academic and magazine publishing. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington. Natasha Donovan is a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia.