The Giver: The Graphic Novel review by Caroline Rabideau

It has been many years since I read Lois Lowry’s “The Giver”. I remember reading it when I was young and not really understanding the impact of the book, I just thought it was weird. I’m now working in the company of great teachers who do a great job of helping our students understand the meaning and impact of “The Giver” when they read it with their 7^th grade classes. My students all really love the book once they finish it in class. So, upon finding the graphic novel, I thought it would be worth trying it again.

The graphic novel version of “The Giver,” adapted by P. Craig Russell, so clearly illustrates the events in the book, it left me nothing but impressed. I read both the original story and the graphic novel side by side, and was blown away by the amount of text from the original book Russel was able to incorporate into the graphic novel, a task I’m sure is not easy to complete. Even the chapters begin and end with the same scenes and often direct quotes, and yet somehow in the graphic novel they flow so clearly, one to the net, that your eyes don’t ever want to leave the page.

The graphic novel gives a new image to the pictures that were in our brains when we read the story as students. While no one in Jonas’ city is allowed to brag or feel pride for an accomplishment, we can now see, through drawings showing her body language, that Lily is proud when she turns eight. We can see Jonas’ anguish when he realizes his friend, the giver is suffering. And visual learners are able to clearly see the differences in ages. As Jonas’ skill grows and he sees more color, the illustrations grow in color along with the story, only enhancing what he is seeing, as well as the reader’s experience. My only negative about the book was, because it is a graphic novel adaptation, it is meant to be shorter than the book. As a result, some of Jonas’ thoughts are shortened; some of the conversations are left out. I found, as I reread the book, that these experiences were a part of my empathy for Jonas. Without them, my first impression of him as a character was that he was a jerk, and very full of himself, treating his sister poorly and being cold to his family.

From an illustrative standpoint, the art is beautiful. For the first half of the book, as Jonas only sees black and white, Russel chose to use a combination of pencil shading and ink to give it a more realistic depth and interest. Things like Jonas’ eyes, the giver’s eyes, and Gabriel’s eyes, as well as minute highlights are given such a subtle blue highlight that it almost seems it’s not there. As Jonas becomes aware of color, Russel incorporates more colors in order, beginning with red, sometimes faintly adding it to a specific object, and sometimes flooding an entire image with brilliant color. By the end of the story, Jonas is able to view nature in full, yet not brilliant color, as his training had not been fully completed. The awareness is as much for Jonas as the reader. I found I was suddenly surprised by the change from black and white to color. The transition was so seamless that I was unaware of it until I began to think about it.

I believe this graphic novel will become a great tool for teachers who are showing their students “The Giver” for the first time. Because it can be read alongside the book, teachers could show the pages on a smart board or other document projector while they were reading the text from the original. This would be a great way for visual learners to connect with the text, in addition to what they see in their imagination. Though it is not a supplement for the text, I think it was beautifully and carefully illustrated and does a great job of featuring the story while adding illustrations. I highly recommend this book to anyone teaching ‘The Giver,” or any student who, like me, struggled to understand and comprehend the series of events in the story.

Illustrator Website: https://www.wahprods.com/?fbclid=IwAR0zD_VIkqVr7Ao4JH98km-J6HRwQb-SL-PXj6dCY-TNtltYcH5WHt8J-2s

Lois Lowry Twitter: @LoisLowryWriter
Publisher Twitter: @HMHCo
Review by Caroline Ribideau