Viewfinder
by Christine D. U. Chung and Salwa Majoka; illus. by the authors
Primary, Intermediate    Tundra    144 pp.
2/24    9780735268753    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780735268760    $10.99

Chung and Majoka offer a wordless graphic novel for younger readers that presents dystopian science fiction through a gentle, nearly amicable viewpoint. After a brief sepia-tone introduction showcases a classroom of students assembling a time capsule (complete with a retro viewfinder), readers are presented with a time jump by way of a futuristic spacecraft soaring across a cosmic double-page spread of swirling purples and blues. Inside the craft is a young astronaut traveling from planet to planet in search of geological specimens. Lonely, the adventurer sets coordinates for home; however, a detour leads to a very Earth-like planet. There the explorer finds abandoned buildings, crumbling infrastructure, and an abundance of luminescent, mushroom-like growths. Only after the protagonist discovers the aforementioned viewfinder can the history of the planet be puzzled together through photo-flashbacks—and the story culminates in a near-encounter with the viewfinder’s original owner. Drawn by Chung and digitally painted by Majoka, the cinematic cartooning has a polished, animated aesthetic composed of endlessly intriguing and imaginative scenes of an abandoned planet, heightened by moments of mild action and skillful lightning effects. A luminous, thought-provoking adventure.

Pubissue-From the March/April 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.