Hearts: Toon Books Level 1

by Thereza Rowe

When Penelope the Fox drops her heart into the sea, she’s swept off on a perilous journey, dodging sharks and royal cat-guards until a cartwheeling chicken leads her to the land of lost things. Young readers will fall in love with Thereza Rowe’s bold and playful designs. And as they follow Penelope (and her heart!), they will learn what is truly precious.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Love, Fantasy, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

Thereza Rowe is a Brazilian-British artist living in London. Of Hearts, her first book, she says that inspiration for the story came at a particularly hard time in her life: "Suddenly came a wee voice saying, ‘Whatever happens, never lose your heart. Everything is going to be just fine.’ That’s when I started doodling Penelope. I think of myself as a fox sitting on a cliff, and I wondered what would happen if I really lost my heart."

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all lose our heart to someone...sometimes that loss haunts us; the last summer day you spent together; the places you can never go back to because they remind you of that day; seeing that person from afar with someone new. This book brought back all those memories to me.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Words didn't go with pictures. Both stories are valid, they just aren't related. I had a blast asking my daughter to explain the story she saw in the pictures. Very vivid pictures

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become one of Nico's and mine favorite books. Its a easy-to-read comics level one. My son loved how the story changed night to night. Its a wonderful book to introduce children to the world of comics/graphic novels. The last page of the book is How to read comics with kids. Very useful. We read this book every night since we checked it out from the library. Nico just fell in love with it.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my favorite TOON book. The illustrations were unique in their own style, but the story kind of lost me. I fear a lot of young kids will get lost as well.

[Ksenia]

A very heartfelt picture book that has a very deep meaning within. I saw it as Penelope losing a friend, and on her quest to find that friend, she meets a new friend along the way. As someone who's had people move in and out of my life, it was nice to see that reflected in these bright pictures and drawings. A hopeful message at the end!

[Jon Gorga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations and some solid imagination at play but details (some important, some not) weren’t fully thought out both in visuals and plot: Some shapes seem arbitrary making them confusing where they needed to be carrying the storytelling.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Penelope is heart broken seeing her best friend go away. She loses her heart and goes on a journey to find it. Along the way she almost completely loses her heart forever. She also meets a new friend who helps her when she needs it most.

Review: I like this beginner graphic novel. I really took my time time look at the panels to take in all the details. The illustrations are beautiful.

Book Connection: This book connects to the graphic novel we read in class about the fish looking for a friend. I loved that graphic novel because it is a beginner level and I am a beginner level graphic novel reader.

Quote: "Let's look here....in the garden of lost things."

[Kari Riles-Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read a comic book before but I understood what Hearts depicted. The images displayed how complicated it is to keep up with a broken heart. My personal opinion disagrees on why the fox was chasing a broken heart. I understand that she didn’t want to lose her heart, but why not try to fix it instead of chasing it. I wish she could’ve shown different tactics on how to heal a heart when it’s broken. Why go through different struggles to chase something that’s broken. I thought the comic book concept was neat, but I wish that she could have delivered a different message.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd story.
With minimal text, a fox? wolf? chases after a dropped broken heart that is moved by various methods until it is regained, only to be sacrificed to save a friendly hen. In a gesture of friendship, the hen gives a fresh egg to the protagonist, who promptly eats it.
WTF.
I like the graphic illustrations way more than the story they tell.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story with playful visual storytelling. Great for rich, literacy-building discussion with kids who aren't quite reading words yet.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of imagination is needed for this Toon book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. I was initially drawn to this book because the illustrations and panels are very engaging and well done. The panels are very simple and it is easy to follow by reading left to right on the pages. This is another book that could almost be considered a wordless picture book except that it does have dialogue in about one out of every four panels. The dialogue is very simple and the sentences may contain about 3-4 words at the most. The story plot reminded me of Alice in Wonderland in some respects. It is a fantasy and while the pictures are interesting and imaginative, there were moments that I really had to stop and look carefully at the pictures to determine what might be taking place. For this reason I did not give it as high of a rating because for some students it could be too confusing.

2. This book is another primary book that could be used by K-2 students. It was written and published specifically by a company for the purpose to support early readers who have limited sight words and reading capability. I think this book could be used by teachers to support writing curriculum in which students have to add more dialogue to the panels in order to give the story added depth. It could also be used for teachers to do a comparison study with other fantasy stories and it would be even better if they have a primary Alice in Wonderland book to compare the story with. This could be used with students that have great comprehension skills and imagination but are still struggling with reading words.

3. This book has great imaginative pictures and the fantasy pictures involve all animals. There is no blood, gore, or inappropriate themes within the story to worry about. The greatest issue with this story is that black and white thinkers may have trouble following the plot. The fox-like animal who is the main character, literally loses her broken heart and is chasing after it through many strange worlds and situations. Students will probably need a lot of support with leader-led discussion in order to make connections with the deeper meanings being presented in the book.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review at: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=2812

My Review: This is a much more complex story than I thought it would be. The book is being advertised as “A first comic for brand-new readers,” so I thought it meant brand new, but it is actually more of a book that I’d use and share with soon to be school-age children. It’ll be so much fun to talk through the comic with a new reader as there is much that s/he could narrate and many opportunities to discuss what is happening. A great introduction to sequential comics (the back of the book even has”How to read comics with kids” tips). There are also lots of twists and turns that will keep the reader on their toes as they follow Penelope on her quest for her heart.

[Deitre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in the book are unique in color and simplicity. The author used cut paper and illustrator. There is definitely very little text in the book, so the reader must rely heavily on the illustrations.

To read the rest of the review, simply follow the link: http://www.aleisuremoment.com/2014/03...

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, simple and basically effective, mostly wordless story of love and attachment for little ladies and dudes. The illustrations were cute, but perhaps just a bit too static/Etsy-fied to be truly great. Felt just a bit like I was being sold something rather than reading a pretty great visual story.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penelope the Fox literally follows her heart in an oftentimes perilous journey. Great use of colors and shapes.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely love Thereza Rowe's illustrations. I'd really enjoy a longer picture book created by her--here's hoping...!

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stylish looking but I didn't get the story

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where is this garden of lost things!??!I need to find it!

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was too abstract for me to enjoy. Curious to know if any kids have liked it. Maybe if they like knight-adventures?

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of a broken heart, lost then found then lost again. It's weird though. Very low text and bipedal animals.

I don't like bipedal animals.

That is all.

[Dex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations

[Christine Turner]

Juv Graphic Novels 741.594 Row

Note: Loved the art and the story is very imaginative, but Tweens might appreciate this book more than pre-school or school aged children.

Notes: Thereza Rowe is a Brazilian-British artist living in London, England. She says: "My favorite tools are color, shape, and imagination. I daydream about magic clocks, flying fish, enchanted forests--the list goes on. I work alone in the studio, so my cats, Flash and her sister Kitty, have always been my best companions (we talk to each other in five languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and...Meow-purr.)