Through The Wall

by Jonathan Standing

"On one side of a huge wall lived a boy..."

This graphic novel tells the story of a giant wall separating two civilisations: one of blue people and one of yellow. Each side is forbidden to speak to the other, because they are sworn enemies.

One day, a boy and a girl from opposite sides of the wall meet and decide to break down the boundaries that divide their peoples forever.

Genres: Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Comics

26 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2019

About the author

Jonathan Standing works as a concept artist and illustrator for high profile video games (including titles in the X-Men franchise) and television series (including the science-fiction western drama Defiance). He holds an MA in Illustration from the University of Hertfordshire. Through The Wall is his first book.

Reviews

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a poignant and very short graphic novel that is great for all ages. It's almost like a parable about the unnecessary and harmful "othering" of people.

[The Book Lender · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge wall divides the land of the Yellow people from the land of the Blue people. The government preaches hatred and fear of the "other side", and to attempt to cross, climb or damage the wall is treason. A Yellow boy lives a sad life in the shadow of this wall until one day, he discovers a hole and meets a Blue girl. A friendship is born that could shake the foundations of their worlds.

Through The Wall straddles the line between graphic novel and picture book for older readers. The cute illustrations help to deliver the book's clear message about racism, xenophobia and the dangers of othering. The images are largely a dirty grey colour, with little splashes of blue and yellow, which get more prominent as the story progresses.

Everything you need to know about the repressive dystopian world of this book is delivered on the very first page of the book, in the form of letter from the Ministry of the Wall, headed "Attn: An Important Message To All Citizens Living in the Shelter of the Wall". The story is told through striking images and simple captions, along with snippets of this letter - there is no dialogue.

It is a very quick read (I read it in less than 5 minutes) with a simple story - one that may be a little too simple for older readers, so I would recommend this to Upper KS2/Lower KS3 readers. This would be a good book to introduce students to the idea of dystopian literature, and would sit nicely next to a book like Shaun Tan's The Arrival.

[Mr Bramley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, I really enjoyed this book. It had beautiful, creative art. The letter on the front peritext from the government if the city talking about the wall is a great way to introduce the concept (and would be great to use as a teacher to get kids thinking about the meanings), and I loved that a lone or two was referenced at the bottom of pages.

However, for a book that was published in 2019, I'm not a big fan of the 'yellow/blue' metaphor.
If I were to use this with a class, I would definitely have to relate it to actual people and give some real world context. Representation matters. There were so many options of children they could have picked to represent here, but instead fell back on imaginary colours.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort of parable for a time where divisions and walls have such appeal, this is well told and illustrated: a story of how love brings hope and destroys division.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seemed very… simple. It felt like half of the story (the rest of society reacting to the two main characters) was missing.