Who Was the Girl Warrior of France?: Joan of Arc

Who HQ Graphic Novel Series

by Sarah Winifred Searle, Who H.Q., Maria Capelle Frantz (Illustrator)

Discover the story behind Joan of Arc and her journey to triumph in the Hundred Years' War -- written by Sincerely, Harriet author Sarah Winifred Searle and award-winning cartoonist Maria Capelle Frantz. Presenting Who HQ Graphic Novels: an exciting new program from the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series that spotlights pivotal moments in historical figures' lives in graphic novel form!

Follow Joan of Arc on her journey to convince the Dauphin to let her lead the French army in the Battle of Orleans and win the Hundred Years' War. A story of faith, courage, and determination, this graphic novel invites readers to immerse themselves in the life of the teenage French heroine -- brought to life by gripping narrative and vivid full-color illustrations that jump off the page.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Historical, History, Middle Grade, Childrens, France

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2022

About the author

Sarah hails from spooky New England but has since moved to sunny Perth, Australia. She writes and draws comics inspired by history, feelings, and intimacy of all sorts.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dramatization of the months in 1429 when Joan of Arc was persuading French royalty to believe her religious visions and let her lead their armed forces. It's a crucial moment, but it feels unsatisfying to leave her actual battles and fate to be covered in a brief text summary at the end.

As it is, we sort of have a girl taking a road trip to appear on a funky medieval game show where her abilities and beliefs are tested with a stunt and some quiz questions.

[Mary Havens · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS is how I like my graphic novels - a nice, illustrated and well researched historical account of a significant person/event. This book reminded me of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales in that respect but it was much shorter and focused only on Jeanne d’Arc as she begins her journey leading battles in the Hundred Years’ War.
Looking forward to more in this series :)

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graphic novels are my new favorite way to learn history.

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations and story was well done. Beginning of each new chapter they have a small paragraph explaining bigger picture ideas.

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of my word searches for the evening was joan of arc themed and it made me realize i didnt really know what her deal was.... so i read this 😗

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to follow and inspiring, this entry to the WHO HQ library features French heroine, Joan of Arc, as she seeks to follow her visions and assist the future king of France in beating back the English and possibly ending the Hundred Years' War. Because her story is told in a graphic format, readers are able to get a very real sense of Joan's character and the places she visited as well as her naysayers. This account makes it clear just how many individuals, especially those in power, doubted her and the truth of her visions, and what prompted the charges of heresy that would lead to her death. Perhaps her story is oversimplified here, but I had never realized that part of the issue was her decision to dress in male attire. Most notably, the book even points out the complexity of Joan's mission and her intent that others who didn't believe as she and her church did should be killed. The narrative is occasionally interrupted by explanations about various concepts or events. Middle graders and those in late elementary school will find this version of history and a historical figure fascinating, making it a good choice for a social studies or history classroom library.

[KayKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little graphic book about Joan of Arc.
It's a quick read and the book gives enough background information to understand what the 100 years War was about. I took one star off because the author concluded, while she helped to end the war, Joan of Arc promoted violence against people with different religious beliefs. Nowhere in the book mentioned any facts to substantiate that claim. I felt the book could have done slightly more to illustrate the author's view. Otherwise, the book is a quick read to learn/review some important historical facts and/or figures.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tbh I was hella underwhelmed by this bio. Idk if it’s just because of the subject, but I don’t feel that anything was explained nearly as much as I wanted it to be. I really like most of the regular bios in this series and I love graphics, so thought one of the graphic ones might be good. Unfortunately that was not the case. I’m not sure if it’s bc of the subject of this one, but I’m BEYOND underwhelmed.

[Justin Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has good illustrations which are very cinematic.

I wish this book talked about some of the battles Joan of Arc fought in. What did she do? It could have talked about the battles she won.

This was the one of the only books in a bookstore that I went to that looked like something I’d want to read.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was fine as well as the art work with the exception of how Joan was portrayed as a little girl and with huge dark eyes..she looked like one of those Paris orphan paintings.

And I was disappointed that the graphic part of the book ends with her leading troops to battle. The rest of her short life was summarized in a conclusion.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction for elementary age children. It introduces the central issue of her heresy, which was cross dressing, and drpicts her faith and drive. But it depicts the gore of being shot at orleans and of course being burned alive in rouen. Wise to keep it not too horrifying for a small audience.

[Kindle Addict · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a gift from my husband because of an inside joke between us so let’s just say I didn’t pick this book ^^

The art style was gorgeous and I loved that there were explanations about historical elements to help with the context along the way. It’s a bit strange to stop where they did though but I appreciate that the epilogue recognise the ambiguity of her story and what she has done.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good basic info

[China · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed life of an aspiring saint

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story in graphic novel form!

[Rylee Spayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a miracle of a story. Amazing story line.

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little short on detail but really nicely done - the graphics are great.

[Christine Ditzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Sophie Nguyen]

“we must fight the battles so god can win the war” is a hard ass line for a children’s novel

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does a great job explaining Joan and all she did for France and all the haters too.

[Marijn Taal]

A good informative children's graphic novel on the origin story of Joan of Arc. The story is written well and I was immediately drawn to the drawing style. However, it only tells half the story of Joan's life: the novel ends with Joan leaving to break the siege of Orléans. We are not shown her victory there, the subsequent crowning of Charles VII in Reims or Joan's demise at the hands of the English. Her graphic death by burning at the stake is omitted for good reason of course, as this novel is meant for 'young historians'.