The Shadow Door

Les enfants d'ailleurs #1

by Nykko, Bannister, Corentin Jaffré (Colorist)

It’s bad enough when Max, Rebecca, Noah, and Theo just think Grandpa Gabe’s house is haunted. But then the old movie projector in the library opens a passageway to a world of monsters and creatures made of shadows - a place of secrets and dangers set loose when the sun sets. The only weapons to fight them lie in the land on the other side of the Shadow Door. . . .

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Comics, Adventure, Young Adult

46 pages, Library Binding

First published December 23, 2006

About the author

Publicó varios títulos con la editorial Soleil en 2004, «Vermine!» y «Félicité bonaventuré» así como «Zombie Love Story», con la ediciones La Boîte Aluminium en el mismo año Dibbuks publica en España su serie «Los niños del otro lado».

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first five books in this series in one sitting, simply because they were short, I had the time, and I had them all out from the library. There will be NO SPOILERS for the rest of the books, rather, I thought I'd just give my overall thoughts about things in general.

First off, I hope you can actually find this series; it seems my library placed a huge order for all sorts of graphic novels for kids recently but not many people can find them at their own. If yours has a section like mine, I'd also recommend Lou! and Ernest & Rebecca. What's also interesting is that all of these authors, including this one for The Elsewhere Chronicles, are all French! I have no idea what possessed my library to order a bunch of graphic novels for kids by French authors ... but I'm sure glad they did.

Of the three series I've mentioned, although they're all shelved in the same section (ages 9/10+ [or grade 4 and up]) this one is definitely the most mature. I had no idea I'd be in for so much death and tragedy, for one thing. The last two volumes are stronger than the first three, and actually started to remind me of another series I love: Amulet, though Amulet is by far a much better series.

The Elsewhere Chronicles and Amulet are actually very similar stories and are also written for the same age bracket, but The Elsewhere Chronicles falls short in that it's not as well-written, well-drawn, nor well-developed as Amulet. Most likely you'll be able to get your hands on Amulet at your library, it's a much more popular series and that's why I'm giving it a mention here. If I had to pick between the two I'd read Amulet instead.

It's fantastic that the heroine is black, though unfortunately she's surrounded by white people. Even her family (I'm not kidding here) is white. In Elsewhere there's a brief interlude where the kids walk through a fishing village and I'm pretty sure even the natives were just tanned white people. I was really confused by this; on one hand I loved that the heroine is black, but on the other ... why is she the only one?

Each book is very short, around 40 pages or so, and reads like a picture book that wants to be a graphic novel. The story is there, but the pages that should include character and plot development are not. All together, the five books in this series could have easily been bound as one book instead. I didn't feel this way with the other two French series I mentioned above so it was disappointing to find so much lacking here.

With that being said though, I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what will happen in the sixth book: The Tower of Shadows because I think things were really starting to hit their stride and get exciting. With a bit of googling, French Wikipedia seems to be telling me there's a seventh book coming out in December. I'm glad then that at least everything won't be wrapped up in one last book, which I had been afraid of, because even though I complained a bit that a very similar series is a lot better, I still enjoyed reading this one and want to know what happens next. Here's hoping that mine (and your) library gets it in stock!

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was a surprise. It’s good, very interesting concept, if a bit cliched, and the translation is a bit jumbled, but it shows some interesting potential.

[mae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I GOT AN FL LIBRARY CARD YIPPEE!! i remembered reading this as a kid and picked it up on a whim. it’s quite slow.

[quinnster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, funny, sad and hopeful are the words I would use to describe this series of books. I picked them up at the library when I was waiting for Emma the other day thinking she would like them, but the cover for The Parting was slightly creepy so I decided to read them first. Good thing I did!

I've seen the books recommended for ages 7+ and also 9+ and I think the 9+ is more accurate. The books deal with some heavy issues, like death, child abuse and terminal illness. Nothing too graphic, but heavy nonetheless. While I'm sure Emma could 'handle' it, I think we can wait a couple of years first.

But I did enjoy them! The art is reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes, especially Max. The full color books lend to the richness of the Elsewhere world that the kids find themselves in. Despite their issues the kids are bonded and only want to look out for each other and help keep everyone safe. While they are certainly brave and courageous, there are always moments of showing their age so that it's clear that these are still, despite their adventures, children.

There are still many questions left unanswered and things begin to get a little confusing near the end of The Parting, ending with a 'To be continued' cliffhanger. And yet, I can't find anything about another volume coming out anytime soon. Hopefully, that's change soon!

[Ham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel felt like it was written by a screenwriter. The scenes were very cinematic. Great story. The art was pretty good too. The only problem was that great dialogue for a movie doesn't translate very well to comics. I found myself confused more often than not. Since the voices in my head all sound the same, I had trouble figuring out who was saying what and what it meant. I'm all for realistic, conversational dialogue, but comics need to be more about the art and less about the little white bubbles. Simplicity. Even if it means sacrificing realistic conversation.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, but not a stand-alone story. The writing was a bit rushed, although the story itself was interesting. The artwork was good but not great. I think the overall series may end up being better than this part, because the story may make sense by then.

[Harla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphics a little too dark and I mean the pictures are dark not so much the plot. But other than that the storyline was interesting and pulled me along. I may read on...

[Shaynning - Libraire Jeunesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alors qu'on enterre son grand-père en campagne, Rebecca rencontre trois garçons de son âge avec qui elle va aller en fouiller la demeure. Journaux de bords, matériel étrange, c'est un endroit rempli de mystère. Mais les choses dérapent lorsque Rebecca se fait elle-même disparaitre grâce à une machine qui ressemble à une caméra. Les trois garçons se lancent sur ses traces, mais l'un d'eux se retrouve piégé dans cet univers parallèle où Rebecca est prisonnière.

Une Bd sympa avec des personnages sympas, mais bon, l'idée du monde parallèle n'est guère nouvelle et largement exploitée en jeunesse, alors ça ne gagne pas des prix d'originalité pour ça. Mais bon, il y a quand même de l'action, le personnage féminin est solide et le dessin agréable. Seul petit constat: Pourquoi c'est toujours le seule fille du groupe qui fini en danger?

Catégorisation: BD Fantasy ( Basse) française, littérature jeunesse Intermédiaire, second cycle primaire, 8-9 ans
Note: 6/10

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translated from the French--I wonder if it suffers from losing something in the translation?--even the series name in French translates differently "les enfants d'ailleurs" ("the children from elsewhere"). Why didn't they just call it that? Why the name change? *le sigh*

The story-line is tres bumpy and feels at times like there are sections and whole pages missing. I had to keep double-checking to see if I had missed a section, but non, there was the panel I had just read. I plowed on through the rather ominous story. This is dark for kids and a bit mature in the way "Amulet" starts out dark and mature or that "Bone" starts out dark and mature--but lacking "Bone's" humor.

I want to find out more, and I like the refreshing change of have a MC girl POC so I will read more if my library gets more.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rebecca makes friends with some locals when she's in town for her grandfather's funeral. Exploring the "haunted" house where he lived has the new friends making a strange discovery. Accidentally they are pulled into a different world and they must travel through dangerous places to find their way home. Luckily they have some nice guides to help them.

[dyslexicbooknook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

A little tough to start, lots of moving pieces that make some of the characters harder to like. The art is very well done and easy to follow. This is much more similar to a comic book than novel, but still has a well plotted and thorough story.

I had fun on my read through overall, and am looking forward to the second book!

[Jason Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The translation isn't that great... the artwork is good, the story could be better but the dialogue is what hurts. It feels like panels are missing. The characters art flat and all blend together.

Ok for younger kids.

[Sam Zhou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is by Nykko, it is a story about four children, they find an old machine and turn it on, suddenly, there is a big hole appear, and four hands come out and take them in it, they meet each other in a village.

[Tara Carlisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites but would like to read the second one to see where this story is going to go. Maybe I will end up liking this series better.

[Lionheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3 stars
Ages 11+

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the art, but I'm not really connecting to the story or the characters. The story jumps around and I feel like I'm missing pages.

[BeckyWei · Rating 3 out of 5]

They lived an ordinary life but were dispersed to four places because of an accident and started the fantasy road.

[Friend of Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was originally written in French and has a feel similar to the Amulet series, although not quite as good. Still, Logan liked them.

[Jane Rutherford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Harder Challenge 2020 - Task 22 - Read a horror book published by an indie press.

[Earthling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit short

[Merri Barnousky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some people seem to love this comic, and others have attacked it for being too dark and disturbing, but my reaction was just... meh.

It has cute characters and an interesting setting, but is very hard to follow. The dialogue doesn't flow very well from panel to panel, the balloon order isn't always clear, and the "camera angles" are a bit random so that you can't always tell how one background relates to another. The whole thing feels choppy and awkward and confusing.

It did have an excellent and lovingly-drawn mollusk monster that nearly ate one of our heroes, though. It looked like a cross between a gastropod and a cephalopod, and I can't even begin to explain how excellent it was. But I appreciated the attention to detail and the vaguely-scientific design approach. Nothing like a good monster to liven up a bland comic!

[Myles Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting start to the series. I enjoyed the characters. I thought a few of the panels might be a bit scary for a younger middle grade reader. Reminded me of Amulet a little bit.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. Reminded me a bit.

[Vanessa Montalvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been trough a warmhole if you havent and you want to see where it might take you. I think this book is sciense fiction because of what the story is about.I tought this book was pretty interestung because of what happens when you press just a button thta looks like a tape recorderand how a type of monster is scared of the light.

The setting of this book is a house where a man they call old man gabes because he died they wanted to go check it out so they went and got a surprise it also takes place in a forest where other creepy animals live. Like for example Rebecca wanted to go to his grandpas house to get back some ooks he wrote but then she pressed a button that looks like a tape recorder so she went trough some type of warm hole so then Max a friend went after her then they both were trapped there but someone came to help them. The conflict is person vs. nature since they were fighting to get out of a mysterious forest and cave. There are 3 boys Noah Theo Max and rebecca max have black hair. Noah has brown hair and Theo has orange hair Max is the misbehaved one Theois the smart one and Noah is the person that follows everyone.

I had predicted that Noah,Max,Rebecca,and Theo were going to be stuck forever at the mysterious forest,but it turned out that they didn't find a way to get out. At the end just shows that they were waiting and staring at a statue. Because of that they might never get back. I was surprised that they didnt find a way to get out because i really tought they were going to get out with another portal but iguess not.

The shadow door is a good title for the book because the way they got there was because of a shadow door and some type of portal. That is why i think its a ood title for the book because of the shadow door and where it takes you. It takes you to some type of world that are just shadows and all type of monsters and creatures. This reminds me of a type of movie that they were just playing chess and all of a sudden they were in another world like if they entered a type of portal.

I would give this book a 9 because I really liked it. The reason I liked it was because of the intense and also because of the type of story it was. I would recommend this book to people who like scinse fiction and also a type of comic book. So this is how the story was if they went to amysterious world and never came back.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in The Elsewhere Chronicles series of graphic novels by Nykko and Bannister. I discovered the first couple of books at our local library and our oldest liked them so much, I put the next few on hold right away.

The story is a bit disjointed (perhaps something was lost in the translation), but it's very dramatic and engaging, too. I liked the interaction between the characters, and even though I'm not exactly sure what's going on in the story yet, I'm drawn into the tale. I loved the illustrations - the images have nice details and I loved the grandfather's house, filled with books and gadgets. I'm looking forward to reading The Shadow Spies next.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a trilogy, this gorgeously illustrated fantasy introduces how three boys meet Rebecca and end up finding a door to another world through an old movie projector in an empty old house. Being the first book, we meet all the characters, are given enough backstory, some foreshadowing and a cliffhanger ending. Following the format of the traditional graphic novel/comic serial, this is a great book for younger ages to get started on a graphic fantasy series. Four very enjoyable main characters and an intriguing plot has me dying to know what happens next. Fortunately the other two books have also been released in English all at the same time.

[Wandering Librarians · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fast-paced story, as in once the action started it slapped you around until the book abruptly stopped. It was fascinating and seems to have the potential to be pretty epic. There's a good possibility that some intense themes are going to play a part of the storyline. Also it looks like the alternate dimension is going to have some great history. It looks like there is going to be quite a huge ensemble of characters, and they look to be pretty well done. Obviously this is a series and there are so many questions left unanswered. So I am pretty excited about reading the next couple of volumes.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of what seems to be a fun exciting fantasy series. According to the publication information, this was originally published in Belgium and since it also has a translator, I'm assuming this was originally written in either Flemish or French.

As exciting as the it is, I would not recommend this for children 8, as some of the creatures drawn seem to be of the stuff of nightmares. Somewhat of a Secret of NIMH vibe. But if they can handle it, then they're in for what seems to be the beginning of an exciting adventure.

[Rad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not actually sure when I read this, but I'm fairly sure it was sometime in 2010. I'm also not sure why I didn't record it here - I think because I read it at the library, without checking it out. That means I didn't take it home with me. That means it got pushed out of my brain by whatever else I took home with me.


In any case, this series is AMAZING. I get distracted by pretty art, which this has in spades, but I think the writing (translation?) is there too. In any case, I gobbled it up.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Public library copy. I read this at the behest of my youngest daughter who picked up 4 books in this series over the weekend. She expressed to me she loved the series so much she expected I would too. She's right, I did wind up liking this book. The funny thing is, I could have sworn I got these for her in the past, but for whatever reason she didn't like the art or the reading bug never got a hold of her, or some other excuse. Now she states just the opposite. Well, in the words of Gilda Radner's Roseanne Roseannadanna, "It just goes to show you, you never can tell..."