(2) K-3 Illustrated by Christopher Cardinale. The narrator of this fictionalized tale lives in Kentucky “in a coal company house on coal company land…[Pa] says the company owns us sure as sunrise.” When company thugs harass the family, Ma, unfazed, scribbles words for the song that would become the union anthem. Lyon’s text captures the family’s sympathetic plight while Cardinale’s woodcuts display drama and energy. Author’s note. Bib.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(2) YA Illustrated by Christopher Cardinale. Urrea's previously published short story about artist Mendoza, with its vividly descriptive prose, has been superbly adapted as a graphic novel by Cardinale. Not only does the art perfectly capture the mood of the piece--from the blocky woodcuts to the muted earth tones--but it also reinforces the lucid dreamlike quality of its magical realism, serving as an enticing invitation to further explore the genre.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2010