City of Light, City of Dark

by Avi, Brian Floca (Illustrator)

Overview

Avi's ground-breaking graphic novel gets a stunning new cover to celebrate its twentieth anniversary!

Two kids fight to save their city from eternal winter in this gripping fantasy by Newbery Medalist Avi, illustrated by three-time Sibert Honoree Brian Floca."To begin with--there were these KURBS. These Kurbs owned an Island...with their POWER they controlled both day and night...Years ago, when People first came to the Kurbs' Island, they wanted to build themselves a City."The Kurbs give people light and warmth to establish a city, on one condition: The people must return the Power every year or risk losing the city--forever. This system works for centuries until evil Mr. Underton tries to steal the Power. If he succeeds, the Kurbs will take back the City, reducing it to a dark and frozen tundra. It's up to Carlos and Sarah to find the Power--housed in a subway token--and keep the City safe, despite secrets of Sarah's history that are entwined with the token. What ensues is a race against darkness. A race against the lies of the past. And most of all, a race against time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545633413
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	11/26/2013
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
File size:	135 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Avi's work spans nearly every genre and has received countless major prizes, including the Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead and Newbery Honors for Nothing But the Truth and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Avi lives in Colorado. You can learn more about him online at avi-writer.com.
Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning book Locomotive. He also wrote and illustrated Lightship and Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, both Sibert Honor Books, and illustrated Avi's Poppy Stories series as well as Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan's Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, also a Sibert Honor Book. Brian grew up in Texas and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Find him online at www.brianfloca.com.

Date of Birth:

December 23, 1937

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Education:

University of Wisconsin; M.A. in Library Science from Columbia University, 1964

Website:

http://www.avi-writer.com

Editorial Reviews

One of the most versatile YA novelists of the day teams up with first-time illustrator Floca to produce first-rate science fiction in comic-book form. After outlining an altered version of New York City's history, the elaborately plotted saga shows how, through courage and cunning, two preteens, Carlos and Estella, and Estella's clairvoyant mother thwart a power-hungry villain and thereby prevent Manhattan from turning to ice. Against backdrops of neon lights, circling pigeons, abandoned subway stations and storefronts, Avi and Floca dynamically convey a timeless tale of good versus evil. Brilliantly parodying the superhero cartoons of old, this myth conceived in the same spirit as Who Was That Masked Man Anyway? is sure to be a hit with reluctant and advanced readers alike. Ages 9-up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This story, created in comic-strip style, is about Sarah Stubbs, about her father's secret, and about saving Manhattan from the Kurbs, the creatures who really own the island. Sarah's mother, Asterell, is the keeper of a token that must be offered each year to the Kurbs to renew humanity's lease on the island. Carlos, a classmate of Sarah's, accidentally finds the token. Amid a flurry of chases, mistaken identities, and confusion, the children manage to save Sarah's father from the villainous Underton, Asterell is able to pass her powers to her daughter, and the Kurbs receive their tribute in time to save the island from freezing. The black-and-white illustrations move the action along at a fast clip, though Floca's unsophisticated style of cartooning lacks the kind of definition that would have added to the text. This will not, however, discourage readers attracted by the comic-book format, and with strong women as heroes and an action-packed plot, the book should prove popular across both gender and genre lines.

Janice Del Negro

Praise for City of Light, City of Dark

A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books of the Year
A New York Public Library, Books for the Teen Age
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

*". . . Avi and Floca dynamically convey a timeless tale of good versus evil. Brilliantly parodying the superhero cartoons of old, this . . . is sure to be a hit with reluctant readers and advanced readers alike."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"It's a great story, full of characters facing Dickensian moral dilemmas and Vernian grand adventures, a villain one can hiss, and a fantastic flight over and through the City . . . an urban fantasy for middle-school readers who enjoy the 'what ifs' of imagination."--VOYA, starred review

"Avi delivers a fast-paced adventure that ably mixes fantasy with urban reality. Floca's simple but expressive illustrations capture both the magic and the grit of New York City."--San Francisco Chronicle

From the Publisher