Stepping Stones: (A Graphic Novel) (Peapod Farm)

Forgive me if I’ve written this before, but today's graphic memoirs all share a character, namely the feeble mother. Let’s recap a little. In The Arab of the Future, the feeble mother allows herself to be dragged to the worst country in the world; in Be Prepared, the feeble mother is completely ignorant of her children’s feelings; in Cub, the idiot mother thinks of her daughter as a puppet and an avatar. Now we have Stepping Stones, where the feeble mother allows her boyfriend to verbally abuse her daughter. Feeble moms make for a great story.Lucy Knisley, the cartoonist who gave us the graphic memoirs Relish (brilliant); Age of License (self-obsessed story and mediocre artwork); Displacement (better); Something New (don’t bother); Kid Gloves (okay); is finally looking back on her life. Stepping Stones has good quality drawings, and she mines her life story to create a serious comic for young readers. It’s all about moving to the country, getting used to a new environment, dealing with new people, and having to share your new home with strangers. What I have trouble dealing with is the adult character’s behavior.The protagonist is Jennifer McGinnis, born in NYC (though the neighborhood is not mentioned), who moves upstate with her mother. Now they live on a large property that her mother is turning into a farm, complete with chickens, a henhouse, and crops that they sell. However, the so-called farm seems more like a large hobby garden, because I don’t see how they could gain much in revenue from such a small plot. The chickens have an interesting role in the story: they’re cute pets, and they’re an unwanted chore, and they’re a source of conflict between Jen and her new stepsister.Dealing with a new and unfamiliar adult in the house is one of the many unpleasant issues that Jen faces. Walter the stepfather is an obnoxious, high-handed loudmouth, legitimately annoying, and Jen believes (perhaps correctly) that he takes pleasure in putting her down. He repeatedly calls her Jenny, and not Jen, which she prefers. I have to wonder, what could an adult gain by calling a child the wrong name? Does it make him feel powerful? Is it a way to let off steam? He chews her out, browbeats her constantly, and all this goes on under her mother’s nose. When Jen runs off crying, her mother tries to comfort her by saying “well, he’s like that.”In a story like this, I’m tempted to assume that Jen’s change of scenery will be a learning experience. I’d assume that the protagonist will conquer these nasty people, learn new skills, and go from being the victim to the victor. Nope, that doesn’t happen. In the first scene of the book, she explores the hayloft, finds barn kittens, brings them some food, and relaxes by lying in the hay and drawing the kittens. Everything is good…..until she hears her name called. It’s hard to enjoy learning, when hearing your name is a sign of trouble.Peer relationships are explored well in Stepping Stones. While the stepfather is the primary antagonist, Jen’s stepsister Andrea is an antagonist and foil combined. When we think of the stepsister in children’s books, we tend to assume the villainous fairy tale character, or (thanks to Disney) the ugly jealous interloper. We get the opposite of that in Stepping Stones: the evil stepsister is neither ugly (she looks like a normal kid) nor jealous, and I can guarantee that, because she has a superiority complex. She’s incredibly self-satisfied, thinks she should be boss, and looks at Jen as a poor kid in need of help. In short order, Andrea is an obnoxious know-it-all, a myopic bulldozer, and her level of paternalism towards Jen is astounding. You know for sure that she isn’t jealous, because if she sees something she wants, she just goes ahead and takes it. On her first day at the farm, she starts naming the chickens, despite Jen’s polite protest that she already gave them names. Andrea openly criticizes everything Jen does, and her father backs her up, always reminding Jen that she needs to let Andrea “teach” her. This is not a way to motivate a child. You really get the feeling of Jen’s powerlessness, and how everyone is ganging up on her.Another aspect of the mother’s feebleness is her strange expectation. She makes Jen work the table at the farmers market, despite the girl having obvious dyscalculia. From the get go, it’s clear that she freezes at having to add numbers, and her inability to make change becomes a big conflict. All the while, I’m wondering if the mother is blind, deaf, or ignorant. Why does she make her daughter run the till when she knows the kid can’t do the math? Why doesn’t this idiot give her daughter a calculator? When Jen goofs up at making the change, the mother says, “You told me your father was doing flash cards with you”. This woman really rises to her level of incompetence.A minor subplot of Stepping Stones involves Jen’s father, seen in flashbacks of happy times, but makes no other appearance. Throughout, Jen calls her father, only to get the voicemail. He never calls her even once. Does he view his daughter as a finished project? Is he looking to dive headfirst into bachelorhood again? Jen probably suspects these things, underlining the child’s feeling of powerlessness.I have to wonder if this book is suitable for young readers. There’s nothing wrong with the language, and the illustrations are great, plus we could always do with a book about kids dealing with divorce. But who wants a story about a kid being verbally abused? An English teacher could still use this book a s prompt on problem-solving, and the assignment could be on how Jen could respond to her stepfather’s remarks.I give five stars for the artwork. It’s all done in earth tones, and you can almost smell the grass, the trees, and the mustiness of the ground. There aren’t any bright colors, and that’s perfect, because there’s nothing colorful about a helpless, powerless kid, surrounded by people who gang up on you.

A fabulous middle grade debut! This book has the realness that we have all come to love from Lucy. Plus a quirky and relatable main character, a middle grade appropriate storyline, and the coziest and most endearing artwork you could want in a comic. It’s worth purchasing whether or not you are familiar with Lucy’s comics. I can’t wait for the next one!

This might be my favorite of Lucy Knisley’s books, and that’s huge, because I truly loved French Milk and Relish. In Stepping Stones, the reader experiences with Jen the avalanche of unfairness that kids are buried under when circumstances are completely out of their control, like their parents’ divorce, moving, or remarriage.The book is just so well-written and beautiful, and I’m passing it on to my eight-year-old ASAP, because when you have BIG FEELINGS it helps to read about other kids with BIG FEELINGS.

My daughter enjoyed it and said it was very relatable.

Lucy never fails to capture such heartwarming nostalgia. This book was so sweet and real and warm... I'm not ashamed to say that 28 year old me was so excited to read this book and counted down the days for its release as I do all her books... I'm still a kid at heart! This graphic novel definitely captured it... and pre-adolescent melodrama... beautifully.

I liked the drawings, and the book is really good. I wasn’t able to stop reading! This is a great book and I think it is really good.

I love all of Lucy Knisley work, and this is no exception! Its good for both adults and kids, i read it to my 4 yr old (leaving a few words out) he loved it just as much as I did!

Another excellent book from Lucy Knisley. I enjoyed it as an adult, but it is probably geared more towards young adults. A great story for someone who may have divorced parents.

Gusto leído bien y libro es mejor

Lucy Knisley não erra, ilustrações impecáveis e acolhedoras. A coloração está incrível e a história tem um tom bem real sobre novos arranjos familiares para crianças com pais separados. Esperei por mais de 1 ano até conseguir comprar e agora espero pelas próximas obras, amei ♥Sobre o inglês: considero-o para nível intermediário, mas é ótimo para quem está aprendendo inglês e quer treinar, pois é um quadrinho bem gostoso de ler. O interesse na obra pode impulsionar o estudo do inglês.

A beautiful story

Excellent.

Great read really enjoyed it