Prime Baby

by Yang, Gene Luen

• ISBN13: 9781596436503
• ISBN10: 1596436506
• Edition: Limited
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-13
• Publisher: First Second

Summary

From the pages of the New York Times and the pen of Printz Award winner Gene Luen Yang comes a tale of math, aliens, and new siblings. Thaddeus doesn't like his new sister (she's not that smart and she gets all the attention). He likes her even less when he discovers that she's an inter-dimensional conduit for peace-loving aliens (who are totally lameall they want to do is knit socks for the homeless and have sing-a-longs!). But what's even worse is that no one will believe him about any of this! How is he ever going manage to grow up to become the President of Earth? First serialized in the New York Times Magazine, Prime Baby is a laugh-out-loud look at sibling rivalry.

Author Biography

Gene Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. He was an established figure in the indie comics scene when he published his first book with First Second, American Born Chinese, which is now in print in over ten languages. ABC's instant critical and commercial success, along with its status as a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Printz Prize, catapulted Yang into stardom as a brilliant writer for teens and young adults.

Table of Contents

Starred Review in 3/15 Booklist

Eight-year-old Thaddeus Fong is insanely jealous of his baby sister and exploits his intelligence as a weapon against his social insecurities. Politics ranging from those of the family to those of state are explored and sent up as Yang unfolds a rich and spirited story that lays bare psychological and social truths, a parable in which ever-forgiving space aliens play a major role in advancing not just the plot but also character development. Using the flat, cartoon style of his award-winning American Born Chinese (2006), Yang pulls us in from the first page and packs in several surprises as well as clever asides within its 55, multi-paneled, single-strip pages, allowing plenty of white space to force readers to note the finest details of the action in counterpoint to Thaddeus’ attempts to interpret every interaction as a personal slight. The color palette employed is soft, subtly contradicting Thaddeus’ emphatic evil-versus-good outlook with its relative gentleness. Sf readers who value humor and humanity (not just slam-bang action), Christians, newcomers to graphic novels, and fans of Yang’s simultaneously childlike and sophisticated ability to create and maintain tension should all be satisfied by his new book. —Francisca Goldsmith