Emma Reynolds

Amara loves bats, but when her family moves, she's disappointed to find that the nearby park is bat-less. Inspired by other kids who made a difference, she bravely engages the help of her new classmates to raise money and awareness, and works with the park ranger and wildlife rescue team to put up bat houses. It takes effort, time, and patience, but eventually, the bats return!

"She felt as if the weight of the whole world was crashing down on her. What could she do to help?"

Generous back matter includes lots of bat facts, an explanation of how echolocation works, and a guide to bat houses. Front endpapers have labeled illustrations of different types of bats.… (more)

Drawn to Change the World Graphic Novel Collection: 16 Youth Climate Activists, 16 Artists (2023) by Emma Reynolds and 16 illustrators. The summer of 2023 is one of the hottest on record. High temperature records have been set and/or broken by the score all across the United States and most of the world. Ocean temperatures are rising with reports of the waters around Florida in the mid to high 90s, i.e. bath water temperatures. The idea of global warming can be argued against by dozens and dozens of people, but they are just adding unneeded hot air to the issue. Something has to be done now before the temperatures rise next year and the year after, etc., etc., etc.
This graphic novel of a book literally illustrates the lives of 16 young people, out of many, many thousands or more, who have decided to take the future into their own hands. Be it making building materials from recycled plastic waste to cleaning the waters, or planting trees in an effort to reforest the planet, one sapling at a time, more if possible, they are tireless in their efforts. Stopping coal mine expansion in Australia or getting clean water in Pakistan and other countries, these are just some of the programs the young of the world have been working to completion.
Look around your town, city, county or state and you can find similar young people, and many older folks, all working to fight the waste of governments and corporations, one act at a time. This is an inspiring book, complete with full color panels illustrating the who, what and where, not to mention the how, of these 16 outstanding young people who have embraced a world view with a hope for a better tomorrow.… (more)

Excerpt from a longer article:

Synergy: Celebrating Graphic Nonfiction

GRAPHIC NONFICTION are works of nonfiction expressed in a graphic-novel style. Sharing information and true stories, these books use sequential art and other highly visual approaches to communicate factual content.

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:

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DRAWN TO CHANGE THE WORLD written by Emma Reynolds and illustrated by Emma Reynolds and Ann Maulana is a middle grade graphic biography exploring the experiences of a diverse group of sixteen youth climate activists. The book begins with an overview of climate change. Then, sixteen different artists use a graphic novel style to exploring the experiences of a diverse group of sixteen youth climate activists. Each story includes updated information about each activist. The book concludes with ideas for making a difference along with additional factual information about climate change. ARC courtesy of HarperAlley, an imprint of HarperCollins.… (more)